Live from Hilton Head

[flyingcat2003]

We arrived in Hilton Head yesterday at about 11am (me DH, DS). I did the on line check in and , it was simple. When we arrived, our packet was waiting for us and our room was ready.:cool1: We ended up with a 2 br villa (which is way more than we would ever need) but that was all that was available at 7 months. The villa is 1200 sq ft and there is only 3 of us. I could definately get spoiled to vacationing like this.:goodvibes. We decided to unpack before lunch.

They have nice carts for you to use when loading or unloading the your car. These really came in handy.

DS unloading the car
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Like I said this is more room than we need but it was REALLY nice.

Mud room
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Living room
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Kitchen
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Master BR complete with towel octopuss
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Master Bathhttp://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/flyingcat2003/HHI2009027.jpg
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2nd BR
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Dining Room
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Our room has a huge balcony.
View from the balcony
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I found my spot:goodvibes
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We decided to go to the Sea Shack for lunch. We have heard alot of good things about the food here and decided to try it. It's nothing fancy and reather hard to find.
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Upon entering the establishment I notice several strange signs posted. One read "please know what you want to order before approaching the counter". hmmm....okay. Then I saw the next sign posted above a stack of T shirts that were for sale, "let us know your size and WE will get it for you". I got the feeling that this was Jerry Sienfeld's version of the Soup Nazi. :laughing: I wanted to take a pic for the boards but my DH insisted that I not for fear of being band. "no food for you!"

I ordered the shark attack which comes fried, broiled, or blackened. It has shrimp, scallops, oysters, fish and a crab cake. It comes with slaw and fries. I got mine fried. DH had a shrimp poorboy with fries and slaw. DS got fish and chips. We all had sweet teas. The resturant is very small in side and seating is limited. That is why we chose to come at lunch. I have heard that there is a 2 hour wait for dinner. After we got our teas for the self serve beverage island, we noticed the tea wasn't sweet. We didn't dare say a word though. We just added the sugar substitue and smiled. I noticed other patrons doing the same. The food was very good, simple but good. If you are looking for seafood, this is the place. Just remember to follow the rules posted.:goodvibes

After lunch we headed back to the resort to change into our swimsuits before heading to the beach. The temp was 85 but the wind was strong and it was quite chilly when you got out of the water. The beach was more crowded than I remembered it being last year. The beach is about a mile from the resort so we chose to drive. Disney does has a shuttle though.
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There is a life guard present until about 5pm. So don't drown after 5.
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View from pool house
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Pool at the pool house
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Before dinner the boys decided to shoot some pool in the community house. This is a great place to relax. They love it.
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We decide to go to Giuseppi's for dinner. This is a great place for pizza. We had a 12" pizza, half pepperoni and half supreme and I had a ceasar salad. We all had sweet tea (actually sweet). The bill was only $24.00. Wow!
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The best find of the day! Piggly Wiggly rings. Me and DH were so excited. We remember these as kids and brought a handful home for our friends. DS was not so thrilled. kids....
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Today will be more beach.....I'll try to post later tonight.

[bcvdreamer]

flyingcat2003,
Great trip report and pictures! I can't wait to read more.

Have a nice vacation.

Lisa

[Madi100]

Can't wait to hear more about this. We would love to go to Hilton Head someday

[flyingcat2003]

Hopefully, we can update more pictures tonight.

[cslittle999]

Looks great. I tried to talk the family into staying at Hilton Head for few days at the end of our August trip and failed. It looks like a great place to simply unwind.

[flyingcat2003]

Looks great. I tried to talk the family into staying at Hilton Head for few days at the end of our August trip and failed. It looks like a great place to simply unwind.

It's a wonderful place to just kick back. Totally different from a trip to WDW. The Disney resort here is great. Wonderful and helpful cm's and a ton of fun things to do for famlies. Lounging at it's best!:thumbsup2

[racingwench]

We were there 3 weeks ago.

Try to get up to Harbourtown if you can and walk up to the top of the lighthouse. 105 steps I think they said but well worth the view.

I can recommend the Crazy Crab in Harbourtown (haven't been to the other one) and the Kingfisher is okay. Stay away from the Ocean Grill very pricey, small portions and not very kid friendly. Stacks is also good for breakfast, crepes (yum). Also if you want some fresh fish to cook yourself Barnacle Bill's is between mile marker 6 and 7. It is an outdoor fresh fish market. Small but good.

Also remember Savannah is short drive away (30 minutes or so). Nice city and Paula Deen....

Enjoy your stay we wish we were still there.

[flyingcat2003]

Thanks for the suggestions :goodvibes

[dvc at last !]

Your pics bring fond memories.
We went to HHI for the first time this past July.
Loved it !

:cool1:

[flyingcat2003]

Day Two


We headed to Panera Bread at about 10:30 for an early lunch before heading to the beach. I could really get used to island life (flip flops, and bathing suits). We got to the beach at about 11:30 and it was busy. Found a spot and parked out stuff. I had ordered a beach cart off line and this thing is a life saver. We can get all of our beach stuff in one trip. I’ll try to post a pic of it tomorrow. Anyway, the wind wasn’t as strong today so I didn’t freeze once I was out of the water. Please understand that DS and me are cold natured and if it’s not 100 degrees outside…..we might be cold. The water was nice and I actually got hot laying on the beach.
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After boogie boarding and diving for Sand dollars (there are hundreds, and no we didn’t keep any or harm them, just looked and put them back) for 4 + hours we headed back to the room at about 5pm.

The Lodge
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Now I do have something to say about the showers at the resort. As I said before, I am cold natured and like a HOT shower. The water in the showers are too hot for even me. It takes a little while to get hot but when it does you better watch out. I mean it is scalding. So watch your kids when bathing them. ;)

We walked to the pier to see the sunset and take some pics. The main pool is located in the back of the resort by the pier. There is also a campfire where they roast marshmallows and make s’mores. There is a mercantile store by the pier that sales t shirts, pins and food items. DH and DS found the ping pong table and played a few games while I wondered around. During low tide in the marsh you can a lot of little crabs.

Main Pool
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Pier at low tide
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Wildlife
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The Marsh
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Campfire
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Playing Ping Pong
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Foosball
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Rental Board
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Activity board
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We noticed that it appears that Disney is refurbing the buildings. We noticed new paint (lighter than it was painted before) and new roofs.
Before
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After
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We decided to go to dinner at my favorite place on the island so far (we ate here last year). The Smokehouse. Now don’t be scared., and yes I think it used to be an old Hardee’s. If you like BBQ, this is the place. I’m from Georgia and we have our fair share of BBQ but none like this. I can’t get brisket in GA, Me and DH always get the brisket with fries and slaw. The sauce is on the table and you can choose from hot, mild or mustard. I like the mild on my brisket and the mustard on my fries (I’m a country girl what can I say). DS like the BBQ sandwich and fries. They also have great potato skins (yummy).
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Back to the resort to relax, watch college football and do the trip report. If you want a relaxing vacation then Hilton Head is for you. This place makes you relax. It is so different from WDW. I always feel when we are at WDW if we aren’t constantly going and doing things that we are missing something but not here. Of course there are things to do (especially for the kids) but most of all if forces you to do nothing. No one is in a hurry. People ride their bikes everywhere, which is a really good idea if you drive to bring your bikes. There are bike trails and you can ride over to the beach and even on the beach. What a great way to tire out the kids.


DH trying to get DS to pose for pics...teenagers
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More to come tomorrow.....:cool1:

[AnneR]

mmm Smokehouse was good. I remember it from our December trip a couple of years ago. My favorite restaurant was a seafood restaurant in the shopping center near the old Piggly Wiggly.

[flyingcat2003]

Just had breakfast at skillets. Very good as usual. Getting ready to head to the beach. So sad, it's our last full day here. :sad2:

[dvcfamily41801]

Thank you so much for the report!!! We are so excited to be going back in March! For the past 3 years we have gone the week before Easter and when I tried to make the reservation for this year, we had no luck so we ended up driving to Walt Disney World. I was so excited last weekend when I called and had no problem at all getting our reservation!!!

This is truly a DVC hidden gem! When we purchased DVC we had no interest at all in going. We decided in May, 2002 to give it a try and had the best time!! We are so excited to try Vero Beach at some point!

Enjoy your last full day and thanks again for sharing your pictures and trip with us!!!:goodvibes

[flyingcat2003]

Day Three

We headed over to the beach early to look for sea shells (8:30). We didn’t have much luck. We didn't find a little crab.
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Next was breakfast at Skillets in Coligny Square. I had the bacon, egg and cheese croissant with home potatoes, dh had eggs Benedict with home potatoes and ds had a half order for French toast and bacon. Skillets has a yummy breakfast but we’ve never tried lunch or dinner.

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DS French Toast-we ater half of it befoer I took pics
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Dh Eggs Bendedict-again half eaten
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My half eaten croissant
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Back to the resort to change for a day at the beach. The wind was very strong in the afternoon (15-20 mph). You have to be careful and remember to reapply sunscreen. With the wind blowing you don’t realize that you are getting sunburned. The waves were 4-6 ft so ds had a great time boogie boarding.

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The beach was busy
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We wanted seafood for dinner and decided to try Hudson’s. Hudson’s is located on Squire Pope Road which is near the bridge to Bluffington. The wait was about 45 minutes but there was a live band playing at the bar and a great view of the sunset over the marsh. We even saw several dolphins while waiting for dinner. I had the seafood platter with fried shrimp, scallops, baked potato, salad with parmesan peppercorn dressing. The salad was small and okay, nothing special. The baked potato was dry but he shrimp and scallops were good. And finally, REAL SWEET TEA. Dh had the fried shrimp dinner. He said it was good. He didn’t finish his salad. Ds had the blacked shrimp dinner with 7 day old slaw. Now ds doesn’t eat anything green so we knew going in he wouldn’t eat it. His shrimp was good, baked potato dry too. I like the 7 day slaw, kinda somewhere between slaw and saukraut. Our waitress didn’t seem to like her job or maybe it’s just tourists she didn’t like. Anyway, it took quite a long time to get our check and them to get our change. Over all Hudson’s was good but not worth the $80 bill.

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We haven’t found a seafood restaurant on the island that knocks our socks off. I think next time we go to HHI I will do some cooking at the resort. We love this vacation and look forward to going back soon. If you’ve never been, you are truly missing a hidden gem.

Shadow's house
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Flowers at the resort
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Bambi and Thumper great you as you arrive
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Full moon over the marsh
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Yachts at Shelter Cove
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[willis37862]

Perfect timing! I booked two nights at this resort for us in November :thumbsup2 We have never been here and I am so excited after looking at the pictures of it online and now reading your report! Thanks for sharing :goodvibes

I was wondering about places to eat close by ...Skillets looked good for breakfast. :thumbsup2 Any other places that we just have to try? Also any shops/shopping areas that we should check out close by?

[flyingcat2003]

Perfect timing! I booked two nights at this resort for us in November :thumbsup2 We have never been here and I am so excited after looking at the pictures of it online and now reading your report! Thanks for sharing :goodvibes

I was wondering about places to eat close by ...Skillets looked good for breakfast. :thumbsup2 Any other places that we just have to try? Also any shops/shopping areas that we should check out close by?

I hope you have a great time in HHI, we love it. Skillets is the best place for breakfast we have found. My husband loves the eggs benedict. We found a great place for barbeque( http://www.smokehousehhi.com/) the brisket here is out of this world. Warning= this place can be loud. We still haven't found a out of this world seafood place but there are hundreds to choose from. We did try Hudson's by the dock and we liked it , however the service was less than stellar. (http://www.hudsonsonthedocks.com/)
Last but not least, Giuseppi's is a great pizza place. Good eats and cheap on the wallet.http://www.giuseppispizza.com/

As far as shopping there is a mall a couple of blocks up from the resort. There is a Belks department store located in the mall. For beach shopping Coligny plaza is the place to go.http://www.colignyplaza.com/
All of the restaurants except Hudson's is within minutes from the resort. Coligny Plaza is no more than five minutes from the resort as well.


Have a great time.:goodvibes

[willis37862]

Thanks Flyingcat :goodvibes I will make a note of those restaurants, all of them sound like places we would like. Thanks for the info about Coligny plaza too...it says they have a Earl of Sandwich, is this the same as the one at Downtown Disney? DH would like that :) I am so excited about going. We haven't been to WDW since 2006 and won't be able to get there until late next year so this will get me my Disney fix :wizard:

[flyingcat2003]

Thanks Flyingcat :goodvibes I will make a note of those restaurants, all of them sound like places we would like. Thanks for the info about Coligny plaza too...it says they have a Earl of Sandwich, is this the same as the one at Downtown Disney? DH would like that :) I am so excited about going. We haven't been to WDW since 2006 and won't be able to get there until late next year so this will get me my Disney fix :wizard:

Sorry, It's not the same Earl of Sandwich as Downtown Disney. However, I hear they got great burgers.

[willis37862]

Sorry, It's not the same Earl of Sandwich as Downtown Disney. However, I hear they got great burgers.

Ohhh :headache: It's ok you listed plenty of places to pick from. Thanks again!!! :goodvibes

[flyingcat2003]

Ohhh :headache: It's ok you listed plenty of places to pick from. Thanks again!!! :goodvibes

Have a great trip.:thumbsup2

[rotlex]

Oh my, thanks for posting this! We have been contemplating DVC for a few years now, and Hilton Head is one of the places that actually keeps us interested. (Just thinking of the years we MIGHT get WDW burn out, and need a different spot to go).

Looks like a really fun, relaxing atmosphere!