Spring Break at Hilton Head

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Hello!

We spent 2 nights at HH. It was our first time here- both the hotel and HH in general.

We checked in on 3/29 and checked out on 3/31.

Here we gooooo

We started driving from VA on Sat 3/28. We left at 730 am and made it to our first stop at 10am: Museum of Life and Science in Durham , NC.

We have the ASTC passport program as part of our science museum membership so we can visit a list of museums around the country for free. It's awesome and helps me plan road trips

We had been to this museum before on a road trip to WDW last August (Theres a TR for that too) and really enjoyed it and also didn't get to do everything.

It was cold this morning so we opted to try out the inside attractions.



They also had a few rooms with animals which was pretty cool



And then a bunch of NASA stuff. We looked at this area for a long time.







I tried to actually teach DD6 the meaning behind the attractions this time. She seemed mildly interested which I'll take as a win.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

And then we found the kids indoor play area so we were in there for like an hour



A little background on what our family had going on right before this vacation. DS3 had a seizure mid February for the first time. It was incredibly traumatic for myself, DH and DD6 who were all there when it happened. He had stopped breathing and didn't start breathing again until several rounds of CPR. The hospital called it a febrile seizure because he had a high fever when we got to the hospital and said it was normal and not dangerous even though it's scary....but I wanted a second opinion so after a few pediatrician appointments we then were recommended to a neurologist and he thought it was kind of a weird febrile seizure because he had no symptoms of being sick... besides the fever so then he ordered an EEG.

We did the EEG the Thursday before our trip and it came back abnormal and he was diagnosed with epilepsy. So DH and I were and still are adjusting to what that means for DS3 and our family. Plus we are just still scared about his safety and we still haven't ruled out the really scary causes of epilepsy...like a brain tumor. We actually have his MRI this Thursday. So still trying to not think about that .... Anyway this was very much all on our minds for the trip.

And in this kids playroom, he was so happy and ever since we thought we had lost him when he had his seizure in February those moments when he is visibly really happy just make me really really happy.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Then it was time for lunch. We ate lunch in this cafe last time and I really liked the hush puppies so I was looking forward to eating here again.

We got lucky again with indoor seating. I had to wait for another family to finish but not too long.



The hush puppies were good again but I ordered the NC barbecue plate and it was not barbecue...it was just bad grilled chicken with bbq sauce. Blergh. Whatever.

Then we went to the butterfly greenhouse. We went here last time. It's so pretty and warm and peaceful in there.







I like all the plants in there a lot.

Then of course we looked in the gift shop before hitting the road again.

DD6 didn't find anything she was willing to spend her money on. She is very tight with her wallet.

I bought DS3 a measuring tape keychain. He really likes measuring things for some reason. Hes a wonderfully odd kid.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

And then we found the kids indoor play area so we were in there for like an hour

View attachment 1062964

A little background on what our family had going on right before this vacation. DS3 had a seizure mid February for the first time. It was incredibly traumatic for myself, DH and DD6 who were all there when it happened. He had stopped breathing and didn't start breathing again until several rounds of CPR. The hospital called it a febrile seizure because he had a high fever when we got to the hospital and said it was normal and not dangerous even though it's scary....but I wanted a second opinion so after a few pediatrician appointments we then were recommended to a neurologist and he thought it was kind of a weird febrile seizure because he had no symptoms of being sick... besides the fever so then he ordered an EEG.

We did the EEG the Thursday before our trip and it came back abnormal and he was diagnosed with epilepsy. So DH and I were and still are adjusting to what that means for DS3 and our family. Plus we are just still scared about his safety and we still haven't ruled out the really scary causes of epilepsy...like a brain tumor. We actually have his MRI this Thursday. So still trying to not think about that .... Anyway this was very much all on our minds for the trip.

And in this kids playroom, he was so happy and ever since we thought we had lost him when he had his seizure in February those moments when he is visibly really happy just make me really really happy.

So sorry to hear this. My DD has epilepsy, she was diagnosed at age 6 when she had her first seizure. That was very traumatic to witness. Hope everything works out well for your son and your family. I’ll be reading along!

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Next stop was a mall in Charlotte NC because we had tickets for the Gabby Dollhouse experience at the CAMP store.

But first lego store



We had done the Encanto experience at the DC CAMP store and loved it so I had kinda high hopes for this. Well ...Encanto is still our favorite CAMP experience. That one had live music in every room and a playground in practically every room so I guess that's hard to beat.

But the kids still liked Gabby. They are both fans of the show and movie. We got there like an hour early and the person who checked us in offered to move us to an earlier time slot so that was nice.

We still had 15 min to look around the store



And then we got to go in the magic door!



The woman leading it kept trying to get the kids to participate by asking them questions and giving them take to do etc. DS3 was all about it. DD6 was shy....and maybe felt too old





DD6 enjoyed the free play time the most while DS3 enjoyed interacting with the people leading the experience. Basically you go from one themed room to the next and there's some type of led activity and then free play.









And then we got to meet Gabby! DS3 was excited. DD6 is getting too old to get excited about meeting characters but she plays along for DS3.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

So sorry to hear this. My DD has epilepsy, she was diagnosed at age 6 when she had her first seizure. That was very traumatic to witness. Hope everything works out well for your son and your family. I’ll be reading along!

Thank you for sharing. I don't know why but I find it comforting to hear about others in similar situations.

 

[PolyRob]

And then we found the kids indoor play area so we were in there for like an hour

View attachment 1062964

A little background on what our family had going on right before this vacation. DS3 had a seizure mid February for the first time. It was incredibly traumatic for myself, DH and DD6 who were all there when it happened. He had stopped breathing and didn't start breathing again until several rounds of CPR. The hospital called it a febrile seizure because he had a high fever when we got to the hospital and said it was normal and not dangerous even though it's scary....but I wanted a second opinion so after a few pediatrician appointments we then were recommended to a neurologist and he thought it was kind of a weird febrile seizure because he had no symptoms of being sick... besides the fever so then he ordered an EEG.

We did the EEG the Thursday before our trip and it came back abnormal and he was diagnosed with epilepsy. So DH and I were and still are adjusting to what that means for DS3 and our family. Plus we are just still scared about his safety and we still haven't ruled out the really scary causes of epilepsy...like a brain tumor. We actually have his MRI this Thursday. So still trying to not think about that .... Anyway this was very much all on our minds for the trip.

And in this kids playroom, he was so happy and ever since we thought we had lost him when he had his seizure in February those moments when he is visibly really happy just make me really really happy.

I'm so sorry your family is going through this. That must have been incredibly scary for all of you. I’m really glad you trusted your instincts and advocated for him the way you did. I hope the MRI brings reassuring news!

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Life update: MRI went smoothly but no results yet.

Back to vacation

The CAMP experience was fun but I think the kids are almost too old...unless we are able to go to Encanto again cuz the live music plus playing was really nice

Here are some pictures from Encanto since I keep talking about it

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

After CAMP we were going to eat dinner but we decided we would rather just grab quick food in the mall and drive the rest of the way to Hilton Head so the kids got some hot dog pretzels, I got Jamba Juice (which I was excited about because we don't have it at home but I grew up liking it) and DH got cinnabon (which he was very excited about because again we don't have it at home)

And then while on the way to the car we saw girl scouts selling cookies. We are a girl scouts family and had stopped our cookie selling season the weekend before. We never had thought about selling in a mall. We thought it was a smart spot. But then we noticed their cookies are from the other baker so we wanted to try the ones that are different from ours

Also DS3 started interacting with other customers while we were talking/buying like he was working a booth at home which was cute



I did not like the new cookies

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Life update

MRI results came back normal. Huge huge relief. I cried.

Another life update. We were at a Gabby Dollhouse themed bday party this Sunday and DS3 told me "I met Gabby with my Daddy." And I was like "oh....was anyone else there?"

Ok back to the vacation

We drove without incident to our hotel in Hilton Head. I booked us at a nearby hotel the first night since we were getting in so late. I think it was close to midnight. But it was nice. I'd stay there again for the same situation

It was really big







These pictures must be from the morning because I spy a pancake....

The hotel included free breakfast

It was also dog friendly so the kids got to meet and pet several dogs in the lobby which they loved.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

So now it is Sun and we made the short 5min drive to Disney's Hilton Head!

We went to the lobby first to check in





They gave me a map and explained where everything was and gave me something to put in my car. And told me about cookie hour and coffee hour. They put out cookies in the afternoon and coffee in the morning in the lobby.

We got there super early so of course our room wasn't ready yet.

I asked about storing luggage in the lobby until our room was ready and they were like sure but it didn't seem like a normal thing they do. Like there was no bell services. Next time I'll just leave in my car except for perishables.

And then we explored



And played some putt putt



And played freeze tag at the playground. We all got pretty into it. It was fun. Plus there's a really nice view of the marsh from the playground which of course I don't have a picture of



And then we were on the hunt for chip and dale so we could get a pin. They move everyday just like at the WDW hotels. They add stickers to the pin for everyday you find them. And then once you get enough stickers you get another prize. We weren't there long enough to get the other prize

 

[PolyRob]

MRI results came back normal. Huge huge relief. I cried.

Glad to hear it came back normal!