Last year we rented a condo in St Augustine and had a nice time. We left there knowing it was unlikely we'd return. The beach was beautiful, pristine and very private. Gated access, not a huge crowd. The condo was ok. Not the cleanest, the furniture wasn't great and while it was ocean view, it was not the most comfortable of places. Overall it was very commercial, very overgrown, kind of overrated.
This year we went to Hilton Head Island and can't wait to go back, even to the same unit. It was not ocean view but it was spotless, comfortable and the prefect mix of proximity to ocean and to amenities (i.e. grocery store and restaurants) without being at all commercial. Hilton Head apparently has some pretty serious regulations on building size and style.
It was a public stretch of beach and surprisingly full for 'off season' but not terrible and we had a ton of fun.
We arrived on Saturday and after checking out the house and unloading, we headed down to the beach to go for a walk...and walked straight into a frat party...yep. Complete with police officers who had apparently been called recently to tone down the festivities. That was a little strange, and I have to say it's a little odd having a slightly drunk college frat boy tell you how beautiful your daughters are....'umm, thanks.'
Elle dove in.
Literally. Just jumped in the ocean. Fully clothed and loved it.
Walking out to the beach.
And straight into the water.
This grin could not get any bigger!
The next day was our only tough morning. It was raining and we kept putting off going to the beach and finally gave up at 10 and went out even though it was still drizzling. We walked straight into a Susan G Komen race for the cure 10k. Yep, no such thing as a quiet beach around here apparently. It ended up being highly entertaining for everyone. Elle sat in her little beach chair waving at everyone and they all waved back!
Playing in the sand.
We quickly discovered that the tides were against us and at high tide, there was no beach so the next morning we went for a walk instead.
Great side walks just outside our community.
Picking 'flowers' from the side of the road.
I love this girls hair!!!
We did end up back on the beach and I have to apologize because I really only have pictures of Elle. My husband and I did the 'divide and conquer' approach to vacation parenting and he and Ali were frequently walking up and down the beach chasing birds and looking for shells. Elle and I sat in the water or sand and played.
We like the mud.
And the surf.
I love this one.
We had a few playground trips and did a little island touring including stopping at the lighthouse.
But mostly we spent as much time at the beach as possible. By Wednesday afternoon Ali looked at me and said 'I'm ready to go home,' which was well timed as we were leaving Thursday morning. My husband really would have like to stay the extra day, but as it turned out, Thursday was the start to the rain that has managed to leave most of SC under water. We escaped right in time.
It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to do it again next year.
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