Tag Archives: Hilton Head

Our Vacation, Day Three

Remembering how much fun everyone had at the beach on Day 2, we just assumed the next trip to the beach would go just as well.  We made plans to go to the beach with my cousin Brent’s wife Natalie and their kids at the beach next to my Aunt and Uncle’s condo.  Unfortunately, both of the little girls started to cry almost immediately and wanted nothing to do with either the sand or the ocean.  My aunt Dee and I took the little girls to he pool while Zach and Natalie played with the big kids on the beach.

Poor Nicole must not have been feeling well, because she didn’t leave my Aunt’s arms to play in the pool.  She clung to her and even fell asleep in her arms in the water.8.6.10 at the pool (2) Zach brought the big kids over to play in the pool and wash all the sand off their bodies.  He reported that they built a nice castle and a canal system, but we have no pictures since my camera was with me at the pool.

We went back to our room and decided to get ready and drive home since the kids were kinda sick and the last two nights of sleep in our room were less than restful.  Everyone showered and got dressed.  Zach went to fill the tank with gas and fetch some lunch (shrimp from “The Sea Shack”) with one of our remaining food vouchers while I packed up all of our things. 

We drove home by way of Charlotte, North Carolina.  It added an hour to our trip, but we really wanted to be able to take our Charlotte to Charlotte.  We arrived around 8:00 PM and had a late dinner at IHOP in Charlotte.  Everyone enjoyed chocolate milk, pancakes, bacon, sausage, crêpes, and coloring.8.6.10 In Charlotte, North Carolina (4) 8.6.10 In Charlotte, North Carolina (2)8.6.10 In Charlotte, North Carolina (3) By the time we were done with dinner, the sun was setting and it was starting to rain.  We drove to downtown Charlotte to see the skyline and look for buildings and signs with Charlotte’s name on them.  Unfortunately our van’s wipers were terrible and it was pouring rain.  By the time we pulled into a parking lot  so that we could get  a picture of Charlotte in Charlotte it was completely dark and pouring rain.  Zach hoped out with his umbrella and the two big kids and they all came back soaking wet.4868745083_ae23ced16a_b8.6.10 In Charlotte, North Carolina (7) Before we could drive out of Charlotte, the rain poured down so hard that it was almost impossible to see the road so we pulled over to wait out the storm.  After about 15 minutes, the storm died down enough for us to drive on and we were soon out of the storm and on our way home.  We arrived home in the wee hours of the morning.

Our Vacation, Day Two

The highlight of day two was an absolutely perfect trip to the beach.  All 4 kids enjoyed themselves.  Isaac and Charlotte played in the water and in the sand.  Zach and I each got to take a turn out with the big kids in the water.  8.5.10 The Beach (78) We taught them to “ride the waves.” At one point a wave crashed down on Isaac, hitting him squarely on the bottom and he announced that the wave had “spanked” his bottom (see video).

All the kids enjoyed playing in the sand.  Ila and Nicole didn’t like the water much, but they both enjoyed the sand.  8.5.10 The Beach (104) We dug out a little hole in the sand in front of Ila and let it fill with water so that Ila could splash around in it.  8.5.10 The Beach (62) Unfortunately as you can see in the video below, she also sampled some of the sand.

Before long the water started washing further up the beach enough to cover Ila’s legs with each wave. 8.5.10 The Beach (91)Ila started to yawn so I scooped her up and wrapped her in a towel.  I put her in the stroller and turned the stroller so that her face was not in the sun.  She watched everyone play for a little while before falling asleep.8.5.10 The Beach (93) A collection of fountains between the beach and the car helped the kids to rinse most of the sand off of their bodies.8.5.10 The Beach (112)Back at our room, everyone got showered and dressed.  We ate lunch before attending a timeshare sales pitch that not only paid for most of our room, but also provided us with some food vouchers.   After another stop at our room and a little down time for the kids, we choose a nice restaurant off of the list of places that accepted our vouchers.  The name of the restaurant was “Robert Irvine’s eat.”8.5.10 dinnerIt was a very nice restaurant that wasn’t accustomed to serving children.  They only had one high chair and no kids’ menu.  I have to admit to being a little nervous about taking the kids there.  Every table had these fragile looking water glasses and the atmosphere was very pleasant and peaceful.  I must not have been the only one who was nervous because as we left the restaurant, we got many relieved compliments on how well our children behaved.  My favorite dish was the fried green tomatoes with feta and sprouts (pictured above).  At one point, Ila dropped her pacifier and a waiter washed it off and returned it to us on a dish.8.5.10 dinner (3)Day two ended with movie night in our hotel room.   Ila fell to sleep easily and although Nicole still required extra attention to stay in bed and fall to sleep, she did seem to fall to sleep quicker than the night before.  8.5.10 movie night (2)Unfortunately she also woke up in the middle of the night and threw up all over the bed.

Our Vacation, Day One

We had an opportunity this summer to go to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  It’s a resort town with lots of beautiful beaches.  Our trips started out with a 7 hour drive.  The kids did well, as always.  8.4.10 The drive to Hilton Head 8.4.10 The drive to Hilton Head (12) For most of the trip, they entertained themselves looking out the windows and at books.  We had no snacks in the car and stopped off for lunch at McDonalds about halfway through the trip.  Also about half way there, we hooked up a portable DVD player to the van’s little TV screen and let the kids watch a few episodes of Curious George to pass the time.

Ila didn’t cry much.  She did practice her trick of transferring toys back and forth between her hands and feet.8.4.10 The drive to Hilton Head (23) All of the kids took a nap in the car8.4.10 The drive to Hilton Head (19)

8.4.10 The drive to Hilton Head (25)

We checked in, got unloaded and then headed out for dinner at Fat Baby Pizza.  We ate peppers stuffed with prosciutto and cheese and a delicious thin crust pepperoni pizza.  The kids were not fans of the peppers, but they tried them.8.4.10 Dinner at Fat Baby Pizza (2)8.4.10 Dinner at Fat Baby Pizza (5)8.4.10 Dinner at Fat Baby Pizza (3)After giving Ila a bath in the hotel sink and feeding her, I put her to bed in our pack and play to let her cry herself to sleep. 8.4.10 Ila in the sink (1) She was very distracted by everyone in the room so I took the other three kids out on a walk to acquire more pillows and ice.  She was still crying when we got back so I decided to take the kids on a bedtime swim at the hotel pool. 8.4.10 swimming in the hotel pool Our pool trip was cut short unexpectedly for reasons I won’t detail here, but our rush back into the room and the changing of all three kids out of swimsuits and into PJs awaked Ila just after she had finally fallen asleep.  The rest of the night was difficult as Ila and Nicole both had some trouble falling asleep and as a result, Zach and I also got very little sleep.