Live from Hilton Head (March 29-April 3) (or as long as the wi-fi connection is good)

[nzdisneymom]

Last night's brownies were really good, and there are still a few bites left today. Surprisingly enough. The boys and grandparents watched the movie, while I didn't miss the latest episode of Biggest Loser. It's a good thing there are three t.v.'s here. We just wish there was a DVD player was in the bedroom(s) as well. It started raining sometime mid-evening and continued for most of the night. We never heard the heavy storms that were predicted, and if we had thunder/lightning, I didn't hear it either.

I forgot to turn off the Crackberry last night, but it didn't wake me up this morning. I woke up about 10 minutes before the first buzz. It was drizzling still, and DH went for a run. The boys were still in bed when there was a knock at the door around 9 a.m. when the Trash and Towel service arrived.

There were two nice ladies who switched out our towels, emptied our trash, restocked our amenities.

I spent some time doing some work-work while the boys were getting breakfast, and then DS#2, my mom and I went to see B'Lou Crabbe and his Magic show in Big Murggie's Den. He told a few stories and performed some tricks and kept us entertained for about 45 minutes. Definitely worth making the time to see as a family.

It's Member Day which means 10% off at the counter services both at the main resort and the Beach House. DS#1 wanted to use his Arcade card, so we went over to the Beach House for lunch. There was hardly anyone there. The boys and I answered the trivia question of the day and they gave us each a pick of a piece of candy.

Getting to and from the Beach House is really easy with the shuttle, maybe because it's still a bit "off season" because we've not had to wait at all to go, and we've just called for the return trip and the shuttle arrives in about 6 minutes. Today the driver offered to drive us up to our villa, so that was a nice treat.

We're glad we didn't rent bikes because honestly I don't know when we would've ridden them. Maybe if the weather was a bit nicer or if we were here a few more days or if we were staying further back in the resort... but from our location and what we've wanted to do, the bikes would've just been for exercise.

We wanted to do the behind the scenes tour but when I called about it, they said it was full. We started to walk down there to see if we could just join but got lazy and didn't make it. The tour just came by the boardwalk.

It's been a nice relaxing day, and not even a lot of rain.

 

[nzdisneymom]

The Arcade is over at the Beach House, right next to the bar. It's really small with an occupancy level of 10.

 

[glennbo123]

Yes, the flowery bush is an azalea. I used to live in Wilmington, NC -- home of the annual Azalea Festival!

Enjoying your trip report.

 

[JVL1018]

JVL, the arcade is right off the pool area, where the ping pong table is. It`s not very big, so it wouldn`t be hard to miss.

Huh, I just asked my kids and they have never seen it either! Weird. We'll check it out in less than 2 months!

 

[JVL1018]

The Arcade is over at the Beach House, right next to the bar. It's really small with an occupancy level of 10.

Ohhhhhh! Yes, okay! I was thinking by the other pool!

 

[I heart the mouse]

What is this boardwalk you mention? Is that the long pier thing I see in the pics, leading out to the marsh?

 

[nzdisneymom]

What is this boardwalk you mention? Is that the long pier thing I see in the pics, leading out to the marsh?

The boardwalk we use is the one that goes behind Building 14 and 15 that goes from the Lodge building to where the rest of the buildings are. There is one that goes out to the fishing dock.

 

[nzdisneymom]

A few minutes before 3 p.m., DS#2 started talking about going to get a cookie. So we walked down to the lobby and the CM was just bringing the cookies out. There was a crowd of people waiting around Big Murggie's specifically to get a cookie! We dropped DS#2 back at the villa and then my folks, DH and I walked to the back end of the resort where I hadn't made it yet. It really is a small resort, so in terms of location, really any of the buildings are convenient to everything. We think we prefer where we are in Cottage 15 because of its proximity to the front of the Resort, but even from the back, it's not much of a walk to where the shuttle is.

The most difficult thing we had to do today was figure out what to do about dinner. When we checked in, the CM gave us a stack of information guides including a restaurant guide that had menues. We didn't want to spend a lot of money, we wanted somewhere close by, and we needed somewhere that the boys would eat. The boys asked if we could get pizza again, but the grown-ups didn't want pizza - but luckily there was a menu for Guiseppe's and after we all looked, we agreed that everyone had picked out something they would enjoy for dinner.

We had enjoyed Guiseppe's on Sunday for their pizza, but tonight we ordered off the other part of the menu (the boys still had pizza which they said was as good as the first night). We were able to get lunch portions even though it was dinner, so that was really nice, and we also were able to get our 10% discount for staying at the Disney resort. Dad and I had the meat lasagna, DH had the spinach lasagna, and Mom had the fettucine alfredo. I had asked our server beforehand what the difference in portion size was between lunch and dinner - she said "big, and bigger." We probably could've ordered a dinner portion and split it! It was plentiful. The garlic bread they serve was really good, too!

I dropped my folks and the boys off at the lobby on the way back as the Perks booklet indicated that kids could get something from the front desk on Member Day. They came back with DVC lanyards; they could've picked a luggage tag or key chain.

DH and DS#1 are having a horseshoe competition, and DS#2 is going to watch until time for the campfire.

 

[I heart the mouse]

Where is the campfire in terms of the buildings? Close by?
Also, I know you didn't do the low country boil last night, but is it right on the grounds of the resort, or by the beach??
Thanks for being patient with all of my questions! Having just booked HHI for July this week, my wheels are turning with all of the planning! I am thrilled you are doing a live report. I am loving each installment!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Where is the campfire in terms of the buildings? Close by?
Also, I know you didn't do the low country boil last night, but is it right on the grounds of the resort, or by the beach??
Thanks for being patient with all of my questions! Having just booked HHI for July this week, my wheels are turning with all of the planning! I am thrilled you are doing a live report. I am loving each installment!

Hi! The Low Country Boil is over at the Beach House - 5:30 - 7:30 this week.

The campfire is by the pool area - just off the base of the steps to the Mercantile / Tide Me Over, etc. Very centrally located. We went and had a great time... see next post for details

 

[nzdisneymom]

Today's activities:

It's campfire night! We didn't go on Sunday because I wanted to watch the Amazing Race and because I knew my mom would want to go tonight. The rain has held off pretty well all day which I attribute to the good omen of having seen Shadow when we first arrived on Sunday afternoon. The boys and I walked down with my mom (2 minutes!) to the campfire site which is right by the shuffleboard at the base of the steps leading up to the Mercantile. They have several benches in place around the fire pit and they had brought over some of the upright pool chairs, so there was quite a bit of seating.

Tonight's campfire CMs were Rich and Alex who did a great job! Rich says he hasn't done campfire since last summer. At the beginning, he was explaining what to do with one of the songs we were going to do, so while Alex was getting her group ready, he said "Hey Alex. I read on DISBoards..." (oh, I mean I heard your team was pretty good). At least I thought that was a shout-out to the DIS When we got our marshmallows for the s'mores, I asked him if I had heard that right and told him I was a DISer who was doing a "Live from..." report this week. So Rich, if you happen to be reading, we had a great time at Campfire and we've really enjoyed our stay here! You CMs here at Hilton Head ROCK!

And just for proof that I am really on this trip:

So we did the crazy campfire songs and there was a pretty good crowd with most folks participating and no one being a stick in the mud. Rich cut the songs/stories short (no stories!) because it was about to start raining - there were some sprinkles while we were waiting for the marshmallow sticks. They are really organized. They pick a family to be the "first family" who starts the line on the boardwalk that leads to the fishing pier and everyone else lines up behind them. Then one CM passes out marshmallows preloaded on roasting sticks, you go to the fire and toast your marshmallows, then take them to the other CM who is ready with your graham crackers and chocolate.

While we were walking back to the villa, I asked my mom how long it has been since she'd had a s'more; she said she had never had one. They were yummy.

Here are some more photos from today:

The rainy morning:

B'Lou Crabbe at the Magic Show:

And from our tour of the back side of the Resort - the sign for the Boat Dock:

The kayaks:

and one of the coolest trees:

And from yesterday:

One other thing... when we were leaving for dinner, we saw a CM walking by looking at the cars in the parking lot. I asked him what he was looking for and he explained that he was just checking to see that the Boat guests weren't overstaying their 20-minute parking permit. I'm not sure how they know which vehicles belong to the boat owners, but apparently they let the boat owners drive in and park for 20-minutes, presumably to offload whatever they need for their boat and then they move their car. Parking is really at a premium here at HHI, so we were cautioned when we checked in to be sure our parking passes were prominently displayed at all times. DH moved our car to underneath the Lodge the other day when we came back from dinner, so it has been out of the elements (and is only a 2-minute walk away should we need it). We'll move it back in time to load it to leave on Friday.

It's hard to believe that our time here is nearly over. Thank you all so much for joining us, and again, if there is anything you want to know about or see a picture of, let us know and we'll see if we can get it for you.

 

[jejojual]

Thank you so much for your wonderful trip report!!! We are headed to HHI Aug 1- Aug 8 - and I can't wait! Its been almost two years since we were there last and your awesome trip report has gotten me completely excited for our trip this summer! We (DH, me, DS#1 and DS #2) are bringing my mom and dad along - their first trip there - so it should be a blast!

So glad you've had a wonderful vacation - can't wait to read about the rest of it!

 

[I heart the mouse]

Cindy, I love the picture of "proof" that you are actually on the trip too! Seems us Moms make it into one or two pics out of hundreds! Another relaxing day..the smores look wonderful!! I don't want the report to end!

 

[marynvince]

Makes me want to go back. We went for the first time last June and then again for Thanksgiving. Both times were great.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Does anyone know if CM Chef Gordon is still working at the Mercantile?

 

[nunzia]

Great report and pictures. I almost hate to see a thread like this - it will only make more and more people want to book HH, making it that much harder to get a reservation . Can't wait until we check in May 31st.

I think you are right. I had never even considered HH before, but this sounds great!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

If it's Thursday, it's DH's Birthday!

What a storm we had overnight. Lots of rain and a bit of lightning and thunder. Thankfully it had stopped by the time we got up, so DH was able to go for a run. He has really enjoyed being able to run on the beach this week.

My parents were leaving this morning, so we helped them get packed up, made breakfast, and sent them on their way. We are so glad they were able to join us and experience the DVC. My mom was wishing they could've stayed another day because there were several things on today's activities list that she wanted to see.

One of those things, DS#2 and I went to see - the MENTAL World of B'Lou. B'Lou Crabbe performed some mind-reading tricks with cards which always amazes me even when I've been shown how it works. In fact today, when his show was over, the rain was coming down pretty hard, so he offered to stay and show those who wanted to stay how some of the techniques worked. That was really nice of him and quite interesting. He even stayed around to chat a bit after that which he certainly didn't have to do. It's a testament to how different things are at HHI vs. WDW... it's so laid back!

We were going to play mini-golf this afternoon but the weather is not cooperating for that, so we're just hangin' out enjoying our last day. The boys are watching a DVD (College Road Trip) from the Mercantile and after they're done, we'll slosh over to return it and a game they borrowed from Recreation. We'll see if they got a shipment of Mickey Ice Cream bars while we're there but I'm thinking they probably didn't.

Maybe I'll take a nap...

 

[nzdisneymom]

Does anyone know if CM Chef Gordon is still working at the Mercantile?

We're going down there later today so I'll ask.

 

[Conan the Librarian]

Be prepared for tonight! The NWS is calling for VERY bad weather tonight (rain, thunder, storms, tornadoes, the Apocalypse! Keep a Weather eye out!

At least it won't be hot.

Stay safe!

 

[Conan the Librarian]

ACK! Dup!