Hilton Head Island – September 28, 2012

Dave and I are so excited to be heading out on our first out of state RV trip! The house is in order, the kitties are being watched by our friend Amber, and the RV is packed.

We even got the tow package hooked up so we could take the car. We opted to go with all four wheels down as opposed to a tow dolly. When towing a Honda Element, there is a very specific sequence in which you shift through the gears before you leave it in neutral. It has worked great for us, you just have to follow the instructions carefully!! If anyone out there wants to tow an Element (four down), talk to us!

Here is our ‘home away from home’ ready to rock and roll!!

We start each trip with two things: prayer and then we must play ‘On The Road Again’ by Willie Nelson. We are not so much country music fans, but this is a classic song and really gets us pumped up as we are starting our next adventure! Our first stop will be Hilton Head Island, SC.

We are in the third hour of our trip now which is further than we’ve gone one way on any other trip. What a record, lol!

We just stopped for gas and it’s already an adventure. We are only stopping at places that are supposed to be ‘RV friendly', but this place was still a tight squeeze. We got up to the pump fine and even the Honda wasn’t sticking out too bad and blocking other cars, but leaving was fun (note sarcasm here!) We cannot back up with the Honda hooked up and I was sweating bullets as I saw how little room we had to turn the corner leaving the pumps. It looked like we would surely hit the cars parked in front of the convenience store. Dave is so calm, cool and collected though. We made the turn! I am amazed at how sharp Winnie can turn! I don't think I'm exagerating when I say Winnie has a better turning radius than my PT Cruiser!

Wow, we are arriving into Hilton Head now…..it is so beautiful! Everything is so clean and well manicured! It is the type of place where all the stores and restaurants look similar and are painted colors to blend into the surroundings. There are trees everywhere! They preserve as many as they can from what we’ve read. I think we’ve passed at least 20 golf courses so far!

Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort looks like our kind of place! Well, 95% of the rigs in here are WAY more expensive and luxurious than our Winnie, but that’s ok! It is beautiful here! Here is our spot, number 97 (the one on the right).

Camp is set up and we’ve explored the resort, now to find a place for a good dinner. The office gave us some guides and it is hard to believe how many restaurants are here, seriously, it’s like 150 or 200 on this 12 mile island.

Black Marlin Bayside Grill at Palmetto Bay Marina is where we chose. We chose well! Blackened Cajun Salmon with fruit salsa and crab cakes, plus yummy drinks and to share, maybe a petite key lime tart.

Day two we are on our bikes and exploring. Cute shops and cafes are everywhere! The beach is wonderful and again, so clean! Here are a few photos.

It is warm but overcast so not bad. For lunch we stumbled upon a place called the Frosty Frog.This is perhaps the best chicken salad EVER! This is the flipside of the food menu! Wow, look how many frozen drinks they have! Ok, I might have had one small one.

We chilled for a bit back at home base, played horse when we found the basketball hoop and the tennis courts, now we are off again. We are in the car and exploring every nook and cranny that looks interesting. We are at Harbour Town, a village within the planned community of Sea Pines.

After purchasing our Hilton Head Island t-shirts (we are such tourists!), we walked around, took photos and grabbed a BBQ sandwich at the BBQ festival there were having.

We drove around just looking at houses in Sea Pines, and we are in love. We are thinking of moving here. Well, maybe not, but it sure is nice!

Time to bid farewell to this lovely coastal town and move on to the next adventure!