Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Summer Vacay

Stephen, Sydney, Taylor, and I ventured to Hilton Head Island last Friday to meet up with Stephen's cousin, Randy, and his wife, Ashley.  We rented a condo for a week together in HHI.  It was funnnnn!  I must say, Hilton Head is one of my most favorite places in the world.  It is so peaceful, so non-commercialized, so safe, so laid-back.  I love seeing bikes everywhere, I love how nice everything is in the town, I love how people just sit on the city benches reading books.  It sits surrounded by the ocean, but the town doesn't scream "BEACH!".  Love it.

Ok, so, let me recap our week.

Friday: We arrived in HHI around 4 PM after a non-eventful trip.  Randy and Ashley arrived around the same time from south GA.  We got settled in the condo, walked around a bit, and then headed out to dinner at a place called Truffles.  We headed home and got settled, all kind of tired from the long drives!

Sydney and Uncle Randy at Truffles.

Sweet Taylor!  She kept checking out the people next to us, prompting them to always talk to her. 


Saturday: Saturday morning, we hit the pool at our condo.  The pool was perfect.  It was right out our back door, and there was a regular pool, along with a lazy river, fountains, and a kiddie pool that was anywhere from 4" to 1 foot deep, with shower-like faucets that sprayed water.  It was so nice, because it wasn't a huge effort to have to get to the pool... much needed with a toddler and a baby, who were on different schedules.  We literally were out at the pool for hours, and then we went to a seafood restaurant for dinner.  Afterwards, we went to these cute shops, got some ice cream, and walked to the beach to take a look. 

A view of the pool.





Ashley and Randy!





Ca you tell she didn't want to leave the beach?

Sunday:  We hit the pool bright and early for about an hour, and then we watched the women's USA soccer team play around lunchtime.  Stephen and Randy went to go play golf all afternoon.  I went on a walk with the girls to some shops just to get out for a bit, but not in the sun.  Ashley and I cooked some dinner at the condo that night, and we hung out at the condo, watched TV, etc.



We ran into a "cool" firetruck on our walk.

Look who's next to each other!


Monday:  Today, we decided to hit the beach.  We got there, and it was so crowded, and the water was really murky.  But, besides that, it was just plain hot.  I mean, there was no getting away from the heat.  Poor Taylor was miserable.  We didn't have any sort of cover for her to sit under, and her floppy little hat wasn't helping much.  Sydney had fun in the ocean, and Taylor cooled off a bit during her first dip in the ocean.  We played some with sand toys, but after about 45 minutes, we decided to pack up and head back to the pool.  Taylor was much happier here. :)  That night, we went out for Japanese/sushi and then hung out at those same shops as Saturday night. 






 




Tuesday:  Today was another golf day for Randy and Stephen, so Ashley and I decided to hit the mall and the outlet stores... I think we needed a little break from the sun!  We spent most of the afternoon there, and I was able to score some new clothes for school.  We grilled steaks that night, and played Taboo until late.

Fun rides at the outlet stores.  Forget about shopping!


The cool new shades I bought for Taylor.

First french-braid attempt.

Wednesday: Today was a long pool day!  We started early, with a break in the middle for the girls to nap, and then did an impromptu swim with Sydney in her clothes that afternoon.  That evening, we headed to Harbour Town in Sea Pines to look around and eat dinner.  With a 2 hour wait at the main restaurant there, though, we decided to head back toward the condo for dinner.  We settled for another seafood restaurant... when in Rome, right?



All dry...

but not for long!

 




Thursday: Though The Weather Channel said there was a 50% chance of storms every day we were here, today was the only day we saw signs of bad weather.  Bright and early, Stephen joined me and Randy for a run on the beach.  We then invaded the game room at the condo and played ping-pong, fooz-ball, and air hockey, while Sydney played on the train table.  Later, Sydney and the gang went to the pool while I stayed in while Taylor took a 2+ hour nap.  Got some more reading in.  When the thunder started, everyone came back inside, and I decided to head out on a solo shopping trip.  We packed up, did some laundry, ordered pizza in, watched Big Brother, and went to bed!

The game room.

Randy beat me here, but I dominated in ping pong!


Friday: We hit the road bright and early!  See ya next time, HHI... it was fun!

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