Hilton Head SC

Last week Mark flew down to Hilton Head SC to work at the airport there.  They recently opened up three Delta flights to Hilton Head and do not have enough people trained in Hilton Head to run the flights so employees from other airports were offered the chance to go.  Hotel, rental car, and food per diem were provided.  Mark did not necessarily want to work there but the idea of a fun little trip for our family was appealing to him so he went for it.  He flew out Wednesday afternoon and worked 48 hours from Wednesday night through Saturday night.  Often the flights were delayed and there were more people not assigned to the station working than people assigned but we did get nice trip out of it.  Well, Lydia, Jared and I did.  We tried to fly out Thursday but could not get seats and ended up pushing our trip back a day.  Friday was the day Mark had the most breaks in flights and we were not there yet.  So he had his own little vacation where he checked out a beach or two in Hilton Head and spent an evening in Savannah.   We arrived late Friday night and explored the area ourselves Saturday.  The hotel was really nice and we had very few expenses we had to cover (just our souvenirs really) which was great.  The only thing we really got to do with Mark was eat dinner Saturday night.  And breakfast both days. The rest of the time he was working.  That was quite disappointing. I am not sure he would do it again.

Saturday morning we dropped Mark off at the airport and headed to a beautiful neighborhood/district of Hilton Head called Sea Pines.  It so pretty you actually have to pay to go into it (8 dollars).  They have a trolley that takes you different spots and the main attraction is a neighborhood called Sea Harbor.  At Sea Harbor they have lots of little shops, a fake lighthouse, a harbor and a really cool park.  There are a few golf courses and beautiful houses.  They are not over the top or mansions its just a really cool neighborhood with beautiful landscaping and really great bike trails.  We tired our best to rent bikes to go on a little ride but struck out.  Saturday is one of the harder days to rent bikes because it is turnover day so the companies are all out collecting bikes from the previous week and getting them ready for the next week. We checked out the fake lighthouse and some of the little shops.  Most of our time was spent at the playground.  Lydia and Jared we really happy to hang out there.  It was quite hot and humid but what else would it be in SC in July.

It is not showing up at all but these trees all had Spanish Moss hanging in them which is so fun to see.

You can see it behind Jared here, over his left shoulder.

The way they built the platforms all around the trees was really cool.  It was something that was common throughout the city.  You would be walking down a sidewalk and they would have cut around a tree instead of taking out the tree.  Even in roofs outside.  There was often a hole cut for the tree to go through. 

After Sea Harbor we headed back to the hotel to grab some lunch.  Mark had bought groceries the day before and we had all we needed.  We got some food together for him and had a quick hello at the airport when we dropped it off.  Then we headed to the beach.  We went to the main beach Coligny Beach and had an awesome time.  Lots of people said we would not be able to find parking in the main lot right by the beach but we totally did. I was very pleased with myself. I seldom drive when we go on our trips and I drove all over that town!  Its not a very big place but the things we decided to do were on opposite sides of the hotel. Before heading to the beach we of course stopped at an ice cream shop.  The shopping center by the beach is a really nice place to walk around.  Lots of plants and boardwalks and trees. It was a nice walk.

 

Spanish Moss!

Walk to beach

Frozen Moo, 92 flavors of ice cream! 

We all really liked Coligny Beach.  There are a lot of beaches in Hilton Head and from what I understand they are quite different from each other.  I am happy I chose Coligny.  The sand was great, the waves were huge and in quick succession and the water was really warm which helped Jared a lot.  He doesn't typically spend much time in the ocean when we go to the beach but he had a blast here.  Lydia and I both felt that water could have been cooler as it was not very refreshing on a hot day but we enjoyed it.  We all rode the waves, Lydia spending the most time in the water.  The current was strong and I kept reminding Lydia to make sure she did not go past a certain umbrella but she was too busy playing to notice how far away she had "Drifted".  It was fairly stressful for me and it really helped knowing that there were at least lifeguards on duty.  The tide was really coming in and I had to keep moving our beach blanket so it didn't get soaked and trying to make sure Lydia was safe and have her in my line of vision.  She is a strong swimmer bit the ocean will always be stronger.  I think it was helpful in a way for her to see how far she had drifted from our blanket because of how strong the ocean was.  I have told them both how I am kind of afraid of the ocean and they both didn't quite get it but I think she realizes why now.  AS I motioned the tide was really coming in! From where we first placed our blanket to where it ended up was at least half a football field.  The water came in so quick.  I am proud to say that I never lost Lydia or let our blanket/supplies get touched by the water.  Jared attempted to build in the sand but the water kept coming up and destroying his walls and buildings.  He eventually gave up.  We all had a great time playing in the water and spent over 3 hours at the beach.

After the beach we took a quick rinse off at the hotel, rested for just a few minutes and then headed to the hotel pool.  We didn't have much time to swim because we were supposed to meet Mark.  The flights were delayed and we could have stayed at the pool longer but I think it was good for them to have some downtime after being out in the sun so long.  Swimming at a hotel pool may not seem like the best use of time when you have so little time in a new city but we so rarely stay in hotels and Jared and Lydia always like exploring them so it was perfect for this trip.

We flew out early Sunday morning and managed to get both our planned flights which was a nice change.  It was a quick trip which is how I like doing the beach!  We wish we could have hung out with Mark more, it was not a fun trip for him and we are grateful he made it happen for us.