Hilton Head Island and Savannah 2012-Pt.6

Well, glory be...we've finally reached the end of the road! Today is the final day for our summer vacation recap.  Hope I haven't bored you half to death! I just enjoy making memories with my family (boyfriend drama and all!) and wanted to share some of our fun times with y'all.

Friday, July 27th, was our last full day of vacation...sniff, sniff. We had a leisurely morning and hopped in the car around 12:30 PM and headed for the town of Beaufort, SC. On our way, we took a little side trip to Parris Island...the training camp for U.S. Marine recruits.  Being that Chris is a (former) Army Airborne Ranger, that was his cup of tea!  I think it brought back a lot of memories of his military days.

Here's the girls in the Parris Island Museum. Lots of memorabilia from various wars...very interesting place.

We were able to see some young Marines in training..and it was so hot that day! Can you imagine being out in that heat in heavy camouflage, ruck sacks, combat boots, and guns to carry?  My heart went out to them.  I will always say that there's just 'something' about a man in uniform.  Makes you proud to be an American!

We drove out to Fripp Island, but when we got to the gate, we were turned away because we weren't guests there. Great. We made a short drive through Beaufort and saw some of the beautiful Antebellum homes there, then we stopped at Cracker Barrel for an early dinner.  On our way back to Hilton Head, a thunderstorm popped up and the sky turned black...

Thankfully, it passed over fairly quickly and we were able to snap some family pictures, even though we weren't quite dressed for it.  It was kind of a last minute thing!

Now, surely you didn't think we weren't going to slide some silly pictures in there, did you?

Yep...that's just how we roll!  After we got done, we all felt like a challenging game of putt-putt.

Now, Chris, being the golfer that he is, takes the game very seriously.  He's out for blood every time!

Of course, that causes me to put my game face on and attempt to take him down!  I came close, but it just wasn't in the cards this time around.  Next time...he's toast!
 

We couldn't pass up the chance for one more late night walk on the beach...

 

So, as it always happens, our week came to an end all too quickly.  I keep wondering how many more opportunities we'll have to vacation together as a family. I sure hope it's a lot, but life has a way of putting a snag in your plans.  Guess for now, I'll be grateful for the memories we made and the fun we had...just the 4 of us.
         


P.S. Well, I kept Abby home from school, again, today.  She missed Friday of last week and Monday.  She just doesn't seem to be improving, even though she's on antibiotics.  Her cough is horrible! So, I'm taking her back to the doctor this afternoon at 1:30 PM.  Hopefully, something can be done for her to give her relief.

Hilton Head Island/Savannah-Pt. 5

I left off yesterday on Day 6 of our vacation as we were about to head back to Savannah for the evening to partake in a ghost tour. Let me say here that the "boyfriend drama" with Brittany and C. continued, which made for a very stressful evening for us all.  Not quite what I had intended. UGH!

We got to Savannah around 7:30 PM.  Our tour was due to start at 9:30 PM, so that gave us some time to check out more of the sights and to revisit a few of our favorites.

The girls are standing outside of Colonial Park Cemetery where our tour was to begin.

Here I am with the hubs...we're smiling through our stress...TRUST ME!

Another view of St. John the Baptist Cathedral...

This is one of my favorite shots that I took.. It's of an old man walking his dog.  Completely warmed my heart!

This is the steeple (Independent Presbyterian Church) shown at the beginning of Forrest Gump where the feather floats down. Pretty nifty, huh?

We met our Tara Haunted Tours group and guide at the gates of Colonial Park Cemetery at 9:30 PM and we were off! Some folks were sitting on that step below the gate UNTIL our guide informed us that there was a grave right beneath them! Read up on the history of the cemetery...very interesting stuff!

Our tour guide suggested we try and capture "something" with our cameras as it's known to be a very "active" area.  This is the first picture I took through the gates of the cemetery...

And this is the second one I took immediately after it.  See the large white circle floating above the grave and the smaller one off to the right?  Some refer to it as an 'orb'. I have no explanation for it, so it does leave you wondering.

This is a bed and breakfast our guide took us to called the 17Hundred90. Room 204 (the 2nd upstairs window to the right of the tree) is the most requested haunted room in the city of Savannah.  Reports are that it's "inhabited" by a young servant girl named Anna who jumped out the window of room 204 after her sailor boyfriend abandoned her.

The tour ended about 25 mins. earlier than expected, but to be quite honest, we were OK with it. Our tour guide acted as though he'd rather be anywhere else than on the tour.  He didn't seem to know any of the stories very well, at all.  It was quite a let-down, to be honest.  So, if you are ever interested in taking a ghost tour in Savannah...one that will leave your spine tingling...go on the Blue Orb Ghost Tour, instead. That's just my personal opinion for what it's worth.

Here's one final look at 432 Abercorn...much creepier at night!



We didn't get back to Hilton Head until around midnight, so we were pooped!  Tomorrow, I'll wrap things up with what we did on our final day.  Oh, and after all that "boyfriend drama"...they are together, again. Looneyville...here I come!

Hilton Head Island and Savannah 2012-Pt. 4

I'm back, once again...thank you so much for your continued patience! I took Abby to the doc. yesterday and was never really told what she had.  Sounds like some sort of nasty virus because she gave her a steroid shot and put her on antibiotics.  She should be good to go to head back to school this morning. Fingers crossed!

OK...back to our trip!  Let's see, I believe we're at Day 5 now.  On Wed., we all got up and went to another local nature preserve.  Didn't see the first sign of wildlife, unless you count loads of fiddler crabs! Bummer!

Chris went golfing when we got back, so the girls and I headed to the local outlet mall and did a little school clothes shopping.  I've never really been one to find many bargains at those kinds of places, but I'm happy to report that we did pretty well with our savings!  Later that night, it was very low-key and we grilled out burgers at our condo.  We went for a walk at Coligny Beach (why didn't I bring my camera?!). Such a beautiful place for a stroll!

On Thurs. (Day 6) we spent a good part of the day romping on the beach. We had purchased a large tent to bring along with us for some shade and when we were all in the water, I turned around and noticed that out tent was flying away!  Good thing no one got impelled by it! Chris had to rush up on the shore and catch it, then stake it down real deep in the sand.  About that same time, Abby got whammed by a HUGE wave!

 

I about laughed myself silly! Of course, when it happened to me, it wasn't so funny. :)

That evening, we had an early dinner in Bluffton, SC. at the Bluffton Seafood Co. The grilled shrimp earned 2 thumbs up from me!  Good sweet iced tea, too!  We left there with tummies full and ready to head to Savannah for the next part of our adventure...a ghost tour!

Stay tuned for more!


P.S.  I have a question for y'all.  I just learned yesterday that I have used up all of my free 1 GB of storage space to be able to upload my pictures onto Blogger via Google.  So, in order for me to continue uploading my pictures, looks like I'm going to have to purchase a monthly plan for additional storage. Have any of you encountered this issue and, if so, what did you do to resolve it? I appreciate your input!

Hilton Head and Savannah 2012-Pt.3

On Day 4 of our vacation, we all got up on Tuesday morning with excitement as we headed to Savannah to spend the day!  It's only about a 45 min. drive from Hilton Head Island and so well worth it! As you may recall, Abby, Chris and I went there for Spring Break last year, but Brittany wasn't with us due to her being in college. So, we wanted to seize the opportunity to show her some of our favorite sights.

The first place we stopped was Bonaventure Cemetary. What a beautiful and historical place! I can't begin to tell you how massive the place is with gravestones and crypts dating back to the early 1800's.  I think it's better to visit there in the springtime as all the azaleas are in full bloom.  Here's the gravestone of little Gracie Watson who died in the early 1800's at the age of 7. Her grave is visited by people from all over the world.  

Many gravestones are enormous and very ornate.

This tree caught my eye, immediately.  It was live on one side and dead on the other. A little creepy, if you ask me.

After we explored for awhile, we grabbed some lunch at Arby's, then headed to the historic downtown for more sightseeing.

We visited the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (built in 1873)...absolutely breathtaking!

Then...we walked over to 432 Abercorn St...supposedly the most haunted house in Savannah.

I won't go into the story surrounding it, again, as you can go on Google and find out more info. than you'd probably care to know.  For some reason, I lost my senses and walked all the way up to the front door and peeked inside the mail slot.  It looked completely abandoned, though rumors were floating around that someone is occupying it.  If that's the case, I think I committed trespassing without realizing it.  Oops!  

I can't say enough about all the interesting sights Savannah has to offer.  There's just so much to take in; it's almost overwhelming!

We ended up at Colonial Park Cemetary where more than 700 victims of the 1820 Yellow Fever epidemic are buried.   It's a popular stop for many ghost tours...and for good reason.  That place is downright eerie! 

Families were often buried together in these huge vaults.

After we left, we went down on River St. and explored some of the neat shops.  Brittany and Chris couldn't resist hamming it up with different hats.

In one quaint shop, the store owner convinced the girls to balance dragonflies made out of bamboo on their noses, chins, and fingers.  I got so tickled watching them! I don't think they realized how silly they looked!

We ended our long and fun day with dinner at Captain Woody's Seafood Restaurant in Bluffton, SC.  Best crab cakes I've ever eaten!  The spicy shrimp was DE-LISH, too! It was the perfect ending to our day.

On Monday, I'll pick back up by telling you about the remainder of our trip.  Never a dull moment, that's for sure!  Abby's home sick today from school, so I'll try to make my rounds this weekend and pay you all a much overdue visit.  Have a good one, my friends!

Hilton Head Island/Savannah 2012-Pt. 2

For Day 3 of our vacation, I made the executive decision that we'd go to the Sea Pines Nature Preserve on Hilton Head Island to start off our day.  I'd read in a brochure at our condo that it was THE place to visit...plenty of large gators, exotic birds, etc.  It sounded like it was right up my alley, so off we went!

The preserve, as you can see, was filled with trees draped in Spanish moss.  Made it feel so 'magical'.

Not too far into our walk was when we spotted our first gator.  No worries...he was just a baby of about 4 ft.  Of course, we didn't want to get too close!

Here's a lizard Chris caught before I had time to yell, "Don't you dare!"  Cute little fella, isn't he?
 

I have no idea what kind of bird this is...but he sure didn't like me walking up to snap his picture!

I'm guessing this is an egret? 

Sure wish we'd made it to this wildflower field earlier in the season...I bet it was beautiful!  Most of the flowers had already bloomed and were burned up from the heat.

Oh, look..another baby gator sunning himself!

This would probably have been the best way to view the preserve.  It was just too hot and humid to walk around for long.

Even though we did get to see some wildlife, it wasn't quite what we thought it would be.  We didn't see the first large gator, which may or may not be a bad thing.  I think it would be much more enjoyable to go back in the fall or early spring.  Chalk it up as another lesson learned. 

We spent a little more time at the beach in the afternoon...that's when the 'drama' began.  In order to spare you all the details, Brittany ended up breaking up with her boyfriend, C., and for very good reason, too!  In fact, I was so thrilled, I had to try and keep myself from jumping up and down and giving Chris a high five! Well, needless to say, that feeling of elation was very short lived.  They argued over the phone late into the night...and it carried over into the rest of our vacation. If there was ever a time when I wanted to take that cell phone and hurl it into the deep blue sea, that was it! This momma was not a happy camper, as you can imagine.  I'll write more later.

That evening for dinner, we ate at a place called Hot Momma's BBQ...and it was packed! We all got the pulled BBQ pork sandwich and it was outstanding!  Tomorrow, I'll write about our day trip to Savannah...and the sights we saw.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!