With our mini-renovation in full swing, we decided to take a short break over the holiday weekend to visit Hilton Head, SC. We choose this location because we wanted a beach trip somewhere we’d not visited before. It was a bit of a drive, but we made it in time to enjoy the fireworks show at Harborside Marina. Grammy was smitten!
We hoped to have dinner at the Salty Dog (which came highly recommended) and spend a little time at the Greg Russell Playground. However, the wait time was almost three hours! Yeah, the island was packed! Instead, we found a local Italian eatery with hand-tossed pizzas. Yum!
Sea Pines Community
The next day, I arranged a guided tour of the Sea Pines Community. Sea Pines is a planned development that merged three separate plantations. Like many other places in the south, the history is an amalgamation of Native Americans who were driven out of the area, African slaves who were forced in, and European settlers. What stands today is an absolutely gorgeous retirement/vacation spot with an emphasis on environmental preservation. In fact, the popular Harborside Marina area (where we watched the 4th July firework display) is within the Sea Pines Community. Residents and visitors can enjoy riding horses, fishing, boating, dining and entertainment. Only residents have beach access.
Disappearing Island Dolphin Tour
Later that afternoon, we signed up for the Disappearing Island Dolphin Tour. We sailed Broad Creek to Disappearing Island – a sandbar that is accessible during low tide. We saw crabs, sand dollars, and a host of other interesting things. This was by far the highlight of the trip!
On the return, we saw a mama and baby dolphin. It was the cutest thing!
Instead of waiting 2+ hours at a sit-down restaurant, Grammy, Stinky and Blinky opted for fast food at the hotel. The DH and I waited – in the rain no less – for a table at Black Marlin. Oh boy, was it worth it! This was hands down, one of the best seafood meals I’ve ever had! And remember, I’m from the islands.
Savannah Beach Day
The next day I had grand plans to visit Savannah as it’s just across the Bay. However, still on a high from Disappearing Island, all the kids wanted to do was go to the beach. So after a very late start to the day, we shopped in the afternoon and spent the evening at the beach.
Photo bomb! 
Who could say no to this face?! 
That night, Grammy, Stinky and Blinky opted for convenience and took dinner back to the room. It was likely too late for a table at the Black Marlin. However, we found a little family-owned Italian restaurant called Guiseppe’s. As we were straight off the beach and quite literally dripping sand, we explained we’d be happy to take our meal to go, but the owner was kind enough to tell us not to worry about it. We opted to sit outside and enjoyed a hearty Italian meal. I think it was 9:45 by the time we were served. We were ravenous and completely forgot to take photos. Bummer!
Aviation Museum at Robins AFB
On our final day, we drove around the island and did a little souvenir shopping before preparing for the long drive back. The DH spotted an aviation museum at Robins Air Force Base so we made a quick detour. He was like a kid in a candy store.
Then we blinked, and BAM! Weekend over!! Isn’t that always the way it goes? We had a lovely visit. The DH and I have Savannah on our radar for an adult-only trip that we hope to make soon.
However you celebrated the 4th, I hope you were surrounded by the people you love most.
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