You might remember that we got stuck in Jacksonville for a week in late June/early July with car trouble. That meant that we left from there to go on vacation. That also meant we were only packed for a long weekend and had almost nothing that I had intended to pack for our vacation! We bought a little and improvised a lot!
The timing of our trip was perfect to celebrate our anniversary on July 7th and have a Babymoon before little Caroline comes! Last year's anniversary trip took place on a cruise in May, and we took a Babymoon to Williamsburg before Emma Grace arrived. This year we hit the road for Hilton Head, a place neither of us had visited before!
Thanks to the Stouts letting us use their timeshare again, we were able to stay right on the beach in a fabulous condo. We woke up to sights like this every morning.
For the 4th of July, we went to nearby Harbour Point for the day. We did some eating, shopping, and stayed through the fireworks!
There were so many cute shops. The sidewalk outside the shops was lined with rocking chairs so you could watch the boats leave and come in.
Harbour Point Lighthouse.
So many boats and a lot of EXPENSIVE boats! We joked that we couldn't even afford the dinghy behind most of these things.
For lunch, we went all touristy and ate at The Salty Dog. After arriving, our waiter informed us of a special 4th of July special they were running. If you could eat a double patty cheeseburger with buns made out of grilled cheese AND your plate of fries, you would receive a free t-shirt. When I hear something like that, I think "Oh, that's nice. How are your fish and chips?" When my husband hears that, he thinks "Score! Free t-shirt!" And thus began our worse meal experience ever.
Here is what he had to eat. Two half pound patties with all the toppings like bacon and lettuce and tomato and maybe mayo (?), two grilled cheese sandwiches made of Texas toast, and a batch of fries (under the burger). The picture doesn't do it justice. It was massive. And they served it in a doggie bowl.
Obviously, this was before he started because he's still smiling.
Here he is sighing. Every time he took a big breath, I was afraid he was about to let go of everything. Literally. In this picture, he's finished a lot of it but still has a grilled cheese and fries to go.
Tackling the fries.
He did it! He ate the entire thing!
But he's not happy about it.
What remains is a free t-shirt and a lot of pride.
It was seriously the worst meal ever. We didn't talk. He was too focused. I kept wanting to say things like "So, do you think you're going to finish it? Are you about to lose everything right here at the table? How do you feel? If you think you're going to get sick, please go to the bathroom. I'm proud of you. This is crazy." And I was so stuffed about half way into my meal but felt guilty for stopping so I just kept on eating. I felt sick after lunch, but I knew he felt worse. It should be said that he hasn't touched a burger since that day. Which is really saying something for my husband.
Later that day, we went down to the water's edge to get a good spot for the fireworks.
The fireworks were good, but we've been so spoiled from growing up near a military base. Everything from the pre-show and salute to the military that always gives me goosebumps, to the sounds of the military band, to the best fireworks I've ever seen...nothing has ever come close
On the actual day of our anniversary, we drove to Savannah. We really enjoyed visiting last year on our trip down to Florida for our cruise and always said we'd like to go back. We were close enough that the drive made perfect sense.
For lunch, we visited Paula Deen's restaurant. I've heard some say it isn't that good, but we had a really good experience. The sweet tea came with mint which was a fun touch
.
Jereme got the buffet which included three different types of meat and about every side you could imagine. He brought me a plate of sides and they were delicious. His meal ended with banana pudding. I got the chicken salad because I use her recipe a lot and wanted to try it out. It was really good. My meal came with soup and a salad. Between that and the plate Jereme brought me from the buffet, I could hardly walk out! We decided a carriage tour would be perfect because we didn't feel like walking at that point but we still wanted to see more of Savannah.
Savannah and Hilton Head both had these gorgeous trees dripping with Spanish Moss. It couldn't have been more beautiful.
During our walking later that day, we visited the little park where part of Forrest Gump was filmed. You know the part with the floating feather and where he's sitting on the bench waiting for the bus? All happened right here...
Savannah was beautiful but hot. I couldn't take too much walking around, so we headed back to Hilton Head before it got too late and enjoyed the air conditioned car ride home.
Most of our days were filled with laying out by the pool or beach. Since our condo had a full kitchen, we cooked several meals there. One night in particular, we did a little shrimp boil and ate out on our balcony overlooking the ocean!
It was a really nice trip. It was nice to spend time together and reconnect without worrying about nap times or sippy cups or disciplining. But a week is a long time to be away from your little girl, especially when we knew she would have had so much fun with us. We sure were glad to get home and see her!
