Trip Report - September / October 2024
- Thread starter Noreen411
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Hi. Thank you for joining. I enjoy writing the dining and trip reports as a way to relive the trip
Tuesday 9/24/24
Scott went to the gym at 5, and I went at 6. We took our showers, got dressed, and went to breakfast at the hotel.
I had a waffle again; they are so cute and tasty.
Scott had the leftover filet, lobster mac & cheese, and added a bit of scrambled eggs from the breakfast buffet.
The news is talking about a potential hurricane coming this way, Hurricane Helene.
We were emailing with the realtor from Alabama picking out some houses to look at and making plans for Thursday when we’ll meet with her.
We drove to Beaufort, SC. We stopped at the visitor center. The lady working there was super friendly and asked if we wanted to look at historic homes, take a guided tour, etc. We just wanted to wander around the town to get a feel for it. She gave us some maps and information.
We walked around and saw a lot of the historic homes she was talking about that she gave us a map of. This is definitely not our type of place. The houses are very close together and tourists are walking by.
We did find this pretty area with trees with the hanging moss that Scott loved.
We stopped at Kilwin’s Candy store and bought a pound of pralines and some chocolate covered pretzel rods.
Scott went to the gym at 5, and I went at 6. We took our showers, got dressed, and went to breakfast at the hotel.
I had a waffle again; they are so cute and tasty.
Scott had the leftover filet, lobster mac & cheese, and added a bit of scrambled eggs from the breakfast buffet.
The news is talking about a potential hurricane coming this way, Hurricane Helene.
We were emailing with the realtor from Alabama picking out some houses to look at and making plans for Thursday when we’ll meet with her.
We drove to Beaufort, SC. We stopped at the visitor center. The lady working there was super friendly and asked if we wanted to look at historic homes, take a guided tour, etc. We just wanted to wander around the town to get a feel for it. She gave us some maps and information.
We walked around and saw a lot of the historic homes she was talking about that she gave us a map of. This is definitely not our type of place. The houses are very close together and tourists are walking by.
We did find this pretty area with trees with the hanging moss that Scott loved.
We stopped at Kilwin’s Candy store and bought a pound of pralines and some chocolate covered pretzel rods.
Tuesday 9/24/24 Continued
We drove back to Bluffton and had lunch at Captain Woody’s.
I had a Deep Eddy Half & Half drink which was Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade (similar to the drink I’ve had the last 2 nights but with Vodka instead of Bourbon). I don’t have a picture of Scott’s drink but assume it was a Martini.
Scott had 1/2 dozen oysters to start. He said they weren’t shucked properly but they tasted OK.
Scott had the crab cake dish which he said was just OK. He didn’t finish it and had some wrapped to go.
I had the Fish & Chips. My dish was the better choice; this was very good. Scott had some of my fish & chips.
After lunch we walked around Bluffton some more being in a different part of the town than where we wandered around yesterday.
We drove back to Bluffton and had lunch at Captain Woody’s.
I had a Deep Eddy Half & Half drink which was Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade (similar to the drink I’ve had the last 2 nights but with Vodka instead of Bourbon). I don’t have a picture of Scott’s drink but assume it was a Martini.
Scott had 1/2 dozen oysters to start. He said they weren’t shucked properly but they tasted OK.
Scott had the crab cake dish which he said was just OK. He didn’t finish it and had some wrapped to go.
I had the Fish & Chips. My dish was the better choice; this was very good. Scott had some of my fish & chips.
After lunch we walked around Bluffton some more being in a different part of the town than where we wandered around yesterday.
Tuesday 9/24/24 Continued
We drove back to Hilton Head Island, dropped the leftovers and candy at the hotel in the little fridge than went to Coligny Beach again to walk along the water. It’s so nice here and we walked pretty far.
Originally we were thinking of Scott’s Seafood restaurant for dinner since Scott’s name was on it. We drove there, had to park kind of far away, then took a picture of the sign.
When we walked to the restaurant we changed our mind. The place had hard wood chairs. That’s another pet peeve of mine; if I’m having dinner I would like a comfortable chair to sit on. If I really want to go somewhere and they don’t have comfortable chairs I may deal with it, but it’s not my preference. Captain Woody’s (where we went for lunch) had hard chairs but it was lunch and quicker so didn’t bother me as much. We left Scott’s restaurant and went back to Google to find somewhere else for dinner.
We went to the Black Marlin which is also part of the Serg group.
We sat at the bar to eat. Scott had a Martini and I had a Watermelon Mojito. I like sweet drinks but this one was a bit too sweet. I drank it but wouldn’t order it again here.
For an appetizer we shared the Baja Tacos with the various sauces on the side. This was very good. We’re glad we got the sauces on the side since neither of us liked the Baja sauce.
We each ordered an entree. I had the stuffed shrimp and Scott had the stuffed flounder. Both were good, but we should have shared since we both had plenty of leftovers.
The bartender was very friendly and talked about how he loved living here.
For dessert we had the Pecan pie which was good. I’m not usually a pecan pie fan but this one was good. Scott really liked it.
After dinner we drove back to the hotel. One thing we noticed is there are a lot of traffic circles and it’s interesting how there are marked lanes depending where you will exit the circle.
We drove back to Hilton Head Island, dropped the leftovers and candy at the hotel in the little fridge than went to Coligny Beach again to walk along the water. It’s so nice here and we walked pretty far.
Originally we were thinking of Scott’s Seafood restaurant for dinner since Scott’s name was on it. We drove there, had to park kind of far away, then took a picture of the sign.
When we walked to the restaurant we changed our mind. The place had hard wood chairs. That’s another pet peeve of mine; if I’m having dinner I would like a comfortable chair to sit on. If I really want to go somewhere and they don’t have comfortable chairs I may deal with it, but it’s not my preference. Captain Woody’s (where we went for lunch) had hard chairs but it was lunch and quicker so didn’t bother me as much. We left Scott’s restaurant and went back to Google to find somewhere else for dinner.
We went to the Black Marlin which is also part of the Serg group.
We sat at the bar to eat. Scott had a Martini and I had a Watermelon Mojito. I like sweet drinks but this one was a bit too sweet. I drank it but wouldn’t order it again here.
For an appetizer we shared the Baja Tacos with the various sauces on the side. This was very good. We’re glad we got the sauces on the side since neither of us liked the Baja sauce.
We each ordered an entree. I had the stuffed shrimp and Scott had the stuffed flounder. Both were good, but we should have shared since we both had plenty of leftovers.
The bartender was very friendly and talked about how he loved living here.
For dessert we had the Pecan pie which was good. I’m not usually a pecan pie fan but this one was good. Scott really liked it.
After dinner we drove back to the hotel. One thing we noticed is there are a lot of traffic circles and it’s interesting how there are marked lanes depending where you will exit the circle.
Wednesday 9/25/24
We went to the gym around 6, showered, and got dressed.
Hurricane Helene is headed towards the west coast of Florida. We started to rethink our plans. We may not be able to get across Florida to Alabama in the hurricane with various evacuations and people driving different places. If we managed to get there, we could have trouble getting back. We cancelled our Alabama stay and extended our South Carolina stay. We texted with the realtor in Alabama chatting through the concerns; she agreed it made sense to postpone the trip to Alabama.
After sorting our plans we headed to the hotel breakfast. We both had the breakfast sandwich and a few French toast sticks. I like to dip things like waffles, pancakes, French toast into syrup rather than have it get soggy where Scott just pours the syrup right onto the sticks not worrying if it also touches his sandwich. Scott also finished his leftover crab cake and said it was better today than at the restaurant.
At breakfast we started to rethink our plans again wondering if maybe we should drive to Florida Friday instead of Saturday. We didn’t change our plans again figuring we would wait and see what happens with the hurricane. At that point, the prediction was the storm would cross Florida on Friday so we probably should stay put until Saturday.
We headed to Coligny Beach again; we’re really enjoying walking along the beach. It was funny how looking one direction it was blue skies and sunny, but the other way was overcast.
There are shops and various things near the beach so we wandered around a bit and bought a few things like T shirts and a Christmas ornament.
We went to the gym around 6, showered, and got dressed.
Hurricane Helene is headed towards the west coast of Florida. We started to rethink our plans. We may not be able to get across Florida to Alabama in the hurricane with various evacuations and people driving different places. If we managed to get there, we could have trouble getting back. We cancelled our Alabama stay and extended our South Carolina stay. We texted with the realtor in Alabama chatting through the concerns; she agreed it made sense to postpone the trip to Alabama.
After sorting our plans we headed to the hotel breakfast. We both had the breakfast sandwich and a few French toast sticks. I like to dip things like waffles, pancakes, French toast into syrup rather than have it get soggy where Scott just pours the syrup right onto the sticks not worrying if it also touches his sandwich. Scott also finished his leftover crab cake and said it was better today than at the restaurant.
At breakfast we started to rethink our plans again wondering if maybe we should drive to Florida Friday instead of Saturday. We didn’t change our plans again figuring we would wait and see what happens with the hurricane. At that point, the prediction was the storm would cross Florida on Friday so we probably should stay put until Saturday.
We headed to Coligny Beach again; we’re really enjoying walking along the beach. It was funny how looking one direction it was blue skies and sunny, but the other way was overcast.
There are shops and various things near the beach so we wandered around a bit and bought a few things like T shirts and a Christmas ornament.
Wednesday 9/25/24 Continued
We headed to Bluffton. We wanted to drive around the more residential areas and see the local supermarket and just things you would do in normal life there.
We were a little hungry so figured we would grab a quick lunch somewhere. I saw a sign for Zaxby’s and have always wanted to try it. We ordered Nibblers which is a chicken tender on a little roll with sauce on the side, fries, and soda. This was horrible, we each took a bite, tossed it and left. The sandwich had a weird flavor, almost sour like maybe the butter they used was bad.
There was a Jersey Mike’s right nearby so we went there next. Scott had an Italian hero and I had a mini turkey hero. This was OK.
We drove around some more and went back to Old Town Bluffton wandering around there a bit. We headed towards one of the communities we saw and found a local supermarket and drove around local areas.
We stopped at a UPS store to send some of the stuff we were planning to give to Scott’s ex-wife when we were going to meet her in Alabama. We didn’t ship the ashes of her sister, but just some other stuff we were bringing her. There was a nice man in the UPS store who helped Scott and the guy working there get the box packed. He mentioned he spent several years in Saudi Arabia (I think that’s where he said) so was good at packing.
An odd thing is we haven’t been able to find a Chase bank in Hilton Head, Bluffton, or anywhere nearby. When I searched for the nearest Chase, it’s in Savannah GA which is about 45 minutes away.
We headed to Bluffton. We wanted to drive around the more residential areas and see the local supermarket and just things you would do in normal life there.
We were a little hungry so figured we would grab a quick lunch somewhere. I saw a sign for Zaxby’s and have always wanted to try it. We ordered Nibblers which is a chicken tender on a little roll with sauce on the side, fries, and soda. This was horrible, we each took a bite, tossed it and left. The sandwich had a weird flavor, almost sour like maybe the butter they used was bad.
There was a Jersey Mike’s right nearby so we went there next. Scott had an Italian hero and I had a mini turkey hero. This was OK.
We drove around some more and went back to Old Town Bluffton wandering around there a bit. We headed towards one of the communities we saw and found a local supermarket and drove around local areas.
We stopped at a UPS store to send some of the stuff we were planning to give to Scott’s ex-wife when we were going to meet her in Alabama. We didn’t ship the ashes of her sister, but just some other stuff we were bringing her. There was a nice man in the UPS store who helped Scott and the guy working there get the box packed. He mentioned he spent several years in Saudi Arabia (I think that’s where he said) so was good at packing.
An odd thing is we haven’t been able to find a Chase bank in Hilton Head, Bluffton, or anywhere nearby. When I searched for the nearest Chase, it’s in Savannah GA which is about 45 minutes away.
Wednesday 9/25/24
We went back to the hotel and did a load of laundry. Just socks, T shirts, underwear, and shorts; nothing delicate. There is a laundry room at the hotel; you use a credit card to pay to wash and/or dry your clothes, but the front desk gives you a box of detergent to use. While the laundry was going we were searching for restaurants for dinner.
We showered and changed and decided to go back to Frankie Bones since we really enjoyed it the other night. It was more crowded tonight but we were able to sit at the bar.
Scott had a Martini. I had a Bourbon Peach Arnold Palmer.
We shared our food as we like to do; otherwise it’s just too much for us to finish.
For an appetizer we had the Spinach Salad. This salad was great, we both enjoyed it.
We also ordered the Meatball appetizer. We didn’t like the meatball that much, it was OK flavor wise, but the texture was weird.
The bread was good
For our entree we ordered the filet with fries. Scott also asked for the lobster tail add-on but they forgot to put the lobster tail order in so we skipped it. We both enjoyed and finished the filet and fries.
We did something we don’t normally do, we each ordered dessert. Of course we each ate some of both. Scott wanted the cheesecake and I wanted the carrot cake, both were suggested by the bartender. This was the best carrot cake I’ve had once I removed the walnuts from the top (I don’t like walnuts). The cheesecake was good too, but the carrot cake was even better.
We went back to the hotel after dinner.
We went back to the hotel and did a load of laundry. Just socks, T shirts, underwear, and shorts; nothing delicate. There is a laundry room at the hotel; you use a credit card to pay to wash and/or dry your clothes, but the front desk gives you a box of detergent to use. While the laundry was going we were searching for restaurants for dinner.
We showered and changed and decided to go back to Frankie Bones since we really enjoyed it the other night. It was more crowded tonight but we were able to sit at the bar.
Scott had a Martini. I had a Bourbon Peach Arnold Palmer.
We shared our food as we like to do; otherwise it’s just too much for us to finish.
For an appetizer we had the Spinach Salad. This salad was great, we both enjoyed it.
We also ordered the Meatball appetizer. We didn’t like the meatball that much, it was OK flavor wise, but the texture was weird.
The bread was good
For our entree we ordered the filet with fries. Scott also asked for the lobster tail add-on but they forgot to put the lobster tail order in so we skipped it. We both enjoyed and finished the filet and fries.
We did something we don’t normally do, we each ordered dessert. Of course we each ate some of both. Scott wanted the cheesecake and I wanted the carrot cake, both were suggested by the bartender. This was the best carrot cake I’ve had once I removed the walnuts from the top (I don’t like walnuts). The cheesecake was good too, but the carrot cake was even better.
We went back to the hotel after dinner.
Thursday 9/26/24
We went to the gym around 6. After our workout we had breakfast then showered and got dressed, changing up the order we normally do things today.
In addition to Hurricane Helene coming, there is also a tornado threat.
What do you do with a Hurricane coming…we went to Coligny Beach so we could see the storm coming in. Surprisingly, we weren’t the only people that had the same idea since there were more people at the beach than we expected. It was very windy.
When it started to rain sideways we left. You can’t really tell in the picture but the rain just started suddenly and was torrential. Everyone that was there was running for cover.
We drove around a bit but the weather was pretty bad so we headed back to the hotel to change into dry clothes.
We watched some TV including the weather channel to see what we can find out about the Hurricane. We just kind of puttered around most of the afternoon.
That evening we headed out to dinner to Poseidon. The restaurant is across the street from Shelter Cove Community Park so we wandered around a bit there before going for dinner.
We went to the gym around 6. After our workout we had breakfast then showered and got dressed, changing up the order we normally do things today.
In addition to Hurricane Helene coming, there is also a tornado threat.
What do you do with a Hurricane coming…we went to Coligny Beach so we could see the storm coming in. Surprisingly, we weren’t the only people that had the same idea since there were more people at the beach than we expected. It was very windy.
When it started to rain sideways we left. You can’t really tell in the picture but the rain just started suddenly and was torrential. Everyone that was there was running for cover.
We drove around a bit but the weather was pretty bad so we headed back to the hotel to change into dry clothes.
We watched some TV including the weather channel to see what we can find out about the Hurricane. We just kind of puttered around most of the afternoon.
That evening we headed out to dinner to Poseidon. The restaurant is across the street from Shelter Cove Community Park so we wandered around a bit there before going for dinner.
Thursday 9/26/24 Continued
We went to Poseidon for dinner.
We sat at the bar which we like to do.
I had a Down South Iced Tea and Scott had a Martini
Scott had 1/2 dozen great white oysters; he said they were probably the best oysters he’s had in a while and convinced me to try one. They are OK, kind of sweet, but the texture is so weird.
The oysters are very popular here. We were sitting near where they employees were shucking the oysters and they didn’t stop, they were constantly shucking oysters.
We each ordered our own entrees, of course we end up sharing.
Scott ordered a Lobster roll. I tried a piece and it was really good. It wasn’t made with Mayonnaise which is why I liked it, I don’t like mayonnaise. I normally would not order a lobster roll for that reason.
Scott ordered another 1/2 dozen oysters. The lobster roll wasn’t very big but came with fries to fill you up.
I had the Grouper West Coast style. It was nice how they had a section on the menu where you choose your fish and the style you want it cooked. However, when they first brought my dish out, it wasn’t West Coast style so they took it back to correct it. When the proper version arrived, it was very good.
Scott was still hungry since the oysters aren’t very filling and his sandwich was small. He had some of my fish. He was thinking of getting more oysters but I suggested he get another lobster roll since he really liked it. He didn’t want more fries so asked for vegetables instead. He gave me a little piece of lobster roll #2 also.
For dessert we shared the Vanilla crème brûlée. There wasn’t a dessert menu but the waitress told us what the various desserts are and said the creme brûlée was her favorite so we got it. It was very good.
We really enjoyed our meal at Poseidon which is also part of the Serg group.
Back at the hotel we alternated between watching various shows and checking the Weather Channel for news of the Hurricane.
We went to Poseidon for dinner.
We sat at the bar which we like to do.
I had a Down South Iced Tea and Scott had a Martini
Scott had 1/2 dozen great white oysters; he said they were probably the best oysters he’s had in a while and convinced me to try one. They are OK, kind of sweet, but the texture is so weird.
The oysters are very popular here. We were sitting near where they employees were shucking the oysters and they didn’t stop, they were constantly shucking oysters.
We each ordered our own entrees, of course we end up sharing.
Scott ordered a Lobster roll. I tried a piece and it was really good. It wasn’t made with Mayonnaise which is why I liked it, I don’t like mayonnaise. I normally would not order a lobster roll for that reason.
Scott ordered another 1/2 dozen oysters. The lobster roll wasn’t very big but came with fries to fill you up.
I had the Grouper West Coast style. It was nice how they had a section on the menu where you choose your fish and the style you want it cooked. However, when they first brought my dish out, it wasn’t West Coast style so they took it back to correct it. When the proper version arrived, it was very good.
Scott was still hungry since the oysters aren’t very filling and his sandwich was small. He had some of my fish. He was thinking of getting more oysters but I suggested he get another lobster roll since he really liked it. He didn’t want more fries so asked for vegetables instead. He gave me a little piece of lobster roll #2 also.
For dessert we shared the Vanilla crème brûlée. There wasn’t a dessert menu but the waitress told us what the various desserts are and said the creme brûlée was her favorite so we got it. It was very good.
We really enjoyed our meal at Poseidon which is also part of the Serg group.
Back at the hotel we alternated between watching various shows and checking the Weather Channel for news of the Hurricane.
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Friday 9/27/24
We were up around 4:30am and tried putting on the weather channel to hear more about the hurricane, but the internet and TV were out. We looked out the window but it was still too dark to really see anything, but we were able to see the trees blowing.
We went to the gym.
After showering and getting dressed, we went to the hotel breakfast. They alternate the hot dishes daily, but they aren’t always basic things. Some of the items are better than others. I’m always happy with the waffle I can make in the waffle maker.
Since we’re sort of stuck for a little while this morning we did another load of laundry.
We’re hoping to be able to go back to the beach later to see how it looks after the storm passes.
We’re going to stay put for another day and head to Florida tomorrow (Saturday) as we originally planned since we were hearing of closures on I95 and a state of emergency declared in parts of Florida and all of Georgia (which we need to drive through on I95). We haven’t heard much yet about South Carolina
After the storm passed, we headed out. We mobile ordered Starbucks and when we got there, they were closed. There were other people also outside looking in having mobile ordered. I’m surprised they didn’t just shut mobile ordering for this store if they were closed. There was another Starbucks nearby, but this one was inside Krogers (a grocery store). I told the barista what happened to see if I could pick up my order there, but she said they aren’t a standalone store (she used a different term for it) and they are on a different computer system, so I had to re-order then chat with Starbucks on the app for a refund of the original order. I took care of that pretty quickly.
We went to Coligny Beach, wanting to see what it looked like after the storm. It was very windy with rough surf, but we still walked up and down the beach. There were others doing the same.
We drove to Bluffton to see how it looked after the storm and walked around a bit, including a stop at Oyster Park.
Back on Hilton Head Island, we found a park that we walked around.
There was a ball field in the park so we stopped there too
Scott took a walk to the pitcher’s mound.
Back at the hotel, we started getting our stuff organized to leave tomorrow.
We were up around 4:30am and tried putting on the weather channel to hear more about the hurricane, but the internet and TV were out. We looked out the window but it was still too dark to really see anything, but we were able to see the trees blowing.
We went to the gym.
After showering and getting dressed, we went to the hotel breakfast. They alternate the hot dishes daily, but they aren’t always basic things. Some of the items are better than others. I’m always happy with the waffle I can make in the waffle maker.
Since we’re sort of stuck for a little while this morning we did another load of laundry.
We’re hoping to be able to go back to the beach later to see how it looks after the storm passes.
We’re going to stay put for another day and head to Florida tomorrow (Saturday) as we originally planned since we were hearing of closures on I95 and a state of emergency declared in parts of Florida and all of Georgia (which we need to drive through on I95). We haven’t heard much yet about South Carolina
After the storm passed, we headed out. We mobile ordered Starbucks and when we got there, they were closed. There were other people also outside looking in having mobile ordered. I’m surprised they didn’t just shut mobile ordering for this store if they were closed. There was another Starbucks nearby, but this one was inside Krogers (a grocery store). I told the barista what happened to see if I could pick up my order there, but she said they aren’t a standalone store (she used a different term for it) and they are on a different computer system, so I had to re-order then chat with Starbucks on the app for a refund of the original order. I took care of that pretty quickly.
We went to Coligny Beach, wanting to see what it looked like after the storm. It was very windy with rough surf, but we still walked up and down the beach. There were others doing the same.
We drove to Bluffton to see how it looked after the storm and walked around a bit, including a stop at Oyster Park.
Back on Hilton Head Island, we found a park that we walked around.
There was a ball field in the park so we stopped there too
Scott took a walk to the pitcher’s mound.
Back at the hotel, we started getting our stuff organized to leave tomorrow.
Friday 9/27/24 Continued
Later that evening we headed out for dinner. We went back to Frankie Bones since we’ve enjoyed it. We were amused that 3 out of 6 dinners in South Carolina were at Frankie Bones. We sat at the bar to eat.
I had a Bourbon Arnold Palmer and Scott had a Martini
One appetizer we chose was the Caprese salad without Balsamic (neither of us like Balsamic). This was very good and fresh.
We also had had the stuffed mushrooms which was another good appetizer.
The bread is tasty and hard not to fill up on
For an entree we shared the Surf & Turf with French fries. Everything was cooked well and tasted great.
We also got a side of broccoli rabe as well as a side of the Gouda bacon Mac & cheese. The sides were good too.
For dessert we had the Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownie sundae. Another good choice, but very rich, I’m glad we were sharing it.
We were impressed in general with most of the restaurants in SC since we’ve enjoyed almost everything.
Back at the hotel, the internet and TV still weren’t working. Scott hooked something up to the laptop and connected it to the TV and we were able to watch some shows. Not sure exactly what he did and how he made it work, but he figured it out.
Later that evening we headed out for dinner. We went back to Frankie Bones since we’ve enjoyed it. We were amused that 3 out of 6 dinners in South Carolina were at Frankie Bones. We sat at the bar to eat.
I had a Bourbon Arnold Palmer and Scott had a Martini
One appetizer we chose was the Caprese salad without Balsamic (neither of us like Balsamic). This was very good and fresh.
We also had had the stuffed mushrooms which was another good appetizer.
The bread is tasty and hard not to fill up on
For an entree we shared the Surf & Turf with French fries. Everything was cooked well and tasted great.
We also got a side of broccoli rabe as well as a side of the Gouda bacon Mac & cheese. The sides were good too.
For dessert we had the Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownie sundae. Another good choice, but very rich, I’m glad we were sharing it.
We were impressed in general with most of the restaurants in SC since we’ve enjoyed almost everything.
Back at the hotel, the internet and TV still weren’t working. Scott hooked something up to the laptop and connected it to the TV and we were able to watch some shows. Not sure exactly what he did and how he made it work, but he figured it out.
Saturday 9/28/24
We went to the gym about 5:30, showered, got dressed and headed to the hotel breakfast. I made myself a waffle. Scott ate the leftovers from last night adding a bit of the food from the breakfast selections.
Scott finished packing up the car and we left about 8:30. The navigation in the car says 340 miles to Disney and it should take 5 hours. We know with stops and possible traffic it will probably take a little longer.
We were in Georgia at 9:15 but the welcome center was closed so no picture of Scott on the train that I usually take at that rest stop (another little tradition).
Surprisingly, we managed to stop at Peach World about 10am. It sounds so simple but the last few trips we kept saying we would stop but we would be singing, chatting, whatever and next thing you know we missed both Peach Worlds (there are 2 of them). It’s not Peach season but we found a few items to buy. I got a Peach World Lip balm; I’m addicted to lip balms. We also bought a piece of pecan pie for Scott which he tried while driving but didn’t like it so it ended up in the trash.
We got to Florida just after 11 and stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for a few obligatory pictures.
We’re in Florida but it’s still a few hours before we’re at Disney. This always seems like the longest part of the drive, we’re in Florida but not there yet. Same thing when we go home and get to New Jersey, we still have a few hours to go and it seems to take forever those last bits of the trip either way.
There was torrential rain on I4 for a while. There was also a lot of traffic.
We went to the gym about 5:30, showered, got dressed and headed to the hotel breakfast. I made myself a waffle. Scott ate the leftovers from last night adding a bit of the food from the breakfast selections.
Scott finished packing up the car and we left about 8:30. The navigation in the car says 340 miles to Disney and it should take 5 hours. We know with stops and possible traffic it will probably take a little longer.
We were in Georgia at 9:15 but the welcome center was closed so no picture of Scott on the train that I usually take at that rest stop (another little tradition).
Surprisingly, we managed to stop at Peach World about 10am. It sounds so simple but the last few trips we kept saying we would stop but we would be singing, chatting, whatever and next thing you know we missed both Peach Worlds (there are 2 of them). It’s not Peach season but we found a few items to buy. I got a Peach World Lip balm; I’m addicted to lip balms. We also bought a piece of pecan pie for Scott which he tried while driving but didn’t like it so it ended up in the trash.
We got to Florida just after 11 and stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for a few obligatory pictures.
We’re in Florida but it’s still a few hours before we’re at Disney. This always seems like the longest part of the drive, we’re in Florida but not there yet. Same thing when we go home and get to New Jersey, we still have a few hours to go and it seems to take forever those last bits of the trip either way.
There was torrential rain on I4 for a while. There was also a lot of traffic.
Saturday 9/28/24 Continued
We arrived at Vistana Villages about 2:30; our 5 hour trip became 6 with the few stops and traffic. We went to the VIP check in area. Our villa isn’t ready yet, but we’ll be in the section/building we want. They were just about to inspect the villa so it should be ready in about 30 minutes they said. We let them know we didn’t want anyone coming to clean the villa during our stay, we like our privacy and we’ll clean ourselves. She said we can call or text if we need any extra supplies and they’ll bring them. Of course they want us to come to an Owner’s Presentation and they offer various incentives for you to go; it’s a sales pitch that we’ve listened to before so not sure we’ll waste our time again this trip.
We went to Publix (a grocery store) to get some of the items we’ll need and received a text pretty quickly that our villa is ready.
Back at the resort, we picked up our keys and headed to our villa. St Augustine section, building 25, room 25-615
This is a Premium 1 Bedroom villa, which is my preferred choice of room. Scott likes the smaller/cozier 1 bedroom better.
When you walk in to the right is the stacked washer/dryer in a little closet
Going straight into the room is the kitchen. There is an island with a few stools as well as shelves on the end with wicker baskets. These baskets nest inside each other so I do that to make room to use those shelves to store things. The kitchen has the basic kitchen things like a stove, fridge, microwave, sink, dishwasher, toaster, etc.
Continuing forward is the dining table.
We arrived at Vistana Villages about 2:30; our 5 hour trip became 6 with the few stops and traffic. We went to the VIP check in area. Our villa isn’t ready yet, but we’ll be in the section/building we want. They were just about to inspect the villa so it should be ready in about 30 minutes they said. We let them know we didn’t want anyone coming to clean the villa during our stay, we like our privacy and we’ll clean ourselves. She said we can call or text if we need any extra supplies and they’ll bring them. Of course they want us to come to an Owner’s Presentation and they offer various incentives for you to go; it’s a sales pitch that we’ve listened to before so not sure we’ll waste our time again this trip.
We went to Publix (a grocery store) to get some of the items we’ll need and received a text pretty quickly that our villa is ready.
Back at the resort, we picked up our keys and headed to our villa. St Augustine section, building 25, room 25-615
This is a Premium 1 Bedroom villa, which is my preferred choice of room. Scott likes the smaller/cozier 1 bedroom better.
When you walk in to the right is the stacked washer/dryer in a little closet
Going straight into the room is the kitchen. There is an island with a few stools as well as shelves on the end with wicker baskets. These baskets nest inside each other so I do that to make room to use those shelves to store things. The kitchen has the basic kitchen things like a stove, fridge, microwave, sink, dishwasher, toaster, etc.
Continuing forward is the dining table.
Saturday 9/28/24 Continued
Continuing into the room is the living room area with a couch, chair, coffee table, end tables, and little ottomans. There is a TV on a dresser (this was Scott’s dresser).
There are two closets in the in the living room.
At the end of the living room you can go out onto the screened in balcony which has a table and 4 chairs.
The view from our balcony
Continuing into the room is the living room area with a couch, chair, coffee table, end tables, and little ottomans. There is a TV on a dresser (this was Scott’s dresser).
There are two closets in the in the living room.
At the end of the living room you can go out onto the screened in balcony which has a table and 4 chairs.
The view from our balcony
Saturday 9/28/24 Continued
From the front door to the left you enter the bathroom area. While we normally like a fully contained bathroom, this one works even though it’s in parts.
The first section has the shower and a sink (this was Scott’s sink). There is a water closet (toilet in it’s own room) in it’s section of the bathroom.
There is a door to the next section of the bathroom which has the jacuzzi tub and another sink (this was my sink).
The different sections of the bathroom each have doors so you can close them off or open them as needed.
There is also a door from the jacuzzi room section of the bathroom to the bedroom.
The bedroom has a bed, dresser (this was my dresser), chair, a closet with a safe in it, and nightstands. You can also enter the bedroom from the living room.
We (Scott did most of it) cleaned the room with Lysol and Clorox.
We did the majority of the unpacking and getting settled into the villa. We both overpack so this takes a while.
We put the dishes we expect to use in the dishwasher and got that started. We filled the jacuzzi with water and bleach but it wouldn’t turn on so we called maintenance who came to try to fix it. They kept doing all sorts of things but were having trouble. A second person showed up to help,
We also showed them the door to the water closet was off it’s track so didn’t open/close properly; they said they would fix that too.
We left them in the villa to fix the jacuzzi and door and we headed out to dinner about 7:15. They said they would call me and let me know once everything was fixed.
From the front door to the left you enter the bathroom area. While we normally like a fully contained bathroom, this one works even though it’s in parts.
The first section has the shower and a sink (this was Scott’s sink). There is a water closet (toilet in it’s own room) in it’s section of the bathroom.
There is a door to the next section of the bathroom which has the jacuzzi tub and another sink (this was my sink).
The different sections of the bathroom each have doors so you can close them off or open them as needed.
There is also a door from the jacuzzi room section of the bathroom to the bedroom.
The bedroom has a bed, dresser (this was my dresser), chair, a closet with a safe in it, and nightstands. You can also enter the bedroom from the living room.
We (Scott did most of it) cleaned the room with Lysol and Clorox.
We did the majority of the unpacking and getting settled into the villa. We both overpack so this takes a while.
We put the dishes we expect to use in the dishwasher and got that started. We filled the jacuzzi with water and bleach but it wouldn’t turn on so we called maintenance who came to try to fix it. They kept doing all sorts of things but were having trouble. A second person showed up to help,
We also showed them the door to the water closet was off it’s track so didn’t open/close properly; they said they would fix that too.
We left them in the villa to fix the jacuzzi and door and we headed out to dinner about 7:15. They said they would call me and let me know once everything was fixed.
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Saturday 9/28/24 Continued
We went to Saltgrass Steakhouse on 535 for dinner; we’ve been here several times in the past and have always enjoyed it.
We sat at the bar to eat. The same bartender who has been here for a few years recognized us so that’s always nice.
I had a Pomegranate Mojito and Scott had Bourbon.
We didn’t order any appetizers. The bread and salad remind me of Outback Steakhouse, that’s not a complaint since we like Outback, it’s just a comparison.
Scott ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries and frizzled onions.
I ordered the blackened redfish and got the Mac & cheese for my side for Scott since I’ll eat some of his fries. The fish was a bit too spicy for me so we ended up switching dishes.
For dessert we had the seasonal pumpkin cheesecake which we loved last year but this time it was just OK.
That was our overall thoughts on Saltgrass, it was just OK this visit. It may come off our rotation for a bit as it’s become an easy first night dinner for us. Anywhere can have an off night so hopefully it was just a fluke that it wasn’t as good as it used to be.
While we were eating Maintenance called and said the jacuzzi was fixed but the floor/carpet was wet so there were some blowers there to dry it and could they come back to pick them up later. That’s fine by us, we’re happy it’s fixed.
When we got back to the villa, we started a load of laundry, it’s so convenient right in the villa.
The carpet is still wet. The blowers are very loud. We unplugged them when we were getting ready to go to bed. Maintenance came by to pick up the blowers and asked if we wanted them longer. We said we would just put a towel on the wet carpet and it would eventually dry. We wanted the villa back without people coming in and out.
I love this part of the trip - you are there and settled in and have the whole trip ahead of you. I know we already had the first part of our trip in Hilton Head, but this is the start of the Disney portion of the trip.
We went to Saltgrass Steakhouse on 535 for dinner; we’ve been here several times in the past and have always enjoyed it.
We sat at the bar to eat. The same bartender who has been here for a few years recognized us so that’s always nice.
I had a Pomegranate Mojito and Scott had Bourbon.
We didn’t order any appetizers. The bread and salad remind me of Outback Steakhouse, that’s not a complaint since we like Outback, it’s just a comparison.
Scott ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries and frizzled onions.
I ordered the blackened redfish and got the Mac & cheese for my side for Scott since I’ll eat some of his fries. The fish was a bit too spicy for me so we ended up switching dishes.
For dessert we had the seasonal pumpkin cheesecake which we loved last year but this time it was just OK.
That was our overall thoughts on Saltgrass, it was just OK this visit. It may come off our rotation for a bit as it’s become an easy first night dinner for us. Anywhere can have an off night so hopefully it was just a fluke that it wasn’t as good as it used to be.
While we were eating Maintenance called and said the jacuzzi was fixed but the floor/carpet was wet so there were some blowers there to dry it and could they come back to pick them up later. That’s fine by us, we’re happy it’s fixed.
When we got back to the villa, we started a load of laundry, it’s so convenient right in the villa.
The carpet is still wet. The blowers are very loud. We unplugged them when we were getting ready to go to bed. Maintenance came by to pick up the blowers and asked if we wanted them longer. We said we would just put a towel on the wet carpet and it would eventually dry. We wanted the villa back without people coming in and out.
I love this part of the trip - you are there and settled in and have the whole trip ahead of you. I know we already had the first part of our trip in Hilton Head, but this is the start of the Disney portion of the trip.
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