Spring Break 2009

We had a great vacation...so sad it's over!

We left last Friday night, 3/20 around 6:30 and got to Fancy Gap, VA (our stopping point) around midnight. We made really good time. We rested for the night and got up the next morning to finish the drive. We met up with Mom & Randy in Statesville, NC for breakfast and we rolled into Hilton Head around 3:00 or so. We got all unpacked and headed for the beach. Here's Hannah getting reacquainted with the ocean. It was really windy so the water was pretty rough. She liked it after a short while.

Susan got in around 5 or so and after she unpacked, we all headed for dinner at the Salty Dog. We got back and Hannah had a ton of gifts to open for a belated birthday from Aunt Susan. We didn't stay up too late since we were all pretty tired from the drive.

Sunday morning, we all went to breakfast at Harbor Town.

The weather was real nice so we went to the beach after breakfast. It was still windy down by the water, but we hung out there anyway. Hannah enjoyed playing in the sand and mom, Susan and I all loved laying in the sun on the beach - despite the wind!

We all went to Kingfishers for dinner that night and then back to the condo. Tony opened his birthday gift from Mom & Randy. He got a new Browns Golf Hat and a round of golf at Harbor Town!!! Here he is when he realized that's where they were playing:

FYI - for anyone who may not know that golfing at Harbor Town is sort of a big deal!! That's a PGA course that the pros will be at in a few weeks.

We got up on Monday morning and headed to the beach again. It was warmer today, but still a little windy. Hannah had a great time playing by the edge of the ocean! She loved kicking at the waves. The tide was really low, so we found all sorts of cool stuff....sandollars, crabs and a starfish. She was pretty freaked out by the crabs and also when she realized the starfish was alive (we did throw it back into the ocean)

I did my annual stupid thing of not putting on any sunscreen and the results were the same as every other time - sunburn!! It wasn't the worst I've had, but I got it pretty good! Aunt Nadine, Uncle Dick, my cousin Bo and his fiancee Courtney all came down later that afternoon. After Hannah's nap, I took her down to the beach to fly a kite. She thought it was pretty fun, but after a while, she wanted to play in the ocean again.

We just ordered pizza for dinner at the condo and then we headed to the Salty Dog for a few drinks. We had a fun night!

Tuesday was another really nice day, but I didn't want to burn anymore, so I kept covered up. I took Hannah to the pool. The water was really cold, but she had fun. Susan, Hannah and I hung out there for most of the afternoon. The guys golfed and Mom & Courtney hung out at the beach. Nadine hung out with her friend that lives down there.

Then we all went to dinner at the Land's End Cafe over by the Salty Dog. It's got a pirate decor, so it was fun! A bunch of us had all-you-can-eat crab legs...we all ate way too much!!

Wednesday, the guys golfed at Harbor Town. Tony got a par on the last hole - that's sort of a big deal being that it's the signature hole. Uncle Dick almost started a new game of Gator Skiing!!! There was a really big gator by one of the holes with an elevated green. He didn't see it at first and then looked down over it off of the green and then realized that it was directly under him!!! It gave everyone including their caddy a good laugh! The weather wasn't the greatest so Hannah and I hung out at the condo most of the day. Mom, Nadine and Susan went shopping for some stuff and then we just ate in that night. Mom had one of her teacher friends over and we at burgers and hot dogs and played games in the condo. It was a fun night! Here are a few pictures from the evening. I have to throw one of Bo & Courtney because there aren't a lot of Courtney. She was busy studying a lot of the week, so I didn't get her in too many pictures. For the record, Hannah LOVES her! She was always asking where Courtney was and still does now that we're home!!!

Thursday, the weather wasn't that great again. It was warm, just cloudy. We went to breakfast and then Susan, Hannah and I took a walk on the beach. Then Tony and I took Hannah to the horse farm on the island. We got to pet all sorts of animals - goats, sheep, donkeys, pigs and horses. Then she took a pony ride. It was fun!

After that, Hannah took a nap and Tony and I headed out for a ride. We went to the outlet mall and he spent almost an hour with me in the Coach store while I made up my mind - now that's love!!! Anyway, I got a new purse so that was fun! We went back to the condo and showered and changed and then Tony and I went out to dinner - just the two of us. Mom, Randy and Susan stayed home with Hannah and the Ross' went out together. We had a nice dinner...here's a bad picture of us at the Japanese restaurant we went to.

Then we just hung out and played a game for the evening.

Friday was our last full day. I gathered every up for some pictures. Courtney was missing from the pictures because she got up early to go to Panera to study. Sorry she wasn't there for these!! Here are a few:

After pictures, the guys went golfing and Mom, Nadine and Susan went shopping. I took Hannah for a date for the day! We went to Harbor Town to play at the playground. Then we went for a walk aroun Harbor Town and out on pier. Then we ate lunch and played a little longer at the playground.

She was crying when it was time to leave and I got her to stop because I told her we'd look for aligators on the way home. Well, I was driving along and thought I saw one. We got out of the car and waked over and sure enough, it was pretty big one sunning himself by the water. There was another one in the water. Remarkably, she wasn't afraid of it!

We ended the vacation with a dinner out at the Osyster Factory.

It was such a great week! It was a really nice retreat for our family too. It was great seeing Susan for a whole week and spending time with everyone together. The condo was nice and the entire trip was just wonderful!!! Thanks for everything Mom & Randy! We love you guys!

All the photos from the week are on the slideshow of the blog.