Kent's co-worker let us use his condo on Hilton Head Island. On Sunday we flew into Savannah, Georgia and then drove in our rental car up to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
On Monday, it was my birthday, so we got to sleep in. Then we went to the beach near our condo that was right behind the Disney Beach House. We ate lunch from the Signals restaurant there and brought it to the beach, but it got pretty rainy and we had to head back. We took a nice nap before we went to dinner.
After dinner we stopped by the infamous (apparently) Milkshake Factory
Tuesday- Pinkney Wildlife Refuge. McKinley booked us a tour, and saved us a lot of walking! We got to sit in a golf cart while they took us around to see things. We saw our first alligator!
After lunch we visited Mitchellville Freedom Park
We returned to the condo for nap/pool/computer time. Then it was back to the beach.
There were some good waves for body boarding thanks to yesterdays storm still lingering.
In the evening we had a dolphin cruise, which included a view of the fireworks from the water.
Josh thought it was a waste of time. It wasn't. It was beautiful.
Dinner was from McDonald's since we were starving and it was getting late. We dropped off the boys and around 10 pm Kent, McKinley and I headed back out to the beach to watch for meteors and hopefully see some baby sea turtles.
Well, we hit the jackpot! A nest of sea turtles hatched nearby and a film crew was recording their journey so we got to be witnesses to that amazing miracle! We even rescued 3 babies who had fallen into holes or ghost crab holes and would have died.
This is a baby that was heading the wrong way.
They get confused by the city/hotel lights and head toward them. They are supposed to be following the moonlight into the ocean.
They're doing it!
Film crew getting the shots. The only acceptable lights on the beach are red lights so they don't confuse the sea turtles return.
This baby turtle fell into one of the ghost crab holes. If he doesn't get out the crab will eat him. Spoiler, we got him out.
We also saw some impressive meteors shoot across the sky from the Perseid Meteor shower. It was a great night!
Wednesday- We started off at the Coastal Discovery Museum. Man, it is hot and humid here in August! We liked the butterfly garden.
After some lunch it was time for more beach.
Hayden wanted sushi tonight, so McKinley, Hayden and I went to a Japanese place while Kent and Josh ate Chik-fil-a.
Thursday- It isn't a family vacation without an early morning family photo session. Today was the day. My camera pooped out on my so it was not ideal, but we got something to use on this year's Christmas card.
Regardless of the camera disappointment, the colors were beautiful this morning while we watched to sunrise.
Later that morning we went to Sea Pines Forest Preserve.
Next stop was Stoney Baynard plantation, which is an old plantation site where you can see the ruins.
Nearby was Harbour town and Lighthouse. We stopped there for a little walk and some brunch.
Next up was the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. We were on the hunt to find more alligators and this was one of the places that we were more likely to see them.
There's a dirt road that you just drive around the refuge on.
They had some fantastic Spanish Moss trees here.
One of the little trails led to this old cistern.
After spotting a lot of "logs", we finally found a couple little alligators.
The birdwatching was good too.
We got a little nap time after we returned from the refuge. Then we had dinner followed by watching the sunset on the beach.
Friday- We started at the Heyward House Museum. The last remaining slave cabin in Bluffton still resides on the property.
Magnolia tree
A little lizard on the House
The rest of the day was spent enjoying the beach...until McKinley and Josh were stung by jellyfish. Apparently in August, when the waters are so warm, the jellyfish bloom and swarm to the coast. To be fair, the beach flags did warn us that was a possibility. Otherwise it was a lovely day.
For dinner we tried out One Hot Mama's for some Southern BBQ. I'm not really one for BBQ places, but this was 10/10!
Saturday- We drove down to Savannah, Georgia to spend the morning before our flight.
First we went to Bonaventure Cemetery.
Next was Forsyth Park. There was a Farmer's Market going on, so it was bustling with activity. I really wanted to get a nice shot of the fountain there. But it was under construction, statue removed, and drained. Boo.
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina was amazing, and I'm so glad we got to go there!
