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| Snatched from Pinterest |
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| Another from Pinterest |
Saturday 5-14-16
Saturday was travel day. We flew from Phoenix to Dallas. It was not a comfortable flight. The man next to me thought he should be sharing my seat. We had about an hour and a half layover which was just the right about of time. The connecting flight departed from the opposite side of the airport. They have an airbus to zoom you around but it was about six stops from the gate where we landed. By the time we got to our gate Paul had time for a quick beer before they started boarding. We arrived in Savanna about 20 minutes early. Got the rental car and off we went. The journey from the airport to the resort is always stressful to me. It’s our first opportunity to get lost in unfamiliar territory, which we often do! The directions were good thanks to my sister because when I checked the confirmation for the 100th time, I noticed for the first time that the directions hadn’t printed out. She got the directions from their website and emailed them to me. Thank you very much. Once we crossed the bridge onto the Island I had Glenda take over (my GPS aka Get Patti Somewhere). Easy schmeasy drive this time. It took about an hour. We checked in and found our way to the condo. It’s very small but its nice and its clean and the patio and view are perfect.
Saturday was travel day. We flew from Phoenix to Dallas. It was not a comfortable flight. The man next to me thought he should be sharing my seat. We had about an hour and a half layover which was just the right about of time. The connecting flight departed from the opposite side of the airport. They have an airbus to zoom you around but it was about six stops from the gate where we landed. By the time we got to our gate Paul had time for a quick beer before they started boarding. We arrived in Savanna about 20 minutes early. Got the rental car and off we went. The journey from the airport to the resort is always stressful to me. It’s our first opportunity to get lost in unfamiliar territory, which we often do! The directions were good thanks to my sister because when I checked the confirmation for the 100th time, I noticed for the first time that the directions hadn’t printed out. She got the directions from their website and emailed them to me. Thank you very much. Once we crossed the bridge onto the Island I had Glenda take over (my GPS aka Get Patti Somewhere). Easy schmeasy drive this time. It took about an hour. We checked in and found our way to the condo. It’s very small but its nice and its clean and the patio and view are perfect.
Then we
headed to the grocery store for essentials: Beer, Water, Coffee, Bananas, Snacks. We scoped out some restaurants and ended up at Marley’s Island Grill. It was kind of
crowded and no patio seating available but we had a nice table indoors. The food and service were both good. We split a House Salad and Paul ordered a cup
of She-Crab Soup. It was really good.
Almost like a Lobster Bisque. I ordered
Salmon and he ordered Stuffed Chicken.
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| Stuffed Chicken |
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| The Salmon is under there somewhere! |
Both
were delicious. We skipped dessert and
headed back to the condo. Paul had some
ice cream and then he went back out to the patio. I went to bed.
Sunday 5-15-16
Good morning from my beautiful patio at the resort on Hilton Head Island.
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| View from the Patio |
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| Complete with Warning Sign! |
The coffee is hot and the air is cool. It says 66* but there is a slight breeze so it feels cooler.
It is very peaceful with only the sounds of the fountain splashing. No birds chirping. That’s weird! There is a little squirrel hopping around exploring.
We haven’t
decided what to do today. We have
dinner reservations though! We had
decided on a restaurant last night and they were booked so we made a
reservation for tonight at CQ’s. Options
for today are the Coastal Discovery Museum for their Civil War Exhibit. There is a Taco Fest somewhere. I haven’t ventured to the beach yet. The
check in lady said it’s an 8 minute walk to the end of the road.
Paul forgot to bring swim trucks so we need to shop somewhere before we
hang out at the pool/jacuzzi. We don’t
have any concrete plans this week except going to Savanna to pick up my sister
on Tuesday. We’ll have a late
breakfast/early lunch and then knock around Savanna for a while before heading
back.
Off to
Shower, Fluff and Puff and see where this day takes us.
Fort Howell
was an earthwork Fort built to protect Mitchelville and Hilton Head. The Fort did not experience any military
action and shut down at the end of the Civil War.
Monday
5-16-16
Another
beautiful morning on my patio. It is 59*, expecting a high of 78*. Perfect! There are a few birds singing in the background
today. There is also a bird snooping
around. I don’t know what it is but it is
kind of sleek and has long bright yellow legs! Might have been a Heron.
Yesterday
morning we started out towards Fort Howell keeping our eyes peeled for a
breakfast place.
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| Watch for turtles crossing the road! |
Not to worry. Some people prodded him out of the street and into the bushes. We went to
Stack’d Pancakes. It was after 10 so
that spells lunchtime for me. I had a
Patty Melt and he had a traditional breakfast combo. Food was good, service was average. We found our way to Fort Howell which didn’t
have much fanfare, in fact we drove right past it. We were the only ones there. There isn’t much left of the old Fort. We started walking down a trail and the trail
disappeared but we weren’t far from the continuation so we forged through the
debris. Of course a twig popped up and
cut my toe. I stopped on the walking
bridge to put on a dab of Magical Healing Salve (I always have a little pod of
it in my bag of tricks). Paul turned
around and asked what I was doing. I
said “wiping the blood off my toe” “BLOOD?!?!”
I said “well, we walked through dead branches and twigs and mulch and
poison ivy!” He said “poison ivy? Don’t
you think you’re getting a little carried away?” Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration. There was no poison ivy but I could
already feel the imaginary itch!
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| Nice walking path |
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| Historical Information |
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| Photo op with a soldier! |
~And that’s your History
Lesson of the Day.
We
left there and went to the Outlet Mall before heading to the Coastal Discovery
Museum. That was really nice. We walked
through the museum. I read an exhibit
about alligators. Paul thought the sign
by our condo was just for amusement but it’s actually possible that there are
alligators in there. It said they were
becoming extinct so they put them in lagoons and other water ways where they would have a safe place
to breed. They bury their eggs and right
before they hatch the babies start chirping so the Momma knows to come back and
dig them up. Then she carries them in
her mouth. No wonder they have no fear! And that's your Wildlife Lesson of the Day! When we finished wondering through the museum
we took the self-guided walking tour.
The scenery was beautiful and the trail was well marked.
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| Butterfly Habitat in large screened in Ramada |
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| Plaques of the Founding Fathers |
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| Bridges to Lookout Points |
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| I spy |
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| Signs about plants and insects |
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| WHAT?!?! IThoughtIWasOnlyKidding |
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| A Cemetery |
I was super thirsty and
the only thing I didn’t see at the Coastal Discovery Museum were drinking
fountains. There was a large church group
having an event at the pavilion. Three
young boys were walking towards us with small Dixie cups in their hands. I told Paul I was going to jump those boys for
their Kool-Aid. We completed the walking
tour and went back to the condo where I immediately drank OJ and Ice Tea, then
fixed a glass of Iced Coffee and we sat on the patio for a little while. Then we changed clothes and went to the
pool. The outdoor pool is right behind
our building. The indoor pool and Jacuzzi are
in the Fitness Center in the building next door. We went to the Jacuzzi for a while. I talked to a really nice older couple from
Delaware. Then Paul swam some laps
before heading back to change for dinner.
We
went to CQ’s at the Sea Pines Resort in Harbor Town. They charge $6.00 gate fee
to enter Sea Pines. Glenda directed us
right to the restaurant. Good thing because
nothing at Sea Pines is well marked. Maybe
they should use the gate fee money for signage!
It’s labeled as an upscale seafood restaurant. The restaurant was very
nice. The food and service, not so much.
Very disappointing. We ordered
the CQ Chowder which had lobster, crab and local catch (swordfish). It was ‘different’. Kind of a smoky flavor and not as thick as a
regular chowder. The server didn’t
really know the menu items very well.
She told us the Soup of the Day was Tomato Bisque. The sign board outside said Cauliflower
Cheese Soup. “Oh, that’s right,
Cauliflower”. I had read about their
Lobster Pasta being one of their signature dishes. I asked her what type of pasta was served
with the Lobster Pasta because I didn't want spaghetti. She said she’d
go check. She came back to see if we
were ready to order. I asked about the
pasta again. “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to
ask. I got carried away with a bar
order. I’ll be right back”. Cappelletti.
Okay I’ll try it. Paul ordered Duck. My pasta was completely bland. I asked for salt and pepper since there was none on the table. She asked me if I wanted her to take it
back. I should have but I said no. She said sometimes a little salt will make
the flavor pop. It was a little better
but still not as good as I had wanted it to be.
I picked out the lobster and ate that until I bit down on a piece of
shell and that was the end of that. I
put the plate aside and the manager came over to see if I wanted something
else. I was over it by then and said
no. Paul said his Duck was good but not
great. We decided not to try dessert
since we were already disappointed with the food there. BTW, the manager took my pasta off the check
so that was nice.
We
left there and drove across the street to Harbor Town. We would have walked but the restaurant parking lot was very small so we thought we'd be courteous and move the car. We walked around there for a little
while. Shops and Restaurants. The lighthouse has built to attract tourist. It was never a real lighthouse. Lighthouse Fact of the Day. There is a restaurant at the bottom and a gift shop and observation deck at the top.
The restaurant at the bottom is the Quarter Deck which is
where we had decided to take Diane Wednesday evening. I didn’t know that’s where it was. We went in and made a reservation. Paul said he was glad we hadn’t gone to CQ
with Diane. She’ll only be here two
nights so it would suck if we didn’t have a great dinner with her. We stopped at Cinnamon Bear for an ice
cream.
Strawberry Cheesecake on the left, Rum Black Cheery on the right. It was delicious. We ventured back to the condo. I spent some time with Fred on the phone
while he diagnosed why I didn’t have spell check on my tablet. Mission accomplished. Thank you my friend. Its funny how we get so dependent on the
computer tools we’re accustom to.
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| This might be my favorite picture |
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| Ice Cream Selfie |
We
might go exploring the Island today. I
wanted to do the Zumba Class at the Fitness Center but it’s at 11. Dunno. ETA - didn't happen.
Tuesday
5-17-16
This
morning it looks a little gloomy but its warmer than it’s been. It says 71*
with a high of 77*. We’ll see.
Yesterday
we went to the French Bakery for breakfast.
I ordered a breakfast croissant and he ordered a crepe.
The servings were ginormous.
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| Asparagus Egg-Straveaganza |
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| Normandy Crepe |
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| Beautiful Display |
I couldn’t
even eat half of mine. Somehow he
managed to finish his. After breakfast
we mowsied around Shelter Cove. Marina, shops and restaurants.
Typical beauty.
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| Very cool functioning sundial |
We
left there and headed towards Bluffton.
We detoured through Pinckney Wildlife Preserve.
We
continued on to Bluffton. It’s a cute
little town with a lot of Historic buildings.
We walked up and down the streets.
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| Old House converted to retail business. |
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| Heyward House Historic Center |
Out
back there were two restored buildings.
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| Slave's Cabin |
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| Summer Kitchen |
There
is also the oldest oyster house where you are not allowed to take pictures of the
women shucking oysters. Boo.
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| Oyster Docks |
This
house that has been structurally stabilized was one of the first Freedman
Houses. Freedman as in freed men from
slavery. They are trying to raise funds
to complete the restoration.
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| I love the fireplace |
Last stop in Bluffton was the oldest church in the area.
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| The Church of the Cross, built in 1854 |
When
we got back to the condo we relaxed a little while before heading over to the
Jacuzzi. Paul swam laps while I
read. When we got back from the pool and we went back to my favorite spot on the patio for more reading until dinner
time.
We
had dinner at Michael Anthony’s (Italian). We started off splitting a Cesaer
Salad. It wasn’t very good. It wasn't bad, it was just meh. We both though Ought Oh, not again. The entrees redeemed the meal. They were fantastic. I had Filetto de Manzo. Gargonzona Encrusted
Filet Mignon with Chianti Reduction Sauce. It was fantastic. Super tender and very flavorful. It was served on a bed of spinach and a swirl
of mashed potatoes. I had one bite of each of those and then ate every morsel of meat!
Paul had the special
of the day. Pork Chop Stuffed with
Fontina Cheese and Spinach, Wrapped in Prosciutto and finished with a Shallot
Cream Sauce. He said it was really delicious.
We skipped dessert.
Back
to the condo where we researched where to eat in Savannah after we pick up
Diane. We’re going to venture out to the
Historic District. He had some ice cream
and patio time. I went to bed. Do you see a pattern forming here?!
I’m
looking forward to seeing my sis today. I
hope the weather stays as nice as its been. Actually in the 30 minutes I've been outside the weather here has brightened up. No more gloomy. Its another beautiful day in the neighborhood.
Remind me to tell you about the drama with the neighbors across the lagoon!
Wednesday 5-18-16
Remind me to tell you about the drama with the neighbors across the lagoon!
Wednesday 5-18-16
I was freaking out this morning because my tablet wouldn't turn on. ;`{
I couldn't call my hot line (Fred) because it was only 4 a.m. in Phoenix.
Light bulb moment about an hour later. I got my phone asked Mr. Google. Troubleshooting gurus said to hold the power button and the volume up and volume down button at the same time for 20 seconds. I only have one volume button but I tried it anyhow. Nothing. Then BINGO. It started to fire up. Yippee. It took a while installing but I was happy to see the baby otter face (screen saver) pop up. Yeah me.
Yesterday
the weather was not very cooperative.
Savannah is about an hour drive but we left an hour and a half early in
case there was rush hour traffic. It
stated raining. We made great time until
we were 11 miles from the airport when the traffic came to a screeching
halt. We and waited and waited and
waited. It wasn’t even moving at
all. We sat parked on the freeway with
100s of other cars and trucks for more than an hour. Finally I was able to pull up on my phone that
there was an accident that had the freeway shut down and it had just
opened. A charter bus hit a semi. Bus driver and an infant were taken to the
hospital but everyone else was okay.
Finally we starting moving a smidgeon and then smooth sailing. Diane and I had been texting so she knew what
was going on. Good thing we had left
early so she only had to wait about a half hour. It had rained most of the way in so I decided
we should just go back to Hilton Head instead of exploring Savannah. When we got to the airport the rain had
stopped so we headed to 17Hundred90 to have lunch as planned. It flat out poured right before we arrived
and continued all through lunch. Paul
dropped us off at the door and went to park.
The restaurant was very nice and felt very Old Fashioned Savannah and the service was good. My friend Anna and her husband Bernard had
just been there two weeks prior for their honeymoon. Anna had posted a picture of a Fried Green
Tomato BLT that looked delicious so I decided to get that.
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| Big on the lettuce, skimpy on the bacon, the FGT was the star of the show |
Diane had a Crab Cake on Croissant with Fried
Green Tomatoes and Paul ordered the Brisket on Ciabotta. Everything was good. The rain let
up a little by the time we left but it was still too rainy to explore Savannah
so we headed back to Hilton Head. OMG
the storm turned horrific. It was raining
so hard the windshield wipers couldn’t go fast enough. We could barely see 20’ in front of us. It seemed like forever to get back to the
condo but it actually took an hour as Glenda had predicted. It rained all afternoon. I felt horrible because we’ve had such
beautiful weather and Diane finally got here and we’re grounded. It rained, it poured, it rained. We watched the 6 o’clock news and they said
the storm was not typical but moving on.
Hallelujah. As soon as it let up
a beautiful bird flew into our lagoon.
We watched it move down the side and then it flew across to our side. It was an Egart.
I
went in the condo and grabbed a piece of croissant from my leftover breakfast
yesterday and took it out to feed him.
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| Shhhh, be verrrry, verrry quiet |
He didn't eat the bread. Maybe he's a bug man! Then
Diane and I ventured out in the drizzle to the grocery store but first we went to
find the beach. The check-in lady had
told me it was an 8 minute walk to the end of the road and then you cut through
the apartment complex. Em, not really. We saw the pathway at the apartment complex
but it didn’t exactly take you to the beach.
We went to the grocery store and as we were leaving Diane asked the lady
how to get to the beach. She gave some sketchy
directions and said there is no place to park down there.. We went back to where we had
been and went to the left to see what we could find. Low and behold there was a Holiday Inn with a
driveway where we could see right out to the beach. We pulled into their “no parking” area and I
parked by a dumpster for a couple of minutes so she could to put her feet in
the sand.
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| Oh*Happy*Day, we found the beach! |
As
we were leaving we discovered a parking lot so we’ll go back tomorrow and park
across the street. The hotel has a bar
right there on the beach so tomorrow it will be 5 o’clock somewhere.
We
had dinner at Alexander's and it was fantastic.
Beautiful ambiance, great service, excellent food. Diane and I had one of their specials
“Colossal Shrimp Grilled with Cajun Spice Served with Lobster Mac N
Cheese.
Paul had the Ginger Peach
Mahi.
The shrimp had the perfect amount
of spice to give it a kick but not overwhelming. The Mac N Cheese was the perfect mixture of
creamy goodness. Paul said his Mahi was
excellent. Two Thumbs Up all the way around.
We got back to the condo and in typical fashion Paul had ice cream then he went to bed. Diane and I stayed up a little while.
Today we're going to breakfast then to the beach and have a cocktail at the beach bar. Later we'll venture out to where the lighthouse is and mowsie around there before dinner.
Weather says its going to be cloudy and 81* today. We'll take it.
Thursday
5-19-16
Another
beautiful morning on the patio. The fountains are bubbling and the birds are singing morning praises. The best part, no rain! My phone weather widget kept saying it was
going to rain today. Now it says clear.
Yesterday
when I got up I was grateful when I looked outside and the weather looked
decent. We went to breakfast at Signe’s
Bakery. I had the Hot Chicken Jack. It was oven baked chicken tenders with jack
cheese on their house made sourdough. It
was good. Diane had the Hot Buick which was like mine except no chicken and more cheese.
Paul had their “famous” Deep
Dish French Toast *as seen on TV* “Rachael Ray’s Favorite. It looked really good too.
We went back to Shelter Cove, the shopping center with the sundial, but it wasn't sunny enough to see the shadow. There are rocking chairs everywhere you go so Diane and I had a photo op at the marina.
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| Off our rockers |
We
left there and went to the secret beach parking lot. A shuttle took us across the street but first
gave us a little tour around the traffic circle. There was a little shopping area with
restaurants that we hadn’t discovered yet.
He dropped us off at the Holiday Inn beach entrance and we went to the
Tiki Hut for a cocktail.
We sat out for
a while soaking in the ambiance before heading back to the condo. We relaxed for a while.
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| Turtles visiting our lagoon |
We
headed out to Sea Pines and went to the Salty Dog Café at South Beach Marina
Village. EVERYONE in town wears Salty
Dog Shirts. We had to check out the big
attraction.
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| Beautiful Birds |
We went through some stores
and then up to the t-shirt factory and made our contributions. :wink: They donate money from sales to animal rescue. We left there and tried to find the
Plantation Ruins. What a fiasco. As I mentioned the other day the Sea Pines
charges a gate fee to get in and I really think they should spend that money on
signage! Or at least, detailed maps. We got super lost and Paul was,
lets just say, not happy about it. The
maps suck. Glenda didn’t recognize the
location. We asked people and they
didn’t know. He decided he was GOING TO
FIND THEM even he had a nervous breakdown in the process. He found it.
On the map its called Plantation Ruins.
In real life it’s called the Stoney-Barnyard Ruins! WTH?
It is a hidden gem. I think they want the tourist to frequent the shops and restaurants while trying to keep some privacy for the residents. It is quite frustrating trying to find your way around. We
left there and went to Harbor Town. Paul
and I had been there a couple of nights ago and had made dinner reservations to
take Diane there. We walked around the
stores and then we went into the Lighthouse.
Paid the Piper and headed up the 110 stairs to the top. There are displays and plaques along the
way. There’s a gift shop at the top as
well as an observation deck. The views
were amazing.
We lingered up there for
awhile and then Diane and I headed down.
Paul stayed and soaked in more of the history while Diane and I sat on rockers and
people watched. We had dinner at
Quaterdeck as planned. Paul and I had
the Stuffed Baked Lobster Tail, yummy.
Diane had Crabs Cakes
which she enjoyed.
After dinner we went
to Cinnamon Bear for ice cream instead of having dessert in the
restaurant. I rate it the best ice cream on the Island.
Back
to the resort and over to the office to print her boarding passes. :~{
Paul
was on the patio enjoying his cigar and monopolizing my tablet so Diane and I
left and drove down to check out the shopping/restaurants that we had seen
earlier on our shuttle ride. We found a
restaurant Paul and I might check out later this week. Back to the condo and just relaxed the rest
of the evening.
Sadly, today we take Diane back to the airport. We'll probably go a little early and explore Savannah since it was stormy when we were there on Tuesday.
*******Mid-Day Update***************************
Sadly, today we take Diane back to the airport. We'll probably go a little early and explore Savannah since it was stormy when we were there on Tuesday.
*******Mid-Day Update***************************
Uggg. Savannah.
Rainy-Rainy Savanna. I'm not a fan. ;~{
We
headed out about 9:30 with lovely weather.
No threat of rain. We went to
Historic Savannah and stopped at the Visitor Center for a map and location of
public parking. We parked and headed
down to Riverfront. It was
beautiful.
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| WWII Monument |
We
walked around the shops and kept our eyes peeled for someplace to eat since we
hadn’t had breakfast. We found the
Harley store so Diane and Paul bought shirts.
Two stores down was a cigar shop that Paul wanted to check out. There were a LOT of high school teens taking
a tour so all the restaurants were busy.
We went back up to the historic district and decided to eat at Sorry
Charlie’s. The service was excellent,
the food was average. We ordered Hush Puppies while we were deciding what to
order. Those were excellent. I ordered
the Spring Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese.
Diane had a Chicken Salad and Paul had a Burger. While we were waiting for our food our server
brought us a bowl of Boiled Peanuts to try.
Meh. Spicy and soggy shells, not my favorite. My salad was good but didn’t knock my socks
off.
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| Boiled Peanuts, it's a Southern thing! |
As
soon as we got our food it started raining.
Ugg. Yes I brought an
umbrella. It was so beautiful out when we
parked that I left it in the car. I was
supper stressed out. Diane kept saying “it’s
just rain”. I was upset because we still
had three hours to spend in Savannah which we had planned to use exploring the
area. I felt bad that her three day
getaway started and ended with rain. She
was fine. I was sad. I'm the ambaassador of everybody should be having a good time.She said she was. I was so upset I barely ate any of my salad. We asked our server
where we could buy umbrellas and the store was right across the street. Diane and I got ponchos. Paul wouldn’t wear one so I got him an
umbrella. Diane decided we should take
her to the airport and she’d just wait and read and we should head back to
Hilton Head in case the storm got worse.
We got her to the airport and I felt horrible leaving her there
alone for so long (3 hours). She said she’d be fine. I told her to text me when she gets on her
flight, text me when she leaves Charlotte and text me when she arrives in
Phoenix. Yes, I’m a Nervous Nelly. We headed out of the airport and it started
to pour. It was as bad as it was when we
left Savannah Tuesday. We could barely
see in front of us. I prayed the entire
way back! Diane called just as we were
pulling in the parking lot of the condo to see if we made it back okay. I told her I felt so bad about the rain but
on the plus side she got to put her feet in the ocean, see a crab in the sand, a jellyfish on the beach,
turtles, an egret and have a fantastic dinner while she was here. She said it was a much needed break and if
she would have known it was going to rain she would have come here anyhow. Then she said “where are we going next year?” LOL
So we got back to the condo where it was raining but not too bad. Paul’s stomach is bothering him a little plus
he ate a huge burger for lunch so he said he probably won’t want dinner until
late. Then he said “oh, you
only had salad for lunch, you’re probably starving”. No, not starving. I’m
okay. I went to go to the
office and hit up their Keurig and back to the condo to relax a while.
Oh,
there was a beautiful black bird sitting on my alligator sign when we got back.
When I got back with my coffee I went out side and mentioned the bird flew
away. Paul said no, it dove into the
lagoon and swam underwater, with just its beak out. No way! I sent Diane a picture and told her it swam under water. She said "oh sure, a bird that flies and swims under water, you need to eat!" I asked Mr. Google and it was an Anhinga Anhinga, aka Snake Bird. the bird dives for food and swims underwater. It was on the other side of the lagoon and I
watched it for a couple of minutes and sure enough it dived/dove into the water
and only it’s beak was visible. It stayed on the grassy area and a few
minutes later it flew away.
Multi-tasker! After the rain
stopped Paul asked if I wanted to walk down to the Tiki Hut, he’d buy me a
cocktail. Sure. We walked down (about 20 minutes) and sat at
the bar. I had a Mai Tai and he had a
beer.
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| Boys playing volleyball on the beach |
It was windy but beautiful
out. We left there and walked down to the
Vine. That was the restaurant Diane and
I found the day before. We didn’t
have a reservation and they were busy but luckily they had a table for us. It’s a small restaurant with maybe 10 tables
inside and 8-10 outside. The service
was great. One of the fish options was
fresh sea bass. Sea bass always reminds
me of my Dear ole Dad and when it’s fresh I usually order it. It said “pan seared crispy sea bass with a
corn meal crust and finished with a truffle and olive oil sauce”. I told her I was allergic to truffle oil and
asked if they would substitute another sauce.
She said they could sub a lemon beurre blanc or a pineapple/mango
salsa. I ordered it with the beurre
blanc.
Paul ordered mushroom soup and
halibut. The halibut was pan seared
served on rice with bok choy and a slice of pineapple that had been soaked in
Meyer’s Rum for two days. Two days aye?
I might have to try that at home!
Now
here’s the sign of an excellent server: when she brought his soup she told me “the
soup has a little bit of truffle oil so I wanted to tell you in case you wanted
to try a taste, you probably shouldn’t”.
I totally appreciated that. I
could smell the truffle oil but it was nice of her to mention it. Paul said it was very good. My fish was amazing! It was served on crispy spinach. On the side was pureed carrots with ginger
topped with English peas. There was also
a baked half tomato topped with goat cheese and herbs. Oh*Happy*Taste*Buds. Everything was fantastic. Our server was Dolce. We skipped dessert, although I may have had a
shot of limoncello!
We walked back to
the condo. It was dark and scary! It was only scary because it was dark. No street lights. just lights from passing vehicles. It was still a nice walk though. It took about 25 minutes to get back.
 |
| Frog |
Friday 5-20-16
Our
last full day of vacay. I woke up this
morning and it had been raining. The
weather widget said it was still raining but is predicting upper 70's and clear. I don’t trust it anymore! After breakfast Paul
wants to go to Beaufort. It’s
about an hour drive. It’s a National Historic Landmark.
*******Mid-Day Update***************************
*******Mid-Day Update***************************
I wasn’t
hungry so we skipped breakfast and headed out to Beaufort.
First stop: Visitor Center a map of the
historic district. The visitor Center
was nice. It was built as an arsenal in 1798.
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| Cathedral Windows, possibly to fool the enemy ships into thinking it was a Church and avoid ambush. |
The lady in the Visitor's Center was very helpful explaining
the map. There was also a very small
museum upstairs. The guy at the museum
was very friendly. We walked outside and
it was raining! WTH is with the ever
changing weather in this town? This time
I was prepared. I brought a rain poncho
AND an umbrella. I don’t dislike the
rain as long as I’m expecting it and prepared.
We found a parking lot, paid the piper and headed down to the
Marina. It sprinkled, it showered, it stopped, it sprinkled. Mother Nature wasn't sure what she wanted to do.
We had lunch
at Luther’s (recommended by the museum man).
It was good. I had a burger and
Paul had a beef dip. We decided to take
the horse drawn carriage tour. We got
there with two minutes to spare before the next tour.
 |
| Rocky |
The guide was
very informative and the area is beautiful.
He pointed out the house Sally Field rented during the filming of
Forrest Gump.
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| They say the tree branches come down and kiss the ground, then reach back for the sky. |
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| This one made a perfect arch above the walkway. |
He also pointed out the house that Tom Hanks rented. I almost felt like I was on a Hollywood Homes tour! We past a cemetery at a church.
He said during the Civil War it was converted to a hospital. They used a lot of the headstones for
operating tables. After the war they put
them back but history says they are not back in their original places. The headstones are not necessarily marking
the right bodies. although the bodies were never moved. He told us a lot of
interesting stories one the one hour tour.
When that was over we walked around a little then drove back to the cemetery at St. Helena's Church to walk around.
Then we drove around the
area again and came upon a very cool looking house.
 |
| The Castle, built in 1860 |
I got out to take a picture and the plaque
said “The Castle” A couple came walking up and I
thought maybe they lived there. The man
said “we’re just looking too”. I said “it’s
so beautiful” I turned around and they were
gone. Literally, it was two seconds.
They couldn’t have even walked to the corner of the property by
then. Vanished. Hmmm, Where did they go? We were curious about the Castle so I punched
in the address. 411 Craven. Mr. Google says it’s
haunted!
Back on the
road and it started to rain again. We
headed back to Hilton Head.
I went to the
office and printed our boarding passes.
We’re
enjoying a lazy late afternoon.
Saturday
5-21-16
The last
morning on my patio. The weather is
perfect this morning 70* with a slight
breeze and very peaceful.
Last night we
decided to skip dinner. Originally
thought we’d go around 8 but 8 came along and neither one of us were hungry. We
still had snacks. I had to take my meds so I had a muffin from our shopping on Day 1. 12 seconds
in the microwave and it was as good as new.
That’s a scary thought!
My tablet
decided it wanted to spend an hour this morning installing updates. I was glad I did a mid-day update yesterday or I probably wouldn’t
have had time until we get home.
I’m packed
and he’s packing. We haven’t decided if
well eat in Hilton Head before heading to Savannah or wait until we get
there. I told him I’m done with
Savannah. Every time we go to Savanna we
decide where to eat and it starts to pour.
I’d rather eat here and go to the airport early. OTOH there is so much more to explore in
Savannah. Dunno.
I’ll recap
the day when we get home.
We were
trying to find a place to eat. When I
Goggled “restaurants near me” it said Denny’s, Perkins, Cracker Barrel. When I’m on vacation I have a rule: No eating
in restaurants that I could eat in at home.
I’d rather try a local. I Googled “breakfast near Savannah Airport”. There were a couple of chains, then The Omelette
Café. One review said “skip IHOP and eat
local”. Bingo. Glenda guided us there. Paul had a breakfast combo and I had Fried
Shrimp. The shrimp was excellent.
And tomorrow, let the diet games begin! When we finished we headed to the airport,
returned the car, checked our luggage and headed to the gate. Our flight to Charlotte was right on time. We had almost two hours in Charlotte and then
our flight left 30 minutes late. There
was a heightened security alert. The CSR
said our plane had just come in from an international flight so it had to get a
security sweep and clearance before we could board. It was a long flight to Phoenix. They made up a little time but we were still
a little late. People were scrabbling to
get off the plane to catch connecting flights. We got to baggage claim and waited and waited
and waited until luggage finally started coming down.
Diane and Jay picked us up and we headed home.
Sunday
5-22-16
Home Sweet
Home
Yesterday we
packed and headed to Savannah. There is
a Harley Dealership there that Paul wanted to check out. When we had dinner at Alexander’s there were
a couple of old Harleys on display. Our
server said the owner of the restaurants owns the dealership in Savannah. Paul was hoping there would be some older
bikes on display. There were not. There was this oldie but goodie but
everything else was new or slightly used.
All in all
it was a great vacation. It was too
bad it rained/stormed two out of the three days my sister was there. We still did a lot and got plenty of R&R.
The condo was nice. Not the nicest place we’ve ever
stayed, not the worst. The condo was
small but had everything we needed. Sorry, forgot to take pictures before we scattered our stuff!
The
property is well maintained. The staff was
very nice and helpful if I had questions.
The location on the property couldn’t have been better. I really enjoyed
the patio on the lagoon and all the wildlife activity around the water. I would probably stay there again but there
are other places to explore before going back to Hilton Head.
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| View from the entry door (standing in the Kitchen) |
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| View of the Kitchen (standing in the Living Room) |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Typical Bathroom (nothing special) |
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| Guest Bedroom |
Most of the
food was good. The best two were Alexander’s
and Vine. Both equally as good in ambiance, food and service. Michael Anthony’s get’s a honorable
mention. The Caesar wasn’t good but my
filet and Paul’s stuffed pork chop were excellent. Service was good. They get points off for the Caesar because
the server said they know it’s nothing special, in fact they are going to
change it on their summer menu. If they
know it’s nothing special they should take it off the menu (IMO). Really, Caesar Salad is NOT that difficult to make.
We’ve been
told that in about two weeks the heat and humidity will be miserable until the
end of summer. I guess we picked a good
time of year to visit the South, in spite of the “fluke” storms. And seriously, I would give Savannah another chance. There is so much to do there and we didn't get the opportunity to even scratch the surface.
Thanks for following along.
Next stop ~ Budapest! River Cruise on the Danube in December.
I'm so excited I already started a blog: The Road to Budapest
Thanks for following along.
Next stop ~ Budapest! River Cruise on the Danube in December.
I'm so excited I already started a blog: The Road to Budapest
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