"Don't Forget to Say Thank You for the Beach!" HHI October 2012--Final Updates 11/18!

[StitchIsOurHero]

Enjoying your report. This is the exact week we plan on visiting next year. How was the weather, and how crowded was the resort?

Thanks for reading along!! We had pretty good weather overall. It was chilly two days and also rained some on one of those, but the other days were great! The resort didn't seem crowded at all! There was never anyone at the beach house when we were there, and the resort pool was only busy (but not overly crowded) one day!

If you go that week in 2013, we will probably see you there!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

After a nap, we were ready to go out for the evening. I had seen on the Activities list that Shadow was out that afternoon, and I knew we would want to meet her. We got ready quickly, and set out for our evening!

We went to see Shadow first. D is allergic to dogs (if he has a lot of physical contact), so he didn’t actually pet her. I petted her for him with D saying, “pet her again, Mommy! Pet her again!” Then we sat him down to take pics. He enjoyed talking to her and to B’lou Crabbe (the guy with her). That is the most well-trained, well-behaved dog I’ve ever seen! She was beautiful!

After their visit was done, B’lou gave D a postcard from Shadow! He told D that Shadow COULD write, but she couldn’t spell, so he had to write for her! D thought that was so cool!

I wanted to take some pics around the resort, so I knew I’d need to bribe D (and Brian) to get them to do that before dinner! No problem! We went through the Main Lobby area, and as they do every afternoon, they had fresh cookies and lemonade! Once D figured this out, we had to go every afternoon!

D enjoying his cookie on the boardwalk:

The sugar rush helped my guys be ready for some picture-taking!

Looking back toward our room from the boardwalk:

Hidden Mickey:

I loved this DVC sign. . .how far are we from the different resorts??

D enjoyed running up and down the pier:

I thought the pier was beautiful. I was a little skeptical before this trip of whether I would like the marsh, but I loved everything about this area!

A little more “real”:

I love this one, too:

At this point, they were finally over my picture-taking, so we decided to go to dinner!

We were planning to go to Kingfisher, which is also in Shelter Cove, so we could walk. What I didn’t count on, though, was that they didn’t open until 5. It was about 4:30 by that point, so we decided to check out the stores in Shelter Cove.

D was fascinated by the map of the area, so he spent a lot of time showing me where we were on the map and where all we could go!

We played around there for a while, and then went to the restaurant. When you check in at the resort, they give you a list of restaurants that offer a discount to people staying at the Disney Resort. This restaurant was on there. That’s not why I picked it—we had heard it was good—but the discount wasn’t a bad plan either!

This was the restaurant that I was not thrilled with. Our food was just *fine*. Not bad, not good. Our waiter was not happy to be there, and he was very robotic. They also had a guy who came around and did little magic tricks and told jokes. That was ok, too, but it was all a little much.

When the waiter brought the bill, he hadn’t taken off the discount. I asked him if we still got the discount (I thought maybe the sheet was wrong). He said he would take off the 10%, and then he was gone forever. When he came back, he had taken $1 off of the bill. Now, I am not a math genius, but I’m thinking that was a little on the low side.

By that point, though, it was raining very hard, and I was just ready to get out of there. Brian actually ran back to the resort and got the car so D & I wouldn’t have to run back in the rain!

We came back in and relaxed for the rest of the night! Kingfisher wasn’t BAD, but I don’t think we would go back. We ended up having a good night, though!

 

[Tinks "SS"]

Loving your trip report on the fabulous HHI. We have so fallen in love with it that it is now our all time favorite resort. We went down for a day and a half at the end of last week for our anniversary. It was nice but we didn't spend much time at resort like we have before. I really wanted to get out and explore the whole island. We still love it!! Did you happen to go to Roastfish and Cornbread? We went friday night and it was fabulous! My DH said they have the best fish tacos EVER. It will definetely be one we take our kids back to.

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Loving your trip report on the fabulous HHI. We have so fallen in love with it that it is now our all time favorite resort. We went down for a day and a half at the end of last week for our anniversary. It was nice but we didn't spend much time at resort like we have before. I really wanted to get out and explore the whole island. We still love it!! Did you happen to go to Roastfish and Cornbread? We went friday night and it was fabulous! My DH said they have the best fish tacos EVER. It will definetely be one we take our kids back to.

Thanks for reading along!! I'm so glad someone else is in love that with that resort, too! We didn't try Roastfish and Cornbread this time, but I really want to! I didn't do a good job planning our meals this time because I wasn't really sure of anything in the area, but I am already compiling a list for 2013!!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

We had been watching the weather, and I knew that Monday and Tuesday would be colder days. We decided that since we couldn’t really swim on Monday, we would go to HarborTown.

D was geared up and ready—he knew he could play on the playground! I hadn’t really gotten to see the playground on the other day, so I was excited too!

We also walked around the area after our playground time:

After some fun playtime, we decided we needed to go to Salty Dog for lunch. I was so excited—I had never eaten at one before.

I couldn’t figure out what to order—it all looked so good! I ended up with a cup of she-crab soup and a chicken salad sandwich on a pretzel roll. It was YUMMY!!

Brian got a po’boy that was basically shrimp, peppers & onions with pimento cheese. It looked SO good!

D had (wait for it) chicken and fries! They were really good, though!

I loved every thing about this restaurant—the food, the service, the atmosphere! It was great! I could probably eat there every day!

D & Jake:

After we were STUFFED from lunch, we walked around on the pier for a while.

D loved all of the birds!

As we always do, we headed back in for some naptime!

After nap, D decided we needed to check out the playground at the resort. He wanted to ride his bike over there (it’s near the pool), so off we went.

He loved the playground with the slides and the steering wheel. He kept telling everyone that he was driving the bus, and that we were going to the Magic Kingdom!

The rain came back at that point, so the guys headed back to the room, and I went to visit Broad Creek Mercantile. I was plotting my later-in-the-week purchases!

I met up with them outside of our room, and they decided to check out the hammock.

Love this pic of my guys!!

Brian then decided we needed ice cream, so he went down and brought us Mickey bars. He also borrowed a movie for us from Broad Creek Mercantile! We ate dinner in the room from the groceries we had bought, and then D decided it was time for ice cream and trains!

D watching the movie:

Nothing better than a Mickey Bar and a little Chuggington!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

How to start off a wonderful Tuesday morning??

MICKEY WAFFLES from Tide Me Over!

Tuesday turned out to be even colder than Monday! I wasn’t really in the mood to go back to HarborTown, but I didn’t want to stay in the room. We knew we had just a few days left, so we decided to hit the beach and just be beach bums!

We walked down and did some shell-searching and some digging in the sand.

The longer we were out there, the colder it got!

We decided to get off of the beach and out of the wind, so we headed to Publix to get some seafood. We ended up getting shrimp, cheese, and triscuits—gourmet dining, that’s us!

It was a good night to relax in our room and enjoy our meal!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Wednesday rolled around with a completely different forecast than Tuesday! It was supposed to beautiful, but a little cool, in the morning and absolutely gorgeous in the afternoon!

As I said, we fell in love with Salty Dog Café and with the area around it, so we decided we’d take advantage of the cooler weather and go to that area for a little while again.

Of course, D needed some playground time:

After that, we walked down from there to the beach. Because of the storm, there had been several creatures washed up on the beach. D is a big fan of “Octonauts” on Disney Jr. and he was absolutely fascinated!

That horseshoe crab was absolutely amazing! D looked at it for the longest time!

Then he found:

A jellyfish!

AND

A puffer fish!

Now, this report is not all for dead fish----but he thought it was too cool!

We took some more pictures out here:

Then we decided we were hungry and ready to head back!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Lunch found us back at Salty Dog Café—I really like that place. . .I wish I was there right now!

We ordered some of their yummalicious hushpuppies:

Then, Brian and I had the crabcake sandwich on a pretzel roll (everything in life should come on a pretzel roll!):

After lunch, we managed to drag our full selves out to the pier to walk around and look at the birds.

I think these pics are just too funny:

D looking at the bird:

AHHHHH. . .bird flew away!!

Ok, fine! I’ll just say hi to the bird on the OTHER side!

From there, we headed back for a short nap because we had BIG plans for the afternoon!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm with you on Salty Dog's hush puppies. To me, they're the best on the island. I also love, love their she-crab soup. So when we go there, I just get she crab soup and a side order of hush puppies (I think they're meant to share, but I don't!). That picture made my mouth water!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Aren't they the best hush puppies ever?? Ooh, your trip is almost here! What is the weather like there this time of year? I think I would love it! Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Tinks "SS"]

I love the pictures of all the fish washed up on the beach. I would have been checking it all out as well. How awesome was it that yall got to see a puffer fish. I love that. When we were there for our very short trip, we saw alot of broken up shells of those huge crabs. I was checking all of them out and we saw a jelly fish as well.

I was planning on having lunch at the Salty Dog when we were in Sea Pines but we had a big breakfast at Stacks and just wasn't ready to eat yet. Oh how i wish we were still there.

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

I love the pictures of all the fish washed up on the beach. I would have been checking it all out as well. How awesome was it that yall got to see a puffer fish. I love that. When we were there for our very short trip, we saw alot of broken up shells of those huge crabs. I was checking all of them out and we saw a jelly fish as well.

I was planning on having lunch at the Salty Dog when we were in Sea Pines but we had a big breakfast at Stacks and just wasn't ready to eat yet. Oh how i wish we were still there.

I'm glad someone else understands the need to take pics of the fish! We were completely fascinated!!

Ooh, Stacks! That's a place I had wanted to go, and we didn't get there! Definitely on my list for next time!

I'm with you--I'd like to be there right now! Such a gorgeous place!!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Mom & I had talked throughout the day, and we had decided to meet up in the afternoon. One of their friends had gotten very sick from their dinner, so they were trying to give them a little time to recover.

We took D down to the beach, and they walked down from their resort to meet us. It was a gorgeous afternoon—perfect beach weather!

D played with all of us, and he thought it was great fun that his Papaw and Nonna had come down to play with him, too!

While I was taking pics, I noticed Brian waving at me from the ocean. I thought he was just being silly since I was taking pictures, but it turned out that he had lost his wedding ring in the ocean. I was sad, but he was really torn up about it, so I tried to make it seem like it was ok.

After a WONDERFUL afternoon (you can’t tell I enjoyed it by the number of pictures, huh??), we agreed to split up for a while and then meet back at our resort.

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Mom & Dad went to their resort and cleaned up, and we went back to ours. They came over in about an hour with the most wonderful dinner. . .

Pizza from Giuseppe’s!!

If you go to Hilton Head, you MUST eat here! I only wish we had eaten there earlier in the week so I could’ve done it more than once!!

We took our terrific pizzas and ate on the deck of our room.

It was hot and yummy—definitely some of the best (if not THE best) pizza I have EVER had!

After dinner, D wanted to take his Nonna & Papaw over to the pool, so we all hiked over there. He had to take a night swim with his dad to show how the pool “worked”.

The campfire and s’mores were going on then, but we didn’t take part. It looked like lots of fun, though!

After a swim, we headed back to the room

Mom & Dad went back to their room, and D decided he needed a bubble bath in the big bathtub! It was a great and relaxing end to a wonderful day!!

 

[mommy2mrb]

love all the beach photos! and lots of yummy food! don't remember the pizza place but does look great!

oh no about Brian losing his wedding ring, my brother lost his on their honeymoon!

so happy you got to have the time with your folks too!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

love all the beach photos! and lots of yummy food! don't remember the pizza place but does look great!

oh no about Brian losing his wedding ring, my brother lost his on their honeymoon!

so happy you got to have the time with your folks too!

We were excited to have that time with them too! Yeah, Brian was really upset! The day after we got back (the day I was going to do unpacking and laundry), he got up early and said, "We're going to get me a ring."

That pizza place is incredible. They also have sandwiches, entrees, etc. I can't wait to try those, too!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

How is it already our last day?? I was so sad to see it arrive! I was determined to make the absolute most of it, so we put on our suits and headed to the beach. Never mind that it was about 60 degrees, we were on the beach and in the water. Yes, we were THOSE crazies! Everyone else on the beach had on longsleeves and pants, but not us!

We played and swam in the ocean until we couldn’t stand it anymore, then we went to warm up in the Beach House pool!

There was no one there (probably because it was 60 degrees. . .well, about 65 by that time), so we enjoyed having it all to ourselves. We FINALLY got D to put on a life jacket so he could “swim by himself”. He thought that was big stuff!

After lots of swimming, we had lunch at Signals again. We all ate the same things since it had been so good the first time!

My cool guy waiting on lunch!

D also liked going into the room where the foosball tables, pool tables, and TV were. That, in fact, is where my trip report title was born. We told him that he couldn’t use the remote in there because he wasn’t old enough. He took that to mean that he had to be 5 to do it. So, that night, as we said our prayers (and EVERY night since then), he says, “Don’t forget to say thank you for the beach, and for the room where I can play with the remote when I am 5”. He’d already decided we were headed back there for the next Fall Break (and to tell the truth, we had, too!)

All too soon, it was time to head back to nap and pack up. Boo! But not before we had one more night out!

A parting message from the Beach House:

I

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

We decided to do one more night out for dinner to celebrate the end of our trip! We walked down to the Shelter Cove Marina area again to check out Scott’s Fish Market. Our server was also named Scott (which was a little weird), and he was awesome! He hit it off with Dalton right away. He was also nice enough to take a family picture of us, which was the ONLY picture of all 3 of us that I have from the entire trip. I have to make a note to do better about that next time.

I had fried shrimp, and I don’t remember what Brian had, but it was wonderful. The whole meal was just terrific, and I would recommend it to anyone!

After dinner, we walked back, stopping to take some resort pics along the way.

I couldn’t believe it, but it was time to pack up. We all spent a lot of time talking about how much we had loved the trip. I honestly am already SO excited to go back in October 2013!

Brian offered to pack everything and let D and I go swim one more time. We ended up being the ONLY people in the pool, and we had a blast. It was so neat to be there, just us!

We came back for a good night’s sleep and got ready to head out about 3 am the next morning!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Just a couple of last day pics (remember, these are at 3 am):

D had to go say “bye” to the marsh:

Sad face pics (please ignore the scary, no makeup face):

I cannot convey how much we loved this resort and everything about it! There were lots of activities, and we really didn’t take part in everything the resort had to offer—we were too busy soaking in the relaxation and letting D enjoy it all!

Next time, there are several other restaurants I want to check out, and he’ll be old enough for some of the craft activities.

I had read on the DIS before we went where someone said this was “more like an old-fashioned family vacation”, and for us, that was EXACTLY what it was. I felt like we connected more on this trip, just relaxing together.

Did I like it MORE than WDW? No. I love the compulsive planning, ADRs, hustle-and-bustle, and magic of WDW. But given that it is a completely different type of vacation, I liked it in its own way just as much. I always try to con Brian into 2 WDW trips per year (one on fall break, one on spring break), and I am more than willing to switch one of those weeks to HHI now!

I hope this report helped convince you that it’s definitely worth it! Thanks for reading along and helping me re-enjoy our trip!

I will be starting our Pre-Trip Report for our March 2013 WDW/Cruise Birthday Bash Trip soon (probably over Thanksgiving Break!). I will post a link here, if you would like to read along with us!

Have a Disney Day, everyone!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

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