A practically perfect DVC HHI beach trip with a side order of ghosts & drag queens

[Disneygrl36]

We got up Friday morning & packed our bags. Someone was not too happy about it. This is Miss Bella looking all sad & pitiful knowing what the suitcases mean.

Eric took her for a walk & I was checking my email & saw him waving me outside. Look what was walking through our neighborhood.

Very odd indeed as I think this kind of turtle belongs near water.
So after pondering about Mr Turtle, we headed out on the road around 11:00. We always stop at Arbys to eat lunch when we head out on a trip, but for some reason we couldn't find one anywhere when we got hungry, so we had to settle for Wendy's instead. Then before we knew, it we were pulling in to Buckhead which if you don't know is like a suburb of Atlanta. We have stayed here before & it's a good location.

We were staying at the Doubletree there.

We checked in & went to our room to get settled.

We had a nice skyline view out our window.

After getting settled in, we decided to go to Phipps Plaza which is a high end shopping mall. We weren't going to shop (although this would be an amazing place to do so if you were a shopper as they have Tiffany, Valentino, etc.-but I'm not a shopper) we really just wanted to stretch our legs some after being in the car. I was on the look out for the Real Housewives of Atlanta as this seemed like their kinda place, but alas no sightings.

Inside the mall.....

And an interesting window display of blue people.

We walked all around the mall & all we bought was an icy drink to refresh ourselves.
As we were walking back, we saw this beautiful Dale Chihuly glass sculpture in one of the buildings.

And we saw more big tall buildings.....

We went back to the hotel & relaxed a little bit & then freshend up for dinner with our friends Jane & Scott who live in nearby Newnan GA. I went to high school with Jane & she is probably the closest friend that I still have from that time. We had selected a french restaurant for dinner which ended up being just a block from our hotel, so we were able to walk to dinner.

Jane & Scott were waiting for us out on the patio. We had dinner out there instead of inside because it was kind of loud in there.

I didn't take food pictures this night as we were so busy talking. I will tell you that the french bread was too die for!!!! Eric & I both had a nice glass of merlot & salads. At about this point, it started to come a monsoon & was raining like crazy, so we had to pull our table way back to get out of the rain. It was amazing watching it come down!!!! I had beouf borgninon for my dinner. It was very good but the meat was a little fatty for my taste. Eric had scallops which he loved. For dessert we ordered profiteroles....they were tiny but delicious & I did remember to take a picture of dessert.

Here we all are, stuffed after our lovely dinner.
Scott, Jane, Me & Eric

It still had not stopped raining, so luckily Jane & Scott offered to drive us back to our hotel. They had lots of cool sculptures around that area & this is one done by REM front man Michael Stipe.

After we got back to the hotel, we went into the bar & had a nightcap.

You can sort of see the rain in this picture.

All in all, a great first day of vacation.

Up next........Was Mary Poppins practically perfect?

 

[SnowWitch]

Super anxious to hear your thoughts on the Woodfire Grill. My bff and I had ressies there last month for her Bday, we are a little over an hour north of Atlanta. I am horrible at keeping my cell phone charged or turned on. So we arrive and pull up to valet and all the attendants are outside with clipboards.(They had tried to call) Appartently the hood over the grill had malfunctioned and the entire place was thick with smoke. Bummer, we have yet to rebook due to scheduling conflicts. Can't wait to hear(read) your experience.

 

[podsnel]

Very nice start- looking forward to hearing about MP- didn't you dress up as her a couple of years ago? I adore hhi- can't wait to read about that, either!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Awwwww, your poor puppy does NOT look happy that her Mom & Dad are leaving without her! Mine is always that way too, she starts pouting as soon as the suitcases come out.

Sounds like a lovely first evening, despite the rain.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Super anxious to hear your thoughts on the Woodfire Grill. My bff and I had ressies there last month for her Bday, we are a little over an hour north of Atlanta. I am horrible at keeping my cell phone charged or turned on. So we arrive and pull up to valet and all the attendants are outside with clipboards.(They had tried to call) Appartently the hood over the grill had malfunctioned and the entire place was thick with smoke. Bummer, we have yet to rebook due to scheduling conflicts. Can't wait to hear(read) your experience.

So sorry that you didn't get to experience the Woodfire Grill. Make another ressie..........it'll be worth it.

Very nice start- looking forward to hearing about MP- didn't you dress up as her a couple of years ago? I adore hhi- can't wait to read about that, either!!

Yes that was me. We dressed up as Mary Poppins & Bert on Halloween on our Oct 2007 cruise for my 40th birthday.

Awwwww, your poor puppy does NOT look happy that her Mom & Dad are leaving without her! Mine is always that way too, she starts pouting as soon as the suitcases come out.

Sounds like a lovely first evening, despite the rain.

She always is sad when she knows we are leaving & we miss her terribly. It was a great evening.

 

[Jennifer48]

Great start! I hope all that rain didn't damper your spirits!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Great start! I hope all that rain didn't damper your spirits!

Not at all Jennifer. I was so happy to be on a fun trip & to get to see old friends!

 

[Aburns8]

I am so glad that you started! I saw a turtle like that today walking in a neighborhood, but we are surrounded by water. I can't wait to hear about Mary Poppins!

 

[Disneygrl36]

I slept like poo the first night of the trip...why does that always happen? Eric slept like a log of course so when he got up he was ready to go work out. I waved him on out of the room when he asked me if I wanted to go walk on the treadmill. I tried to go back to sleep but to no avail.

We had arranged the night before to meet Jane & Scott for brunch at the Corner Cafe which is a place they go frequently. So, we met them & had a lovely brunch & more visiting & talking. After that, we came back & just relaxed for awhile until it was time to get ready to go to the Fox Theater. Luckily, we had bought tickets that included parking so that was good as we had never ventured quite that far downtown before & were really unfamiliar with the area.
Here's what we saw, walking to the Fox....

The Fox is a beautiful theater & has kind of an Arabian nights theme going on throughout.

We had orchestra seats in the center & they were pretty good. I was all excited & took this picture of the stage area as soon as we sat down with my iphone.

Then I got my good camera out just to take some pictures of the inside of the theater only to be told by a lady standing there that no photos were allowed inside the theater. She saw my disappointment so she was quick to point out that is wasn't a rule of the Fox but of Disney for this production. Pretty cruddy I think!!!! Boo Disney (& if you know me at all you know I don't say that lightly). I knew I probably would not be allowed to take pictures of the actual producion, but I just wanted to show the beauty of this old restored theater. So soon after that, it was time for the show to start. One of the production people came on stage to talk about how special this particular show was because this particular showing would mark the 1,000,000th person seeing Mary Poppins on tour. He said to stay put after the curtain call for a special give away. Then the show started. I am stealing some pictures from Google image search to illustrate this part.
I had very high expectations of this producion because Mary Poppins is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies (hence the fact I dressed up as her on my 40th birthday)! It opened with Bert singing about the winds changing on Cherry Tree Lane in front of #17. Bert was played by Gavin Lee who has been with the show since it started out in London & he was AMAZING! Well, soon #17 opened to reveal the inside of the house which I thought was pretty darn cool & before long we met the Banks & Mary Poppins & the story would begin to unfold.
Here are Mary & the kids in the nursery....

They added some things from the books & left out or changed some thing from the movie, but overall the story went together very well as a blending of the book/movie.
I especially enjoyed the rendition of Jolly Holiday which was very colorful & lit beautifully.

Also, Step In Time was amazing with Bert actually crawling up the side of the theater & across the ceiling. SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

They also took SUPERCALIFRAGILISTIC & expanded it & made it their own. It was so catchy & they did a wonderful dance to accompany the spelling of the word.

It was amazing from first moment to last...the costumes, sets & music which included all the old favorites from the Sherman brothers to a few new tunes were just wonderful.
And at the end, Mary Poppins flew out over the audience up over the balcony. INCREDIBLE......I couldn't keep the tears out of my eyes. The cast received a well deserved standing ovation. They were all wonderful!!!! After the curtain call, they gave away a free trip to NY to see several Disney shows on Broadway & a lucky family from GA won it.
I am so glad we were able to catch this show as this story is so dear to me & that we were able to work it in to our vacation.

After nearly 3 hours of theater, it was 5 o'clock & we had dinner reservations at 7:15, so we headed back to our hotel. It wasn't long until it was time to head out to Woodfire Grill which was something else we had been anticipating highly. This is the restaurant of Top Chef contestant Kevin Gillespie & his partners.

They are known for being a part of the slow food movement & they celebrate local & seasonal ingredients. We loved Kevin so it seemed to make sense to go while we were in Atlanta. My friend Jane snagged our May reservation back in March--as this place is pretty darn popular. We went past the restaurant as it wasn't well marked & had to turn around to find it. I was surprised that it wasn't in the best area---I mean there were some sketchy looking "gentleman's clubs" & stuff nearby. We finally found it & pulled in. We were running late so I forgot to get a picture of the outside so I also borrowed this picture from google image search.

Jane & Scott as usual were already there waiting for us enjoying a glass of wine. This is in the lobby/bar area of the restaurant. It was much smaller than I expected which could be another reason you need to call for reservations well in advance.

The other surprising thing was that the kitchen was tiny. We were whisked by so fast that I didn't even get a good look at it, but saw it later when I went to the ladies room.

We had a lovely booth & Eric & I both ordered a seasonal cocktail. Mine was called a Botanic garden & it tasted like summer in a glass--it was so good, I ended up having 2. Eric tried a bourbon based one called the Bradley which had ginger in it & it was heavenly too & he had 2 as well.
Here are Jane & Scott.

And Eric & I.

We had a hard time deciding about dinner. They have a 5 course blind tasting menu which we had really wanted to try, but the whole table has to participate & none of us were really keen on being fed organ meats or such that could be part of a blind tasting. So, we asked the waitress & there was some organ meat involved so we decided to order off the menu.
While we decided our waitress brought us a nice basket of various breads that were all delicious.
We also had an amuse bouche which was a beet preparation finished with sea salt. I don't really dig beets, but it was just a bite so I had to taste it. The consensus of the table was that no matter how you prepare them beets still taste like dirt.

I decided to order the local frisee salad which is described on the menu as pork fat croutons, benton's bacon lardons (if you don't know Kevin loves him some pig), dijon viaigrett, sous vide egg & apple emulsion.

It was delicious it tasted like an egg & bacon sandwich on salad.
In the background you can see Jane's choice which was pan roasted local yellow oyster mushrooms which she said was delicious. Eric & Scott both had boring old local baby mixed lettuce salads that I did not photograph.
For dinner, I ordered the wood grilled berkshire pork loin with creamed escarole & rutabaga, ham wrapped kalerini, whipped maple brulee, 100 year sherry. Scott chose this as well.

This dish was too die for. The little bit on top was the maple brulee & it was like a toasted maple marshmallow which went perfectly with the pork & added a bit of sweetness. The bed of escarole & rutabaga was deliciou. The pork was juicy & the ham wrapped kalerini added a nice bit of saltiness to the plate. It was sooooooo good.
Jane & Eric both had the pan seared washington state halibut with local english peas, mint, braised morel mushroom, ragout & micro arugula. They both ate every bite so I think they liked theirs as well.

In the photo, there is also a side order of skillet roasted asparagus with sweet herbs & rye spices that Eric & I ordered to share. It was the best asparagus I have ever had.
So then, we decided to have dessert. I picked a trio of ice cream sandwiches. They were tiny but so tasty. The sandwich part was a like a meringue cookie & then there was one with strawberry ice cream, one with pear sorbet & one with coconut ice cream.

In this picture you can also see Jane's chocolate tart (which Eric ordered as well) & Scott's cheesecake which came with some kind of berry shot. Dessert was delicious as well & I was glad the portions were small.
It was a wonderful dining experience. The service was excellent & the food was phenomenal. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Chef Kevin was there. As we were ordering, I got up the courage to ask since we were big fans & the waitress let me down gently with the fact that he had just left 2 days ago on a top chef tour. While I was in the bathroom, Jane & Scott had talked to her & when I came back she said since we were big fans, she would take my address & try to get an autographed menu from Kevin to send to me. It hasn't showed up yet, but I still have faith.
The meal ended with her bringing us 4 chocolate truffles to the table which were homemade & delicious.
By the time dinner was over it was after 10 & there were still people coming in to be seated. We hugged Jane & Scott goodbye after having had a marvelous 2 days in Atlanta & headed back to our hotel to fall into bed.

Next up......HHI or bust!!!!!

 

[Disneygrl36]

I am so glad that you started! I saw a turtle like that today walking in a neighborhood, but we are surrounded by water. I can't wait to hear about Mary Poppins!

Weird turtle....we have no water close by at all.
You will be pleasantly pleased that I just posted about Miss Practically Perfect above.

 

[SoonerGirl]

What a practically perfect day! I'd love to see Mary Poppins. Last time I checked it wasn't scheduled to be anywhere near here, but that has been awhile, I should look again!

 

[Aburns8]

Boy, I can't believe that you already have the next installment up! You are fast. I love the Corner Bakery! We ate there every morning on our last trip to Chicago like 6 years ago. But we still talk about it. Mary Poppins had to be spectacular. I haven't met a Disney theatre production I haven't liked. I just hope it comes nears us. Even if it comes to Richmond I will drive to get there. I know we are getting the Lion King here this fall (which I saw like 8 years ago, but Brian needs to see it). I am happy you got a pork dish at the Woodfire Grill. I hope you get that menu!

 

[JennyG]

Great pics of everything, but I especially loved these two! The art piece is just beautiful, I can't imagine what this might have looked like in person... thank you for sharing!! We saw a cake artist who used this idea for sugar sculptures on a wedding cake... I think it was on TLC.

The desert looks a bit like a hidden Mickey... perfect to get you started for your DVC vacation!

 

[Disneygrl36]

What a practically perfect day! I'd love to see Mary Poppins. Last time I checked it wasn't scheduled to be anywhere near here, but that has been awhile, I should look again!

It really was a perfect day! If MP comes anywhere close GO!

Boy, I can't believe that you already have the next installment up! You are fast. I love the Corner Bakery! We ate there every morning on our last trip to Chicago like 6 years ago. But we still talk about it. Mary Poppins had to be spectacular. I haven't met a Disney theatre production I haven't liked. I just hope it comes nears us. Even if it comes to Richmond I will drive to get there. I know we are getting the Lion King here this fall (which I saw like 8 years ago, but Brian needs to see it). I am happy you got a pork dish at the Woodfire Grill. I hope you get that menu!

It was really wonderful & I so want to go see a Disney show on Broadway! I will certainly let you know if/when I receive the menu.

Great pics of everything, but I especially loved these two! The art piece is just beautiful, I can't imagine what this might have looked like in person... thank you for sharing!! We saw a cake artist who used this idea for sugar sculptures on a wedding cake... I think it was on TLC.

The desert looks a bit like a hidden Mickey... perfect to get you started for your DVC vacation!

That piece of art work was stunning. I have seen Dale Chihuly pieces of course on both Disney ships too & his work is just gorgeous.
Also I agree it did look like a hidden Mickey.

 

[Disneygrl36]

We got up & had breakfast in the room & were on our way to Hilton Head by 9:45. We were finally able to have our customary pre-beach lunch at Arbys along the way. Yeah!!!!

Crossing the bridge onto the island.

It took about 5 hours from Atlanta for us to get there. This is a view of the Hilton Head DVC resort from across the bridge into Shelter Cove.

This is the Live Oak Lodge which is the main building where you check in. The DVC HHI resort is themed after a low country fishing/hunting cabin.

I had checked us in on-line so our packet was all ready & we got the brief overview of the resort & then headed to our room.
On the way out, Shadow & B'Lou Crabbe were meeting & greeting guests. I was really excited to see Shadow finally. (There will be more about B'Lou & Shadow later in the report.)

She is so cute & loveable.

We pulled our car under the building & got a cart to take our luggage up to the room.

We had a 1 bedroom villa for this trip.
This is the entry way/mud room. This is where the washer/dryer are.

There was some pretty cool little details on the bench.

There was also evidence of Shadow in the room as well.

This shot is from the entrance hall looking into the living area/kitchen.

This shot is looking back toward the entry way.

The kitchen/dining area.

Great kitchen detail.

Now here is the only disappointment we had which was our view from our balcony. When we saw it, we were really upset about it as we had built up having a view over the marsh in our heads as being very important. I called down the the desk to express our disappointment in the view & to ask if we might could change rooms only to be told there were no other 1 bedrooms available. So much for on-line check in helping out by securing us a nicer view by checking in early. We were pretty bummed about it for awhile but over time it became less & less important.

The bedroom.

One part of the bathroom where the toilet & shower were.

The other part of the bathroom had a nice big counter area with a sink, the closet & the big jetted tub.

Looking into the bedroom from the bathroom.

Cont. in next post for picture limit reasons.

 

[Disneygrl36]

It is really a nice & sizeable villa. We left our bags unpacked at this point as Eric wanted to go talk to the front desk to see if we might have any options. So, we went down & had no luck even though we told them this was our home resort & this was our first long stay there. I have no idea what the breakdown of units is here, but I know we had a much better view when we stayed one night in a studio here before. So maybe there are more studios & dedicated 2 BR's but they told us there would not be an opportunity to change rooms until Tues (this was Sun) & we were checking out Fri so we said oh well. They did say they would have someone call us which come to think of it they never did. We got some lemonade (they put out lemonade & cookies each afternoon) & looked at Murgies Den which is a big common area right off the check-in area.

There is a big TV, books, games & a pool table in here.

From there we decided to walk around a little & went out to the fishing pier.

After breathing in the fresh area & getting our bearings, we were feeling a little less grumpy so we went back to the room & unpacked & got settled.
We always go to Mellow Mushroom our first night on the island for pizza, so that is where we headed for dinner.

It was yummalicious as always.

Then we went next door to Harris Teeter to get some groceries for breakfast & lunches in the room & snacks. After going back & unloading our groceries for the week, we decided to go over to the Beach House & take a walk on the beach. The DVC resort is on a little island called Longview Island which is in the Shelter Cove area. It is across a little bridge from Shelter Cove & overlooks a marsh. So to get beach access, you have to go across the main island road into Palmetto Dunes to the Beach House. More on the beach house in the post about the next day.
I felt myself relax as soon as we walked through the beach house & onto the beach walk.

Finally we had our toes in the sand.......

Eric thinking to himself......well this view would have been alot better.

After our walk, we went back to the resort & hung out in a hammock for a few minutes.

Then, it was back to the room, where we got cleaned up & then spent the evening surfing the net with free Wi-fi, writing in our journals & having a nice bottle of Vigonier.

Up next............Beach House to ourselves day!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

I'm sorry you didn't get the view you wanted but it does look like a lovely place.

I love your appropriate beach t-shirt

Shadow is adorable!

ETA: I missed the MP update! I was thinking after I read this "I thought she said next was MP?" I can't wait to see it as they are finally coming to Boston next year!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Wow, that villa looks very nice and spacious! Sorry you weren't happy with your view though

 

[Aburns8]

I so want to go to HH now, too bad we are not DVC members. Sorry to hear about your room. They should have upgraded you! We have a Harris Teeter across the street from our condo! It is a very nice store, definitely not a Wal-Mart. I can't wait to hear more about your vacation!

 

[El&Asmom]

Thank you so much for your report and pictures. We will be checking in for the first time July 9th, and are getting very excited. Can't wait for more.