It was past time for us Heelis girls to spend some quality time together so we all flew to Savannah, GA, then rented an SUV and drove to Sasha's condominium in Hilton Head, SC.
At the Savannah Airport - it was so nice to see mom and my sisters again!
On our way to Hilton Head we stopped at Chick-fil-A for dinner so that Cindy could no longer say she's never eaten there before.
Breakfast at Hilton Head Diner, great atmosphere but the food was lacking.
Maps of Hilton Head on Sasha's dining room wall. The island of Hilton Head is shape exactly like the side view of a foot!
Hilton Head Resort and location of Sasha's condo. Below are pictures of the indoor and outdoor pools, kid's pool and play areas, hot tub, and teenager hang-out place equipped with computers and all.
So just a little history about Hilton Head (I always enjoy learning about the places I visit)...Hilton Head was first occupied by Native Americans thousands of years ago. It became huge in the Sea Island Cotton trade, and an important base for the Union blockade of Southern ports during the Civil War.
After the island fell to Union troops, ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head. Decedents, or native islanders known as the Gullah, now mostly live on a small island called Daufuskie, and still hold onto their ethnic & cultural identity today.
A small pond on Hilton Head Resort which apparently is occupied by an alligator, which seemed to be the case with most bodies of water in Hilton Head. Melanie's just lucky it didn't come up and bite her tush!
Cindy standing in front of a large palm tree on the resort property.
Walking along the boardwalk to the beach.
Hilton Head has over 12 miles of white, fine sand that packs hard enough at low tide for bike riding, horseback riding, and many other beach activities.
Exploring the beach our first day.
Sasha and Cindy looking for shells.
One of Melanie's beach finds - shell remains of a white crab.
I don't know if it was because we were there during the off season, or because the hurricane scared everyone away, but all of the beaches were virtually deserted, as you can tell by most of my pictures.
One of my favorite things at the beach - little Sandpipers...
they are so cute, especially when they they play "chicken" with the waves!
Relaxing on the warm sand, ahhh this is the life!
Walking back over the swampland (which incidentally is chucked full of all types of birds and wildlife - my favorite were the Cranes) to the condo.
Group selfie on the boardwalk.
The interesting thing about Walmart at Hilton Head was how difficult it was to find due to the amount of trees surrounding it. That was pretty much the case for every business, store, restaurant, or strip mall in Hilton Head. And the thing that made finding places even more madding was the lack of signs and lighting on or around businesses, which made navigating at night almost impossible, even with our GPS.
Melanie finding more treasures at Walmart!
Another thing that made our trip so fun was helping Sasha redecorate her condo. It's always funner spending other people's money! Sasha and Melanie found these awesome swivel chairs at a secondhand store that fit perfectly on her front porch. With the picture and new rug, it was a perfect ensemble!
The front room also got a complete makeover with a new rug, throw, pillows, couch cover,
decorative sea birds, pictures, and wall-hangings, compliments of Walmart, consignment stores, and Goodwill.
Who said cheap couldn't be chic!
The kitchen also scored with new place-mats and silverware.
and beach-inspired pictures and key cabinet (in master bedroom). Interior decorating has never been so fun!!
Even the bedrooms got a new face-lift with new linens, pillows, bedspreads,
Mom was so sweet and made us all matching t-shirts (with the help of her grandson Darek) with our names on them.
Modeling our shirts!
Group selfie with our shirts, that we all wore every night as pajama tops.
Out to eat our second night at Fiesta Fresh Mexican Grill, great food with all-you-could-eat salsa and pico!
Our third day in Hilton Head was supposed to be perfect weather so Melanie, Cindy, and I decided to spend most of the day at the beach. Mom and Sasha had more shopping to do.
Mel and I all dressed up in our beach attire ready to pull our wagon full of beach paraphernalia.
When there's no one else on the beach it's not too difficult finding the perfect spot!
The only problem was our umbrella, which completely bit the dust just moments after taking these pictures.
A selfie I took as a reminder to everyone at home what I would be doing for the next week.
Melanie and Cindy walking the beach and enjoying the warm water.
Remains of a huge crab (the photo doesn't do it justice) that washed up on the beach.
Did I mention how secluded, peaceful, and beautiful the beach was?
More selfies at the hot tub. Just because we're old doesn't mean we can't take just as many selfie's as our kids!
That night we ate dinner at Local Pie Woodfired Pizza, pretty expensive, so-so food, but cute waiter!
After several days of shopping at all the stores and outlet malls, it was only fitting to model our many bargains.
The only problem would be fitting all those bargains in our suitcases!
Cindy and Sash looking all gorgeous in their new apparel!
The next night we went out to eat at Annie O's Kitchen.
Melanie attempting another group selfie. After realizing it was impossible to fit everyone in including the bull, we gave up and had our cutie waiter take the picture (see above).
The food was delicious home-made-tasting southern cookin at a reasonable price. I ordered the fried chicken, mashed-sweet potato, and broccoli salad.
That night we decorated hats and took a how-well-do-you-know-your-sisters quiz. We all got a good score just because we happen to know each other very well, and can even come up with the correct names of people and things if we all put our heads together. It's nice knowing I'm not loosing it, it's just my genetics!
Since the weather wasn't going to be suitable for hanging out at the beach, the next day we went sight-seeing.
First stop was Harbour Town village and Lighthouse, located in Sea Pines Plantation.
The developer of Sea Pines, Charles Fraser, had the lighthouse constructed in 1969 as a symbol of the community rather than for functional purposes. Because of this and the high cost to build the lighthouse, it was originally called Faser's Folly. But today it remains an important attraction in Hilton Head, and iconic symbol for the golfing community.
Sea Pines and Hilton Head Lowcountry used to be one of the poorest mosquito-infested areas in South Carolina, until developer Fraser took over.
Fraser transformed Sea Pines, in particular, into the eco-friendly thriving resort town it is today.
In addition to Harbour Town, Sea Pines contains prime real estate with planned communities that adhere to strict environmental-friendly covenants and restrictions.
But again, due to the lack of street/shop lighting, signs/billboards, and homes built inland, among thick trees, painted in earthy colors, it was difficult to find your way around. It also seemed so dark all the time and almost spooky (which may have something to do with all the ghost stories and sightings that are so prevalent there).
Rows of red rocking chairs at Harbour Town Plaza.
It was then time for our tour of the Harbour Town Lighthouse.
We walked the 114 steps to the top of the 90 foot tall lighthouse, which stood out with it's brightly painted red and white horizontal stripes.
The lighthouse also served as a museum and gift shop. Here we are reading interesting facts on a self-guided tour which included photos from the civil war era, artifacts from 3000 BC, colonial history, plantation life, and lighthouse ghost stories.
Window box depicting life on the plantation.
Small gift shop at the top of lighthouse that included Hilton Head's own hand-crafted crystal keepsakes (for millionaires or for those who had money to burn).
View of lighthouse ceiling.
The gift shop ceiling showing the structure's unique hexagonal shape.
Mom and Melanie looking at the 360 degree views from the lighthouse balcony.
Melanie trying to stay warm at the top (hard to believe we were sunbathing just a mere 24 hours before).
The cashier of the gift shop was nice enough to take our picture all together.
Views from the top of the lighthouse...
Harbour plaza, hotel, and condos,
Harbour Town marina and yacht basin (with missing yachts due to Hurricane Matthew),
Harbour Town Golf Links golf course which hosts The Heritage Golf Tournament which is part of the PGA tour,
Calibogue Sound,
Ferry boat and damaged boat dock,
and unique wave clouds (the photo doesn't do it justice).
Cindy walking back down the steps.
Sasha looking "all that" in her new canary-colored jacket!
Another view of the lighthouse steps.
Mom and Mel exploring another gift shop at the bottom of the lighthouse.
Out of all the places in Hilton Head, Sea Pines suffered the most damage from Hurricane Matthew.
Matthew produced major flooding and damage with huge ocean surges, 11 inches of rainfall, and wind gusts up to 88 mph.
A garage roof torn apart. It was interesting, however, that with all the downed trees and debris everywhere, very few actual homes were damaged, in fact, most looked untouched.
Even though it said 'enter at your own risk', we visited an old plantation called Stoney-Baynard Ruins.
Unfortunately, because of all the damage, many of the trails and points of interests we wanted to visit were completely destroyed by the hurricane.
The Baynard house was built by Captain Jack Stoney as part of Braddock's Point Plantation in 1793.
The home was made out of timber and Tabby, or a mixture of oyster shells, lime, and sand.
When the Stoney family declared bankruptcy (some say the home was lost on a gambling bet), William Baynard, a wealthy cotton planter, acquired the property from the bank.
The home was raided during the Civil War when Union forces made it their headquarters.
The home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.
The plantation which covers almost 9 acres, also includes two slave quarters and an outdoor kitchen.
Remains of the original outdoor kitchen, located next to the slaves quarters, a little ways from the home.
View of Melanie through one of the windows. There was a quiet eeriness about the property.
Sea Pines also includes 605 acres of forest preserve, five miles of ocean beaches, numerous bike trails, a couple small parks,
several perfectly manicured golf courses, and over 100 tennis courts.
One of my favorite things were the Spanish Moss trees.
Other foliage common to Hilton Head were Saw Palms (smaller than regular palms which produce blue-black berries), and tall Loblolly Pines, that were very effervescent, especially when being burned with the rest of the hurricane debris.
Cindy sneaking some oranges from off the ground of someones front yard. Yeah, I would like to have a mandarin orange tree in my front yard!
Did I mention how immaculate the homes were?
And this was just a few weeks after Hurricane Matthew!
Another prevalent thing in Sea Pines (and everywhere else in Hilton Head), were alligators!
Mom spotted this one just hanging out in someones front yard.
We all jumped out of the car to get a closer look and take pictures.
I guess he had enough of the picture taking and went back into the water.
Despite the amazing 'holy cow' homes, I don't know if I could ever get used to gators just hanging around my yard!
The last place we visited in Sea Pines was Lawton Stables,
which had a little something for the entire family,
from pony rides around the farm, and horse-back-riding on the trails and beaches,
to small animal petting farms.
It even had it's own cat, which would rather come jump in the car with us than stay on the farm.
Our last day of vacation we wanted to fit in just one more adventure so we decided to check out Tybee Island which was located just 20 miles from downtown Savannah.
Pictures taken out the car window, of the beautiful Savannah River,
farmlands,
and marshes, while driving from Hilton Head to Tybee Island.
Cockspur Lighthouse and Fort Pulaski National Monument, which were both closed due to damage sustained from Hurricane Matthew.
Tybee Island Lighthouse built in 1773.
Tybee Lighthouse is Georgia's oldest and tallest lighthouse.
Tybee Island also got the brunt of Hurricane Matthew, suffering major damage.
Most of the beaches and recreational areas were closed due to damage and flooding from 12 ft. waves during the peak of the storm.
Melanie surveying the mounds of mulch which were created from ground-up fallen trees.The mulch was then removed from the island via barges.
Luckily, we were able to find the beach on the other side of all the piles of debris.
There is something very soothing about grassy, wheat, sand dunes!
Fun fact, Tybee island was actually where the movie The Last Song (with Miley Cyrus) was filmed!
We did not see any baby sea turtles,
but we did see millions of shells, everywhere!
There were so many shells, you couldn't help but crunch down on them with every foot step.
We could of spent all day on Tybee island collecting the most amazing shells, but unfortunately, we all had planes to catch.
A sample of the awesome shells we collected!
Saying 'goodbye' to beautiful Tybee island as we walked back to our vehicle.
View of the lighthouse from the boardwalk which was also closed.
View of the lighthouse from the boardwalk which was also closed.
Our last and final stop before the airport was...
Paula Deen's restaurant,
called Lady and Sons.
Lady and Son's was Paula Deen's first restaurant.
It was originally a lunch delivery service Paula started with her sons which was called Bag Lady and Sons.
It then became a catering service, and has since moved and expanded to become a 330 seat restaurant that includes 15,000 square feet of dining, bar, and office space.
The restaurant is located in a renovated 200-year old, 3-story building, in downtown Savannah, Georgia.
And the food did not disappoint!
Our lunch buffet included southern fried chicken, baked chicken, pot roast, BBQ pork, ribs, rice, creamed potatoes, cream corn, collard greens, green beans & bacon, Lima beans, black eye peas, candied yams, macaroni and cheese, salad bar, and two kinds of biscuits.
Dessert consisted of banana pudding with cream, peach cobbler, and caramel cream cheese cake!
It was then time to climb into our Chevy Tahoe rental car (the only one big enough to fit us and all of our stuff), and head to the airport. Luckily, we all flew on the same flight from Savannah to Atalanta, before saying goodbye.
I had such a wonderful time that it's been bitter sweet coming home. I just hope this girl's reunion thing can become an annual event, because I for one, do not get to see my mom or sisters near enough! Love you Mom, Cindy, Sash, and Mel! Until next year...
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