OttawaWendy's Hilton Head Island trip March, 2010

[OttawaWendy]

Hi Everyone,

ETA: I recently completed my December 2010 Kidani TR and folks seemed to like the links to the individual posts. So I'll be editing this post to add links within this TR.

Sunday, March 14:
Arrival
Arrival and Villa
Villa

Monday, March 15:
Around the resort, Main Area
Nature Resort Walk
Answers to Questions, Beach House
The Ocean, Dinner at San Miguel's in Shelter Cover

Tuesday, March 16:
360 degree shots in front of my building - note the forest!!!
More shots of the main area, including pool, and hammock
Marsh Ecology Tour, part 1
Marsh Ecology Tour, part 2
Nighttime, Bedtime Stories, room decoration, activity sheets

Wednesday, March 17:
Bike riding to and on the beach
High and low tide comparisons
Behind the Ears tour
Dinner at Michael Anthony's

Thursday, March 18:
Gators not Crocs, Shadow's Tales, a little more of the pool
Big Murgie's Den, Flamingos House of Doughnuts
Goofy Bingo (no photos)

Friday, March 19:
Endangered Species presentation, leaving (no photos)
Horseshoes, final thoughts

We left home at 5:16 a.m. on Saturday, March 13. Let me begin by replying to some earlier quotes from my countdown thread.

We had a good drive across the border, through NY, PA, MD, WV and into Virginia. I love driving from south PA through to VA. "Look honey, I just drove through 3 states, and I'm just asking you to do one!". Of course VA is 5 hours long or so on the 81/77 route.

We went to Cici's in Staunton for dinner. This took about 45 minutes but was fun.

Originally Posted by zgoodfella75

if you go this route in NC at exit 23, look and you will find me and I will wave

Lake Norman/Huntersville

and from this point you are about 3 hours and 45 minutes out of HHI Resort

We actually did wave and you weren't there . Where were you?

Actually, my wife reminded me as we went through there that she used to work very close to you. She spent a summer teaching a program for gifted kids at Davidson College.

Originally Posted by TW1

Since you've made the trip to Orlando many times you may not need this tip, but we've come to rely on the Hampton Inn chain along the way. They always have the cleanest bathrooms and always have free, hot coffee, tea and cocoa in the lobby - no questions asked - just help yourself. We've stopped at most of them over the years along I-95 and they rarely disappoint.

That's a wee bit more pricey that we normally stay. We usually go for the Econolodge/Motel 6 type places (I keep telling you people we're cheap and you never believe me!).

Anyway, this time we ended up staying at a Comfort Suites in the north part of South Carolina. We stopped after 16:10 of driving. That might have been a bit further than we normally might have wanted, but we won't stay in NC because of the incredibly liberal smoking laws. This Comfort Suites was really nice. The room reminded me of a DVC studio, and there was an indoor pool and hottub. We didn't swim enough to exercise, but it was nice to do a little moving after all that time in the car. A nice breakfast the next day too.

This morning (Sunday) we woke about 8:30 (really 7:30, but we lost an hour to daylight savings change), had a leisurely breakfast, packed and were on our way just before 10:00. We arrived in Hilton Head just before 1:30. In total, our drive took 19:40, including the 45 minutes we spent on dinner.

[OttawaWendy]

This is a really beautiful resort. I am thrilled to be here. We are on the marsh side and it is really great. I love being on the marsh and not on the ocean. The Cast Members are as friendly as reported.

The hammock I plan to swing in before the week is out:



The view of the marsh from our patio:



A cute luggage cart, themed to fit the resort:



The signpost. Note the addition of Hawaii:

[OttawaWendy]

The boardwalk into the marsh:



Beautiful spring flowers as we arrived:



Bambi and Thumper topiary:



Our first visit with Shadow the dog:



The Master Bedroom:



Master Bedroom 2:



Our Towel Animal (a hexapus?):

[OttawaWendy]

The living room:



The living room part 2 (these are taken in a clockwise rotation):



The dining area:



The kitchen:



As some of you know, we reserved a two-bedroom because we thought we would have a foster child. We don't have a foster child now and none of the people we could think to ask at the last minute was able to come. What to do with the second bedroom???

We could use it to store books, I suppose:



A nice touch is two carvings in the bench in the entranceway:





So far we have done a little reading, we've watched The National Treasure (free DVD) as well as two episodes of From the Earth to the Moon, which we brought from the library at home. We've rented our length of stay bikes and ridden a bit, gone to the main building and listened to B'lou tell some stories (and petted Shadow), eaten some free cookies and hot cider, played ping pong, gone to the campfire and eaten free s'mores, and spent some time sitting outside. Our internet is wireless and we both brought our laptops, so we are both using them now.

Tomorrow is our first full day. I can already see here that our challenge will be to enjoy the activities, but also take enough down time that it is a relaxing vacation. Adieu!

[Chriskre]

Originally Posted by OttawaWendy

Hi Everyone,

We left home at 5:16 a.m. on Saturday, March 13. Let me begin by replying to some earlier quotes from my countdown thread.

We had a good drive across the border, through NY, PA, MD, WV and into Virginia. I love driving from south PA through to VA. "Look honey, I just drove through 3 states, and I'm just asking you to do one!". Of course VA is 5 hours long or so on the 81/77 route.

We went to Cici's in Staunton for dinner. This took about 45 minutes but was fun.



We actually did wave and you weren't there . Where were you?

Actually, my wife reminded me as we went through there that she used to work very close to you. She spent a summer teaching a program for gifted kids at Davidson College.



That's a wee bit more pricey that we normally stay. We usually go for the Econolodge/Motel 6 type places (I keep telling you people we're cheap and you never believe me!).

Anyway, this time we ended up staying at a Comfort Suites in the north part of South Carolina. We stopped after 16:10 of driving. That might have been a bit further than we normally might have wanted, but we won't stay in NC because of the incredibly liberal smoking laws. This Comfort Suites was really nice. The room reminded me of a DVC studio, and there was an indoor pool and hottub. We didn't swim enough to exercise, but it was nice to do a little moving after all that time in the car. A nice breakfast the next day too.

This morning (Sunday) we woke about 8:30 (really 7:30, but we lost an hour to daylight savings change), had a leisurely breakfast, packed and were on our way just before 10:00. We arrived in Hilton Head just before 1:30. In total, our drive took 19:40, including the 45 minutes we spent on dinner.

Wendy, check out the EXIT guides for cheap rates on motels along the Interstates in most states in the US. There are usually walk in coupons in the books but I find that most of the motels honor them. I've even used them in high season. It all depends on availability though.

Have a great trip. Please post some pics.

[Chriskre]

Originally Posted by Chriskre

Wendy, check out the EXIT guides for cheap rates on motels along the Interstates in most states in the US. There are usually walk in coupons in the books but I find that most of the motels honor them. I've even used them in high season. It all depends on availability though.

Have a great trip. Please post some pics.

I guess I must have posted this when you posted yours pics.

Sorry.

[Chriskre]

So where's the beach?

[DisneyDreamin]

Great start on the report!
I am looking forward to the rest as we pack and get ready to head down ourselves. Made our hotel ressies for the way down and back home today

One more business trip and we are on our way

[Brian5581]

Great start to the report, thanks for posting. Your pictures really help give a better sense of your surroundings. Enjoy your trip!
-Brian

[ottograph]

I've never been to HH. Looking foward to reading more about your trip and what there is to do there.