Saturday, October 04, 2008

I Love This Harbor

I love Hilton Head. Seriously. It's my favorite place to go. It's probably genetic because my parents love Hilton Head. They went on their honeymoon there and have been back at least a zillion times since. It's one of those places that has that indescribable "thing" that makes you love it but I will try to tell you a bit about it. If you have ever been there, you know what I mean! Though for me, a lot of the love is nostalgia for my mom. She loved it there and it's the only place that I can still picture her.

This past summer we made our third trip to Hilton Head with Doug and Christine + Kiddos. What a trip! The last time we made this joint family vacation I was pregnant with Greta and Christine was pregnant with Wesley so we were at a bit of a disadvantage! This year was easier and harder. We had bigger kids which meant a trip to the park or the kiddie pool was not going to make them giddy but they were almost all old enough to fend for themselves a lot of the time. We did more splitting up this year than in the past but I think that worked out for the best. Tim and I are more "lay around and do nothing" vacationers and Doug and Christine are more "get out and do stuff" kinda folks. Well, maybe not exactly. Some of that is more a function of how old our kids are and how work-busy our lives back home are. Anyhoo, it worked nice to be able to split up or do things together based on schedules or lack of schedules~particularly Wyatt's naps. The big treat this tiem around was grown-up dinner! We went out for dinner twice without the kids and that was the highlight of the trip for me! We had a great time and love the tradition of doing HHI every summer.
Here's Amelia, Caroline, Emily B, and Greta waiting to Gregg to start singing. One of the best parts of Hilton Head is the fun family things to do. A long-time favorite of the my family is Gregg Russell AKA the Jerk Under the Tree. He's been playing under the Liberty Oak Tree in Harbor Town since 1976. Gregg is another Linda thing. She loved him so much. I remember her sitting at his show singing along with him. He's definitely heavy on the cheese but the more fruity grown up drinks you have, the more fun he is!After the show last summer, me and the kiddos with Gregg Russell.

Here's a shot of Doug and Tim getting ready for another fantabulous part of Hilton Head. A little family tradition we call Happy Hour. We start prepping at about 4:30 with the official start of HH on the screened in upper deck at 5:00. In addition to your choice of cocktail, there is always fresh local shrimp and oysters, cheese and crackers, veggies, and all kinds of other goodies. You could make a full meal out of Happy Hour and we often do!

Just one last shot of me and the girls last Christmas in Harbor Town. We love to go down to Carolina for Christmas. It's warmer than the Midwest and has great shopping!

2 comments:

Mommy Brain said...

Ahhh! HHI! Happy Hour! Stuck landings...Chinese girls falling off balance beams...shrimp and grits...Mexican's posing as Japanese cooks, "thank you very much.", shopping and sand...it's all good! Thanks for the memories. We love HH too...

Miss you Linda.

mommy to an angel said...

What great timing! We are starting to plan a family vacation (not just our little family of 4, but grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins...) We haven't done this in about 15 years and our favorite place to go back then was Myrtle Beach. Unfortunately MB is not like it used to be so we are not wanting to go back there. My family that lives in NC recommended HH and have found a couple of condos down there to rent in the first week of June. I have never been there and am not completely sold on the idea of going there just because I know it can be a bit pricey and I want everyone to be able to go. I know there's a lot of families who will not go if it's too expensive. Good to know you think so highly of the place and that it appears to be a great place for families. We'll have to talk more later! Great post, great timing :-)