Sunday March 21- Travel Day
About the only time I willingly get out of bed at 3am is on a travel day. There's something about the excitement of going somewhere that's not "home" that gets my adrenaline going. That and allowing myself a decaf coffee at the airport- I stopped drinking caffeine on a regular basis 12 years ago, so a decaf for me is like an espresso for normal people.
Of course, having only flown once since March of 2020, it was easy for me to romanticize travel days. I was a little worried about only an hour layover in Atlanta, but figured the first flight out of the day should minimize the likelihood of delays. Ahh... the best laid plans.
It was fun to watch another plane land at the same time we did in Atlanta- I know this isn't the greatest shot, but since I was taking it from across the aisle, I think I did OK.
And then the real fun began. Landed at F concourse. Trek to the train to take me to B concourse where the flight to Hilton Head departs from. Get there in a reasonable amount of time and settle in with my ipad and a library book. After reading for a while, realize that our flight was supposed to have started boarding, but there has been no announcement from the airline personnel manning the gate. Not a good sign. Wait some more. Finally, an announcement that there are mechanical issues and the flight is being delayed, about an hour. Wait some more. Then an announcement that we would be moving to another plane, about 6 gates away. Everyone stands up, grabs their stuff, and treks down the hallway to the new gate. Wait some more. This flight isn't boarding either. New announcement- back to the first gate- problem has been fixed. Everyone stands up, grabs their stuff, and treks back to the first gate.
Then notification comes that the flight is still delayed, but they don't know for how long. Wait some more. Then I get a text on my phone the flight is now departing out of D concourse. Start to get up, but the airline folks say "Don't go yet- let us confirm the move- in case it's wrong and we have to move again.". Wait some more. Yep, flight is moved to D. Everyone stands up, grabs their stuff, and treks down the hallway, back to the train, over to D concourse, and then to the new gate. Isn't flying fun???
Finally leave- we're going to be about 90 minutes late arriving into Hilton Head, which honestly isn't too bad considering all of the movement back and forth. And then we get told that there will be bumpy air the whole flight. And they were right. It was raining in Hilton Head and the flight was pretty bouncy. After we land, we hear there is another flight at our gate, so we have another 15 minute wait on the runway. Hurry up and wait is the name of the game today.
Now, if you've never flown out of Hilton Head airport- you have to know it has 4 gates. And it doesn't have a jetbridge like you are used to in a major airport. Instead they wheel a ramp up to the side of the plane where the door is, and you walk down the ramp and across the pavement to get into the airport. You can imagine how fun that was in the rain. Luckily, it was only about 10 steps from the end of the ramp into the building.
Then, some rental car drama where there was literally no one at the counter for more than 10 minutes to be able to get my car, but I and my hungry tummy were finally on our way. Pro tip- be sure to reserve a car in advance- there aren't that many of them and all of the agencies were essentially sold out to walk-ups.
On to the fun and photos!
I headed to Poseidon, since I knew they had a Sunday brunch until 3 pm, and I wasn't sure what time I would make it. No reservations either, which meant that a 2pm arrival still had a 25 minute wait for a table. There was patio seating, but due to the weather, all the sides of the awning were rolled down, so I decided not to bother waiting longer for an outside table and accepted whatever I got. Since the restaurant is right around the corner from Kroger, I did pop over there and pick up sparkling water and a few snacks to have in the room while I was waiting.
I started with a Bellini, which was delicious, and the seafood crepes: shrimp, scallops, and crab, tucked into crepes and covered in lobster sauce, with grits on the side instead of breakfast potatoes.
Thoroughly enjoyable and a great start to my trip. I could feel the travel stress melting away. It was just a quick 5 minute car ride to my first sight of
It had mostly stopped raining by then, but things were a bit slick as I climbed the stairs to check-in. I had done online check-in in advance, but I don't know that it really saved me any time. Still, the CM was great and did an awesome job explaining the layout of the resort and offering some suggestions for what to do since my room wasn't ready yet. I decided to head over & park outside of building 25 to get to the swimming pool/Tide Me Over area to sign up for some activities and start my trip off right with...
Dole Whip! My #1 favorite Disney snack. And even better- the CM at Tide Me Over gave me some extra pixie dust with a sprinkle-covered cake pop when he learned it was my first visit to HHI. What a nice (and delicious) surprise!
It was still pretty cold and windy, so instead of eating outside with a view of this:
I popped inside Community Hall and ate both my treats in warmth.
By the time I was finished, my phone had buzzed that my room was ready: 1215 back near the lodge- not surprising since I had a Studio reserved.
I had watched some YouTube video tours, so I thought I knew what to expect, but I was a tiny bit disappointed with how small my balcony was- I'll have to go find which room I saw on the video where the studio had a giant balcony- this wasn't that room.
But ultimately I ended up loving the balcony anyway and it became one of my favorite spots to hang out, read, bird watch, and people watch. I know the view doesn't look like much, but I enjoyed watching how the tide would change during the day and the tree really shaded my balcony from the view of others so it felt very private most of the time.
This spot inspired the title of this trip report- it's from the song "On the Front Porch" written by the Sherman Brothers from the film Summer Magic. It's not exactly a front porch, but sitting on the rocking chair on the balcony (not squeaky, thankfully) had the same mood.
After getting unpacked and relaxing for a bit, it was time to head out for dinner. My choice: one of the newest SERG group restaurants: Nectar Farm Kitchen. They are right next to Marley's Shrimp & Burger Shack, near Sea Pines, for those who know the area. I arrived around 6 pm and was able to get a table right away, although it was too cold for outside dining. They mentioned that they are much busier for breakfast and lunch, so if you don't want a long wait, dinner is the time to eat there.
I started with a Southern Sangria: Cabernet, Apple Liquor, Sweet Potato infused simple syrup, ginger ale, cranberry juice & orange juice.
I then got a biscuit basket containing buttermilk & sweet potato biscuits with honey, butter, and fruit compote. These were really good but texture was more like a non-crumbly cornbread than a biscuit.
I also got an order of deviled eggs and was surprised to see how they were presented
It's not often you see square eggs! These had orange marmalade on them, and were strangely addicting.
For the main course, I got the BBQ Country Ribs- peach BBQ, Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens w/ Bacon
The Mac & Cheese was the best part of this dish. The ribs were fall off the bone tender, but the sauce was strongly flavored with a spice like cumin that just overwhelmed the sauce for me. The greens were done well but they're not my favorite Southern dish and this didn't change my mind.
After rolling myself out of the restaurant with a to-go box filled with biscuits and their accompanying sauces, I headed back to the room for an early bedtime. Day 1 complete!
But I would recommend this as great food for a really reasonable price, especially if you like the daily special.
