Our last day

Our last day in Hilton Head started with a walk to the water. PJs accepted.

 

 

There were lots of dead jellyfish washed up from the night before. The kids thoroughly enjoyed being grossed out.

 

 

It was a bit drizzley and cloudy on one side, which produced this gorgeous rainbow. It began and ended in the water. So pretty!

 

 

Behind us was sunny with blue skies.

 

 

 

After breakfast we headed back to Harbour Town.

 

 

 

The Gregg Russell playground is built around these amazing trees.

 

 

Little monkey.  :)

 

 

It was such a fun week. The kids were old enough to really enjoy everything we did and we're sure they will have great memories of Hilton Head.

 

 

 

Gregg Russell

 

I've talked about this before (Ben was so tiny!). We love going to see Gregg Russell sing under the Liberty Oak tree in Harbour Town. The kids were excited this time because they were old enough to remember the last time. We had dinner at our usual little place by the water and then headed over to get a seat for the show.

 

 

Love this sweet girl so much!

 

 

Second row happiness. I was surprised Ben was staying up there while Nathan and I sat in the back, but he didn't stay the whole time. He tried to run down and tell us something before the show began and fell on the steps, and that was it. I held him for the rest of the show, which was fine by me.  :)

 

 

Gregg came out and sang a few songs, but then the sky started to look crazy.

 

 

 

He decided at this point to call off the rest of the show. I wish you could see how fast those blankets of clouds were just covering the sky. It went from light to dark very quickly. It ended up not raining until we were back in our car, but we were glad we weren't caught in a storm. Still a fun night, and we were happy to have done another of our vacation traditions.

 

Sea Pines Forrest Preserve

Another nature trail we had never explored, this one full of board walks and new paths.

 

 

Vanishing swamp...hmmm.

 

 

 

It was a long walk back to this pond. The kids were spurred on by another family that told us they had seen a 5 foot gator in the water, but when we got there their first priority was a drink. First they tried to collect water in their hands and drink it, but that wasn't working very well...

 

 

So they just stuck their faces in...

 

 

 

We never saw that gator, but we did see lots of other animals.

 

 

 

 

I spy a tiny boy on a bench.

 

 

 

 

Exploring the ruins

 

The next day around lunch time we headed over to the Stoney-Baynard Plantation Ruins. This was another place we had been before, but it was pretty new to the kids since it had been a few years.

 

 

This year they were much more interested and they really seemed to understand the history a bit more.

 

 

Yes, the boys are wearing matching clothes. I only have a few years that I can get away with that!

 

 

I'm the king of this pile of roots...and rocks...and weeds...

 

 

There is a sign with a drawing of what the original house probably looked like, what direction it was facing and why, how it was built, etc. It was hard to imagine a house rising up almost 3 full stories from where we were standing. The part you can see in this picture is actually the part you see under the porch in the drawing. The sign also said that all of the trees were cleared back then allow the breezes to flow better. Hard to imagine since it's so wooded now.

 

 

 

Down the path a little were the ruins of two slave quarters. We read the signs and explained to the kids how the main houses didn't have kitchens and how the slaves would cook the food and carry it over to the houses. The kids were shocked that they had to walk so far and carry all of that. They were also pretty solemn when we explained why the slave houses had a tiny footprint, while the main house was so much larger.

 

 

Now that they can both read, stops like this take on new meaning and interest to them. Love how as they grow they can join in and learn new things each time.

 

 

 

Vacation Traditions

 

Since we are repeat Hilton Head vacationers, there are certain activities that have almost become traditions for our family. Pirate golf is definitely one of those. The kids talked about this more than they talked about anything else before we left.

 

 

Freakishly teal water. It's amazing that fish can actually live in that. The kids were super excited to play the waterfall course this year. In years past we have played the lower course because we had a stroller, so this was a new experience for us all.

 

 

Ben was so funny. He would start at the end of a course just like anyone else, but after a few unsuccessful attempts he would walk to the hole, sit his ball one inch away, and knock it in.

 

 

On to the next!

 

 

Arggg, pirate muscles. When we would get backed up behind another family there were plenty of things to keep us entertained. Rocks to climb....

 

 

...pirates to hang out with...

 

 

Can you tell it was a hot day? I think I had slicked Ben's hair down with water from the water fountain because he was so hot. We always play pirate golf at night and this was the first time we had ever played during the day. Yeah, enough of that. Next time we'll go back to evenings when it's cooler!

 

 

After golf we headed over for a quick walk through the Newhall Audubon Nature Preserve. It was a small little walk, but the kids had fun looking for wildlife.

 

 

This was one of the things we had never done before, again, not stroller friendly. So it was neat to see something new. It was off of a main road, but it was completely quiet and serene back there.

 

 

Ice cream before dinner? Sure! It's vacation, after all. This is what Superman ice cream does to your tongue. Nevermind what it did to their clothes.

 

 

Next we headed over to Shelter Cove and caught the end of the Shannon Tanner concert. The kids didn't want to dance, but they enjoyed the music.

 

 

There is a summer long family festival on certain nights with games, balloons, face painting and music. The kids were excited to get balloon animals. A pirate sword for Noah, a big eared bunny for Anna, and a crocodile for Ben. 

 

 

We ended the evening with another favorite, dinner at San Miguel's and fireworks over the water.

 

 

Love making memories with these kids!

 

 

The first beach

 

On this trip we went to more than one beach, but we started the week at one we have been to a few times before. The kids really didn't care what beach it was, as long as there was sand and water.

 

 

Sand castles were a must.

 

 

 

But so was playing in the water and relaxing. Anna made herself a little pool on the wet sand and tried to relax...in spite of her little brother waving grasses over her head.

 

 

Now you see why I call him tiny buns. No swim diapers this year meant some pretty droopy trunks. He almost lost them multiple times no matter how tight I tied them in front. It was so funny to watch him swim and play and then hike his trunks up.

 

 

But he definitely wasn't afraid of the ocean like he was last time. He had a blast rolling and splashing in the water. Even when an unexpected wave would hit him in the face, he would blink and cough and go right back at it. You can hear it a little bit here, but he would squeal and growl and say, "wheeeee!" when waves would hit him. So funny.

 

 

 

Of course we made them sit on the swings.

 

 

Here they were just 2 years ago. Their legs have grown a mile since then!