Our Hilton Head Holiday

On Hilton Head Island, the stores and restaurants are set back from the road, often behind a lush curtain of trees, and identified only by low, tasteful wood, stone and brick signs - no neon, no bright lights. It's lovely, although a bit dark and hard to navigate especially at night. In addition to maintaining a charming low country atmosphere, the lack of bright lights ensures that the baby turtles who crawl from their sand nests head towards the moon and their sea home rather than the deadly roads or unwelcoming parking lots. I love that.

Owen and I spent last week at Nana and Pop-pop's place in Hilton Head (sadly, Bob spent last week in Missouri). We flew into Charlotte, where my good friend LeAnne picked us up and took us to her gorgeous old home for lunch with her hubby Marc and their son Rhys, another Kokshetau kid. From there we loaded up the car with plenty of snacks and diversions for the boys and drove to the coast.

Our first full day was spent exploring the resort's wonderful pools. Rhys and Owen loved the small fountain in the beach side kiddie pool; swimming with us in the warmth of the two big salt water pools; the bubbles coming up from the bottom of one pool (like a giant hot tub); and the play area with shooting arcs of water. That night LeAnne cooked up a yummy dinner of shrimp, baked potatoes and asparagus; then we all ventured to the story circle for a camp fire and s'more making.

The next morning we dressed up the boys in the adorably preppy outfits LeAnne had brought along and went to Sea Pines for a photo shoot. As you can imagine, two 2-year old boys aren't the most cooperative models, but we managed to get a few cute shots and more importantly had fun exploring the marina area, cavorting on the playground, and enjoying a lunch in the beautiful park. We had to say goodbye to LeAnne and Rhys in the afternoon ... after all they have a lot to do since LeAnne and Marc are leaving later this month to return to Kazakhstan for their daughter!!

Owen and I enjoyed the rest of our visit with Nana and Pop-pop; spending another day at the pool and, when the weather wasn't cooperating, a morning at an indoor children's play place - where Owen whipped up some sandwiches in the kitchen, piloted an airplane, and played at railroad engineer.

It was great too to see Uncle Rich and Aunt Cathy when they arrived for the beginning of their vacation at their nearby condo, as well as family friends Frank and Dorothy. We truly had a wonderful week!

Alison - last pic is all for you babe!