Goin' To Carolina … An August 2016 Trip to Hilton Head Island...

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

What a gorgeous room, and that balcony is amazing. I do agree that big tub is a waste of space, but the room really is gorgeous.

A rice treat is also a perfectly acceptable lunch. I would have done the same thing

 

[lovin'fl]

I like the jetted tubs to soak my sore legs and feet (specifically at WDW). Though they did remove them from BCV and Vero Beach and replaced them with a standing tub with no jets. If they could reclaim that space to add an additional bathroom or sitting room or something, I'd be for losing the jetted tubs.

 

[ljcrochet]

Great start to your trip. We love hhi.

 

[buzzrelly]

Great start to your trip. We love hhi.

Thanks for reading

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 9, 2016: THE MARSH


I had requested a marsh view, and I guess this qualifies…I had to stand on my tippy-toes to get even a peek at the marsh. It was fine though. I did spend some time out on the balcony and it was very peaceful and quiet and there was a nice breeze out there, so it was all good






When we were checking in, I kind of joked about our FastPasses and the CM heard me and reached under the counter and brought out this...

Aw! Makes me miss Paper Fastpasses even more! We didn't end up using it and I just have it tucked away somewhere as a memento.

She also have us this at check-in. It reminds me of the Navigator on the cruise…it was a schedule of all the events each day. As you can see, there is a LOT to do here if you so choose.









We checked in on a Tuesday, which is BBQ and Pirate Night. We had read some not so great reviews of the BBQ, but honestly, the thought of getting back in that car to go get dinner was equally, if not MORE, unappealing to us. We ended up signing up for the BBQ, and sadly, the reviews that I had read were pretty spot-on. The food was fairly . I ended up eating a lot of corn bread to fill up. Even the corn on the cob wasn't great…

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 9, 2016: PIRATE NIGHT

Just one last close-up of my BBQ dinner...



AS I said, Tuesday is Pirate Night and they hand out these cute bandanas and eye-patches to everyone DH is channeling his inner pirate...



DS actually smiling…posting to SnapChat, I'm sure.



And look! You can even swim like a Pirate



The weather was amazing the whole trip. It's funny because I was worried that we were stupid to be going to South Carolina in August. I thought we'd be DYING of heat As it turns out, the week were were down here they had record breaking heat back home. As I scrolled through Facebook, that's ALL I saw…posts about how flipping HOT it was in CT. HH was hot, but in a WONDERFUL way. There was a GORGEOUS breeze all the time and we quite honestly spent so much time in the water that the heat didn't bother us one bit.

This was a picture perfect evening and we strolled out on the dock to take in the view. It was low-tide and you could see literally thousands of tiny little crabs if you looked close enough. They were kind of hard to spot at first, but it almost looked like the sand was moving. Once I pointed it out to the kids they could see them too. We stood out there for a while just watching them and enjoying the scenery.










Up next, more Pirate Night and Fireworks...

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 9, 2016: ICE CREAM DROP

Since it was Pirate Night, there were fun little games going on around the pool. One of these games was "The Ice Cream Drop"…one person lays on their back with a cone in their mouth and their partner tries to drop ice cream in. DD and DS wanted to give it a whirl…I'm sure you can imagine that to DS this was the BEST thing ever…

DS definitely looks like he's working on a sinister plot



At least they gave out aprons and eye goggles, though I can't IMAGINE why


















They definitely didn't win for the most ice cream IN the cone, and surprisingly, they didn't win for the messiest! But it was funny to watch and a good time was had by all

We ended up staying at the pool and watching the fireworks. I have a couple pics but I'd have to put them in a new post and quite honestly, they weren't that impressive. When I heard there were fireworks every Tuesday night, I just assumed they were put on by DHHIR. My bad…they were actually set off by a hotel next door. They were fine, but I am such a fireworks snob now, as I am sure most of us Dis Folks are. Let's just say…they aren't worth starting a new post for.

Up next, the beach and The Salty Dog...

 

[ljcrochet]

definitely didn't win for the most ice cream IN the cone, and surprisingly, they didn't win for the messiest! But it was funny to watch and a good time was had by all

My girls won messiest last summer.

 

[buzzrelly]

My girls won messiest last summer.

I think they skimped on his bowl of ice cream, or he REALLY could have done some damage!

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Love your trip reports! I have never cruised or done HH. On my list of one day...

 

[buzzrelly]

Love your trip reports! I have never cruised or done HH. On my list of one day...

Thanks!

HH was beautiful! And really relaxing. We actually have a cruise booked for next year and I asked the kids if they'd rather go on the cruise or back to HH…of course, they said, "CRUISE!" I was thinking that I could go either way, but they LOVED the clubs on the cruise so we will go. I will definitely be going back to HH one day, though

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

That game looks hilarious and fun! What cruise are you doing next year?

 

[buzzrelly]

That game looks hilarious and fun! What cruise are you doing next year?

It was!

We are going on the Dream again in June. It's kind of the same cruise we did last time, but this is 5 nights with 2 stops at Castaway Cay! I'm super excited! And DH and DSS will be coming with us , so it should be fun!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I'm coming over from your last TR. I'm interested to read this one since I have never read much about Hilton Head Island. It looks like a nice pace.

 

[buzzrelly]

I'm coming over from your last TR. I'm interested to read this one since I have never read much about Hilton Head Island. It looks like a nice pace.

Thanks for joining in! It's a beautiful place, and the beaches are amazing! Really soft sand and nice, warm, clear water! I would definitely recommend going!

 

[Tiana4]

Thank you for this informative post! I've been toying with the idea of visiting HH for our April vacation. We just moved from CT (I see you are from CT too!) to SC and our spring break is the week leading up to Easter. We've been visiting Disney World during spring break for the last few years and have always been fortunate with it not falling before or after Easter. I'm a bit sad we won't be going to DW this spring as the crowds will keep us away, but I think HH would be a great alternative, still has that Disney feel and is only a couple of hours away.

BTW, I've read your other trip reports and they are all wonderful!

 

[buzzrelly]

Thank you for this informative post! I've been toying with the idea of visiting HH for our April vacation. We just moved from CT (I see you are from CT too!) to SC and our spring break is the week leading up to Easter. We've been visiting Disney World during spring break for the last few years and have always been fortunate with it not falling before or after Easter. I'm a bit sad we won't be going to DW this spring as the crowds will keep us away, but I think HH would be a great alternative, still has that Disney feel and is only a couple of hours away.

BTW, I've read your other trip reports and they are all wonderful!

Thank you!

Oh my gosh…if I lived just a couple hours from HH, it would be a no-brainer, I would be there ALL the time! That's very lucky! Someday I hope to move South (not sure, either SC or FL). It must be nice to have so many vacation options without having to worry about air fare!

We are skipping WDW next Spring too, for the same exact reason! Our Spring Break is the week leading into Easter and that's the first time that's happened in years. I am saving my points for a big trip in April 2018 and Easter falls on April 1st so it should be pretty much cleared out by the time our break come up, which is usually the second full week of April.

Make your reservation today for DHHIR…you won't regret it!

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 10, 2016: THE BEACH HOUSE

We went over and rented bikes the next morning and DH, DD and DSS and I went for a ride while DS went to work out in the gym. We got a call from him when he was done and he was going to come meet us, but he had wiped out and his knee was all bloody so he didn't feel like riding the bike anymore. We finished our ride and went back to get ready for the beach. DHHIR is about a mile or so from the beach, but they have a shuttle bus that does continuous loops back and forth. Or you could drive your car there but there's a chance there won't be an open parking spot, so we opted for the shuttle. We walked out to the bus stop and waited no more than 10 minutes before the bus arrived. The posted sign says the bus runs every 30 minutes but the driver explained that it usually is really 10-15 minutes because he just keeps going back and forth all day.

The bus dropped us off at the beach house which has a pool and a quick service and mug refill staton, which is really nice. The ONLY problem was that they did not have life guards and, obviously, we didn't feel comfortable leaving the kids swimming in the pool while DH and I went to the beach. DSS LOVES swimming in a pool but HATES the ocean…crazy kid . Anyway, I was dying to get to the beach so we split up and DH stayed at the pool with the kids and I went and sat my butt in my beach chair. The beach was absolutely gorgeous! The sand was perfect and soft, and the water was amazing! Coming from CT, I am used to frigid cold water up here…I don't even go in unless I am absolutely dying of heat . But the water down there was PERFECT! I walked right in and the waves were nice and gentle and the temperature was just right. I spent a lot of time just playing in the waves and relaxing.

And here's where I have a confession to make, that I was a terrible trip report writer this trip…I forgot to bring the Go Pro and I barely took any pictures of the beach. Here are the only two I took, and they don't come close to doing it justice, but you get the idea…




After a while DH and the rest of the crew walked down to the beach to join me. DD and DH came into the water and DSS played in the sand for a bit. Eventually we all went back up to the beach house and stayed there for a while until we decided to go back to the resort and swim in the pool there since it is much nicer and more fun and has the slide.

DD signed up to make a Mickey tie-dye shirt for a small fee…


And here's the finished product…



It came out pretty cute and the CMs were super sweet and helpful.

When we had had enough pool time for the day we went back to take showers and headed to The Salty Dog...

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 10, 2016: THE WRECK OF THE SALTY DOG



Whoever said taking kids on a vacation was fun?? I think this picture speaks for itself…

This is the face you get when you get to The Salty Dog and are told by the hostess that there is a 120 minute wait…at LEAST

As you can see, the kids were SUPER excited to hear this

No matter, I ordered them bread sticks since I am a bad mother and they are obviously starving children. They also give out bowls of popcorn so I went and got one of those to hold them over as well. And then DH and I got something to hold us over too…


In the meantime, I sent DH over to The Wreck of The Salty Dog which is right next door and the waitress told me they had the same menu. So he went over to put our name on the wait list there and we hadn't even finished our drinks when the buzzer went off. The kids were all VERY relieved but I could've kept sitting there with the live music and relaxing outside.

This was our first time ever trying Hush Puppies…I had read about them on some restaurant review sites and they sound good. Our verdict…they weren't good,

they were DELICIOUS! I was glad we had gotten 2 orders because they were gone very quickly!



DS got a burger, of course...



I ordered a shrimp cocktail appetizer and a salad as my dinner because I knew that I wanted dessert later...





DH ordered a seafood pasta and liked it but didn't finish it all because he wanted to save some leftovers...



And here's what I had my eye on for dessert, Key Lime Pie. It's my absolute favorite and I was slightly irked that when I offered some to DH he not only accepted but he kept taking bite, after bite, after bite, until I finally gave him the stink eye and asked him if he wouldn't just rather order his own dessert?? He finally took my not so subtle hint and put his fork down so I could enjoy what was left of my pie




Dinner here was fabulous and I highly recommend it!

 

[Tiana4]

Looks delish! I LOL'd at the ice cream game, hilarious! My son will get a kick out of it!