Day 18, end of expedition celebration dinner

Our amazing waitress, Allison, took this picture of us at the Mayor's H.ouse restaurant in Pawleys Island.

Day 17 Blog post: Austin Bunn

I woke up this morning around 7 am to the sound of rain drops hitting the top of our tent. We were  allowed to actually sleep-in until 9, but with so many early morning starts my body didn't allow me. As the rain became harder others began to wake up and pack up their personal gear. We decided after sitting in the rain for a while that it made a whole lot more sense to sit on the covered porch of the DNR offices. The rest of the morning's activities took place there because of the thunderstorms that moved in. Imagine that, our last day of paddling started off like our first day ended.
We entertained ourselves with skits about our biggest challenges done by each tent group. After a good lunch of veggie pitas we finally all headed to the boats and began to get in. It was close to 1 by the time we all got in which was definitely the latest start of the whole trip. We did this so that the tide would work with us. The paddle was wonderful; it was cool with a slight drizzle. We got to see lots of neat wildlife including fish jumping and egrets fishing. The marshes were really unique. I have been visiting the Charleston area all my life and never seen marshes like this. Instead of just having marsh grass as far as you can see with no trees, there were cypress trees, lillypads, and other beautiful aquatic plants with neat flowers.
Finally the end of our journey was in site; ahead we could see the highway 17 bridge which marked the Georgetown marina. As we passed under the bridge we all floated in a pod and tapped our paddles on the underside. Once at the docks we all got out and loaded our gear and boats onto the trailer. It wasn't until the last boat was loaded that the realization of being done really sank in.
We then headed to Huntington state park where we enjoyed some much-needed food and showers. We soon all went to the beach where we stuck our feet in in celebration of making it!
It's been a long journey but an awesome one for sure. I have enjoyed overcoming all the challenges and getting to know everyone but for now its time for some well needed rest.

Day 18 at Tom Yawkey

Here we are with Joseph (aka Tiny) who gave us a wonderful tour of the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center on Cat and South Islands. Thanks Jamie and Joseph!

Day 17 camp at Hunting State Park

Jana, Brian, and Mater working hard to recruit future WLEE majors. This is Lucas Johnson, who was enamored with our row of kayaks.

Looks like we made it!

Pulled into Georgetown Landing around 4. We are officially done paddling - nearly 400 miles!

Day 16 Blog post: Dan Modahl

Day 16... wow, I can't believe it has been that long already.  We have come such a long way as a group, and as paddlers... it's quite amazing.  Today we had a very early start, as we had to play the tides right... we had breakfast at 4:30, and were paddling by 6:00. I was very surprised that we would be able to feel tidal effects that far inland... but we sure could, after a couple miles we could feel the current start to push against us.  But we only had 28 miles :)  
The river changed so drastically today... we started in a slightly swampy, but heavily wooded area and we are now in a marsh... and just after lunch we could smell the brackish water. Speaking of lunch, we stopped on the bank of a piece of private property, and got permission to eat on the rocks on shore.  It was the craziest lunch, people falling off rocks into the river, boats floating away, wakes from motor boats wreaking havoc... very interesting lunch to say the least. 
As we started paddling into the marshy maze the water got surprisingly choppy, and the wind picked up like crazy... so those last 8 miles took a while.  When we finally got to the campsite, it was picturesque. There was Spanish Moss  hanging from the oaks that were shading a beautiful lawn...  it is a wonderful place to sleep. 
Max came back today!  This is the first time we've seen him in 6 days...  and he will be paddling with us, it feels great to have the whole team together.  The weather was so beautiful today... never hot or humid, but perfectly sunny... it has been a treat to have such wonderful weather.  I cannot believe this trip is almost over, it feels as though we left just yesterday.  But there are still many more crazy experiences to come even with only 3 days left, and I can't wait.

Day 16

This picture is from the porch of the Samworth plantation home. It is part of the park in which we are camping. The Pee Dee is in the background - the beginning of the stretch we will take to Georgetown tomorrow!