Jacob and I have always been more of the "making memories" type of people than the "giving presents" type of people. Early on we agreed that while it would be nice to get jewelry, clothes, roses, or the like for an anniversary, we would really rather spend time together. So every year, since our honeymoon, we have gone on a anniversary vacation together. Our honeymoon was amazing and quite extravagant (think...1 day in Savannah, 3 days in Disney World, and 4 days on a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas). Since then our anniversary trips have been a little more affordable and we have gone to Atlantic Beach, NC (1 year), Gatlinburg, TN (2 years), Hilton Head Island, SC (3 & 4 years...what can we say- We love it!), and Myrtle Beach, SC (5 years).
This year for Christmas, we decided to forgo the presents for each other and use our Christmas budget to take a mini-vacay (we'll call it a babymoon) back to one of our favorite spots...Hilton Head Island! Now before you go thinking, we could never afford that....let me change your mind. It doesn't take a lot of money at all! I bid on our room on Priceline (there are some tips/tricks) and had it narrowed down that we would either be staying at the Omni Hotel & Resort or the Sonesta Spa & Resort....both of which we were more than okay with. I ended up winning the bid and paying a whopping $72/night for a 4 star resort. Amazing.
Saturday
So, Saturday morning we struck out on the 5 1/2 hour trip to Hilton Head! When we finally got there we were pleasantly surprised with beautiful accommodations including a newly renovated king room.
After arriving and getting our luggage unloaded, we struck out for a walk on the beach! Even though it was a little chilly and very windy, the view was gorgeous. Afterwards, we headed out to the Tanger Outlets in Bluffton and shopped around a little bit mostly killing time before we headed out to dinner. For dinner we ate at one of our go-to joints for any vacation, Mellow Mushroom! After eating some pretzels and pepperoni pizza, we headed to Sweet Frog and got some frozen yogurt.
This whole day, I'll mention, that my stomach had been a little off. I attributed it to way too much soda, not enough water, and generally unhealthy food (Bojangles for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch, Mellow Mushroom for dinner). More to come on Sunday....
After dinner we hung out at the hotel and played Ticket to Ride, a super fun board game. We played a total of 4 times and Jacob beat me....four.times. Ridiculous! But, we still had a lot of fun!
Sunday
Sunday morning I woke up and my stomach was still all out of whack so I called the BCBS 24 hr. nurse line. After asking me a series of questions, the nurse on the phone had decided that my symptoms were either due to: 1) pre-term labor or 2) C. Diff (Clostridium Difficile) and that I should go to the nearest Urgent Care or Emergency Room immediately. Um, HELLO?! I am in South Carolina and on vacation!! Well, of course, I freaked out and started crying. I tried to call my OBGYN for a second opinion and apparently, they no longer have a doctor on call phone line (something about new federal guidelines). I asked Jacob what he thought, I asked my parents what they thought. Then, I ultimately decided to do something that I don't like to do.....annoy my midwife. I texted her what was going on and she almost immediately texted me back. She said to take some Imodium, drink TONS of fluid, and see how I progressed throughout the day. Well, obviously I progressed just fine and things cleared up. Thank the Lord for midwives who go above and beyond.
So, we spent a little time that morning scouring the island for Imodium, eating McD's for breakfast (I had their fruit/maple oatmeal and it was delicious), and playing Ticket to Ride. And the good news is that I finally beat Jacob!! Afterwards, we went for another walk on the beach and the weather did not disappoint. Gorgeous sunny skies, little to no wind, and about 65 degree temps.
On our walk, we even got to see some of these...
One of our favorite places on Hilton Head Island is Lawton Stables. It is a gorgeous farm located smack dab in the middle up an uppity, gated neighborhood that makes guests pay to get in! In the middle of the highfalutin folks' community is a beautiful horse farm. But even better than that....chickens, goats, cows, a pet deer (yes, you read correctly- her name is Callie), and PIGS! You can walk through their farm, go on horseback rides, and pet/feed the animals.
After going through Sea Pines, we headed back over to the Tanger Outlets to pick up a few cute outfits that I had spotted during our first round through. As to not be impulsive, I waited it out a day before buying them! Let's just say that I LOVE Carter's & Janie and Jack :-)
For dinner, we went to The Crazy Crab which sits right on Jarvis Creek (the sound). While we can always count on this being the most expensive meal of the trip (around $65 with tip), it is always worth it. Delicious food, great customer service, great views! Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time. Let's just say that it was way less than wonderful. Terrible service, cold to lukewarm food....and that is just skimming over it. Well, we paid the bill and were about to leave when I noticed one more thing with the bill that tipped me over the edge. So, I went and talked to the manager, very calmly but very matter-of-factly. We didn't expect it at all, but she ended up taking one of the entrees off of our bill as well as the surcharge for macaroni and cheese (which is what tipped me over the edge)! We walked out with a bill of $25 instead of $50. Jacob (notice I did not say "we" here) generously tipped our waitress $10 saying that we should always offer grace because we don't know her situation. True? Probably. But still, she gave terrible service.
After dinner, we headed back home, relaxed, watched Bridesmaids on TV, and played a few more rounds of Ticket to Ride (all of which I won)!
One of our favorite scenes....I mean what is not to love here? Privacy (short i), That's from my undercarriage. HAHA! WHAT?! I mean, so wrong....yet so hilarious.
Monday
Sadly, Monday morning meant that it was going home time. We slept in until around 8:30 and then headed out to the beach for one last walk. It was definitely difficult to leave because the beach was at its best.
The beach was littered with sand dollars. We saw at least six and there were families finding them everywhere as well. It was so exciting and so of course, we had to take some home! We took the ones that were clearly already dead because they were up near the sand dunes and had already turned greenish. You can see in the pictures above, that the beach in Hilton Head has a very gradual slope. No crazy drop offs or sand bars like you find in Atlantic Beach. And, the sand is packed firm so the wind doesn't blow it everywhere. This means that when the tide comes in, it is all the way up to the bottoms of the dunes; yet, when the tide goes out there is at least 500 yards of packed sand. This makes it an ideal vacation beach because it can be slammed packed and you still feel as though you have all the space in the world.
After our walk, we headed back to the car and left the beloved island. There may have been some hormonal tears spilling down my face. It was an end. And end to our vacation, an end to this one last vacation as a couple of two (even if we vacation alone in the future, we'll always be a family of 3). But I got it together quickly when Jacob took me to Chick-Fil-A for a CFA biscuit and...ice cream! At 10:30 in the morning :)
We had a wonderful time in Hilton Head and will definitely be going back soon...
