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June 1- June June 13, 2021 Hilton Head Vacation!

 

June 1- June June 13, 2021 Hilton Head Vacation!

 We made it to June! Time to pack for vacation. Work was still very busy, so I had to squeeze in my preparations for going out of town for a week to Hilton Head with the Seitz family. Allison and I started off the month with a trip to the nail salon-always enjoyable. And I see the shops are getting busier, although we made a reservation, it looks like the salon is taking walk ins again. Still masked up. But the mask mandate is slowly being reversed here in Maryland. I happily removed my mask when shopping for vacation supplies at Costco and Walmart. Seems like I was the only one. I noticed the signs stating masks are no longer required on the front doors of stores are very limited. Some small signs are posted that state if you are vaccinated, you can come in without a mask. But of course no one is checking to see if you are vaccinated. The positivity rate for COVID is under 1%. Still crazy times. Anyway, I was excited to see that Costco finally got their bathing suits in stock! I needed some new ones especially for my water aerobics class at the Y. 

I tried to put our mail on hold for a week of vacation via USPS website and the site was not working. I had to stop into the post office to pick up a postcard to fill out. I also had to drop off Cookie at our friends house, Beth and Barry. Cookie will spend the week with their dog Ripley. We were wondering if that was going to work out since Beth and Barry had just purchased a toy poodle puppy. They wanted to try adding another dog to their family and have been looking for another Cavachon. However, it has been hard to locate a Cavachon breeder. Especially for a puppy  that costs less than $5000.00! Although we've seen quite a few more designer dogs with King Charles Cavalier Spaniel mix and Bichon mixes like Cava poos, and Shishons. Poodles and Bichons are supposed to be non shedding-good for allergy people. Anyway, their toy poodle ended up being bigger than Ripley and was a bit of a bully. So while they were at our house having BBQ over Memorial Day weekend, they sold the puppy online. So fortunately Cookie did not have to deal with that experience. And not only did we have them watch Cookie, but Allison's Betta fish as well. So I dropped off the menagerie on Thursday night. I also asked our neighbors Dan and Gloria to water my veggies and flowers while we are gone. Did not want all our hard work drying up while we were gone since it was supposed to be very hot and dry. Plus I had to drop off supplies to Mom B. It's always tougher to go away on vacation! Then I got called in to work on Friday. Tom wanted to leave early to get a jump on the drive to Hilton Head, about a 10 hr trip. I was able to get home from work and pack the van so he could load our bikes. We we were on the road by 7pm. Scott also had to work on Friday so we needed to wait for him to get off his shift. Allison was actually not driving down with us. She had to squeeze in another event with her boyfriend Gabe. She was invited to Gabe's best friends wedding back in March, but it was rescheduled I guess due to COVID and set for that Friday in New Jersey. So Allison drove herself to New Jersey on Friday morning and met Gabe at the hotel. He was actually in the wedding and had traveled to New Jersey on Thursday to attend the rehearsal dinner. Allison was actually invited to the rehearsal dinner as well but she felt she needed to spend some time at work since she was going to be away for the week. Gabe was also invited to our Seitz family vacation, but he has been traveling quite a bit too these past weeks, recently returning from Portugal where he was visiting his grandparents. Sadly they are on hospice, so it may be the last time he spends with them.  He traveled with his parents and they stayed at his grandparents home. He was also down in the Carolinas fishing with friends. Seems like a whole lot of people are back on the road again. Just in time for gas prices to go up! As well as prices for food. As we come out for COVID the grocery store shelves are back to being fully stocked, but the prices have definitely risen. And food appears to be shrinking. I bought some pop tarts for our trip and noticed they are a lot smaller and thinner but cost more. Guess that's why I keep working!

I just wish I could keep walking! My darn hip continues to be a problem. I have lost quite a bit of mobility in my right hip due to arthritis .Apparently it is  not bad enough for a total hip replacement, but I was hoping to get in more acupuncture treatments before we traveled. Unfortunately there is only one treating therapist and her schedule is usually booked. I was also hoping to get more time in the YMCA pool at the exercise class, but not with my increased work hours. And just when they opened up the pool without needing reservations for the classes. Although they are still limiting the number of people that can participate so you have to get there a bit early. 

So Allison dropped off her suitcase and her fish on Weds when she came over to get her nails done with me. She traveled to New Jersey on Friday and arrived at the hotel around noon in time to go to lunch and then to change her clothes. Gabe had to head over to the church early and Allison followed, driving in a big rainstorm and arriving at the church a little late. She really does not like driving in New Jersey! But she made the wedding and the reception with Gabe and they both had a wonderful time.  Meanwhile, Tom, Scott and I drove 4 hrs on Friday night. We decided to go through Virginia around the Blue Ridge mountains and avoid DC traffic. It's a very relaxing drive. We stopped near Charlottesville, VA overnight. We scheduled our time so that we would be arriving at the Savannah airport when Allison's flight arrived from Baltimore. We decided to take a tip from our niece Stacey and her husband Matt who were flying in from Indiana since Stacey is 7 months pregnant and not really up for a long car ride/drive. We decided it would be more efficient traveling if Allison flew down after her wedding. So she drove home on Saturday morning and then took an Uber to the airport. So we picked her up and headed to the beach house on Hilton Head Island. Mark and Linda Seitz as well as Dad Seitz had already arrived. Mark was picking up Stacey and Matt at the airport later that evening. Our nephew Eric, wife Sarah and their two daughters, Sarah and Baby Emma were also arriving. We unpacked and scoped out the house before heading out to dinner. The traffic was heavy getting onto the island as most vacationers rent week to week, Saturday to Saturday. And all the local restaurants were very busy as well. Since it was raining a bit, we opted for an indoor dining experience and stopped at the first place we could find parking. Turns out to be a Greek restaurant that was absolutely delicious. Everything was very fresh, and Allison and I split a chocolate baklava. Yum! 

On Sunday we split up and headed to church in the morning. Allison and I opted to attend mass at a church we have been to before on the island, St Francis of the Sea. This was the first time back in a church since the pandemic for our family. It was nice to be able to attend without masks and even sing. Although no shaking hands for the sign of peace and they still pass out the eucharist from behind a plastic screen-in the hand only. The boys went to a closer parish church for mass-no singing(or bad singing), no missals. Not sure if they wore masks. But we all met up afterwards to spend some time on the beach and back in the pool at the house for the day as well as picking up supplies at the local grocery store. Had to take a trip to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store the night before too. The beach house was just down the street from a the Coligny Public Beach access with lots of shopping(and the store where I bought our turtle Koops!) and restaurants/bars and a beautiful park. Close enough to walk or bike but not right in the large crowds. Sunday evening we all shared a meal together-Tom and I brought strip steak to share to make fajitas and they had a wonderful grill at the house. We had a busy schedule planned for the week!

On Monday morning, Allison and I, Stacey and Dad Seitz all headed out for a kayak adventure. We paddled around the bay and marshes looking for dolphin sightings and lots of shore birds. Meanwhile, Tom and Scott did some biking on the beach and the awesome bike paths and stopped into the Tiki lounge on the Coligny Beach for some liquid refreshments. This is the first summer that Scott is legally able to drink and order from the bar on his own. His goal was to try out all those crazy, fruity beach drinks. Preferably with umbrellas. Afterwards, Allison joined them for lunch at a tasty restaurant called Poseidens. I headed over to the Sea Shack with Mark and Linda, Sarah and Eric and the girls. We have had their food before when visiting Hilton Head and it is delicious. They had extra tables outside due to COVID, so we stayed and enjoyed our meals. Grilled fish and lots of hush puppies!   We also did some souvenir shopping and had an ice cream break-salted sea turtle for me!

On Tuesday, Dad Seitz took all the ladies out for lunch. We decided to eat at the Salty Dog Cafe inside the Sea Pines resort. We also did some shopping at their pier while waiting for our outside table. Again, very tasty seafood(I had a lobster grilled cheese sandwich) and fruity drinks! A wonderful outing with Dad Seitz. Allison , Scott and I spent the afternoon at the beach, catching up on our reading and frisbee while Scott tried out some sand sculpting. In the evening, Tom and I, Allison and Scott and Dad Seitz took out some small cat boats. They tried talking us out of the boats saying that the bay had been choppy and were trying to get us to take out some inflatable boats instead. But we had our hearts set on the jet boats and our tour was terrific. Our guide led us in his own boat around the bay. Allison and I piloted our own boat, Tom and Dad on their boat and Scott by himself. Allison and I especially enjoyed chasing dolphins around the harbor and trying to keep up with the boys!

On Weds morning we were up early for fishing-Allison and I , Dad Seitz, Eric and Scott. By the time I arranged for a fishing tour, most everything was already booked. Our boat was not as big as expected(no bathroom like it said). We had a 4 hr fishing trip and hoped to catch something edible. Our Captain attempted to take out us fishing near shore but the waves were just too high and too much for his boat. Everyone got soaked(almost) and Allison and Dad Seitz had enough of being slammed up and down from the large waves. Finally we convinced the captain to take us back into the calm bay to fish. He had hoped the weather would cooperate, but it was just too much. We headed back in and dropped anchor. Eric pulled in a small shark, Scott pulled in a sting ray, and Allison and Eric tag teamed to catch a 4 foot Bull shark. Not edible and apparently very mean. We were hoping for Bonnet sharks-I guess a very tasty fish and keepers but no luck. It was quite the fishing experience. Sadly Dad and I did not get a chance to pull anything in, and it looked like we would be eating pasta that night! When we returned, Dad S took the guys out for lunch at a restaurant on the pier. 

On Thursday our family scheduled a trip into Savannah. I reserved a ghost tour for the evening on one of the trolleys. We drove down to Savannah, GA, about an hour from Hilton Head with a stop in Bluffton on the way there. Tom had spotted a new whiskey distillery and pizzaria when we headed in from the airport that he wanted to visit. A very beautiful facility called Burnt Church.. The distillery was built to look like a church with stain glass windows and very high ceilings and wood beams in the bar/distillery area. Tom tried a flight of whiskey and then we stopped into the restaurant for some flatbread pizzas before driving to Savannah. We decided to expand our visit this time to Savannah and first went to the University of Georgia's marine aquarium and research campus. They had a small aquarium and nature trails on the marshes south of the city. We had an interesting walk around the campus before trying our hand at cemetery tours. We stopped into the oldest cemetery where the singer Johnny Mercer is buried. I was looking for our Girl Scout founder's grave site, Juliette Gordon Low. We checked with a tour guide at the Bonaventure cemetery-full of really old sculptures and gravestones. We thought we'd catch the tour, but she was sold out. She did give us a map and explained that Juliette was in a cemetery closer to town. A rain storm was coming, so we drove around the 160 acres in the van before heading to the Laurel Cemetery where Juliette was buried. Allison and I stopped by her grave and dropped off a SWAP(a personal message from us written on a cute butterfly made by Claire).  Now it was time to drive into the city. We found parking and headed over to the Blue Moon bar and restaurant. We have been to this place multiple times(of course it is haunted). It's been on our ghost tour stop multiple times, so we ate inside since it was still sprinkling. They also have a Beer Garden. We stopped in their basement to say hello to the ghosts and then headed out for dessert at the oldest ice cream shop in Savannah-Leopolds. Also a girl scout favorite visit. Then it was time to head over for our trolley ghost tour. We have been on a walking ghost tour(caught lots of ghost orbs in our photos on that tour!). We have also participated in a ghost pub tour so this was the first tour where we got to stop into two buildings. The first stop was in the Gordon Low house-the husband of our Girl Scout founder. Turns out she lived her married days in this house and passed away in the upstairs bedroom of breast cancer. So Allison and I have visited the house where she was born, died and the place she is buried. We finished our Girl Scout quest. And the Gordon house is also supposed to be haunted. The trolley tour takes you around Savannah and our guide told stories of hauntings and history of the city. The tour of the house was amazing and then we stopped into a makeshift warf storage building. They had us sit on crates and then the lights went out! A sea merchant appeared and told stories of the ghosts of the waterfront(in character of course complete with candlelight and even a thunderstorm!). It definitely scared the young kids that were in our group!. I was glad I signed up for the trolley tour since it was sold out and so were the tours after ours. Savannah was packed with tourists. We really enjoy the ghost tours since we also learn quite a bit about Savannah's vivid history. And it's fun for a bit of a scare!

Friday was left for packing and relaxing. Our family also went for a bike ride. I tried to join them but I just couldn't get my hip to cooperate. Tom even put on a specialized pedal, but I just couldn't get enough flexion to pedal the bike. I did take a quick ride around the streets and even went up to the stores with Allison for some last minute gift shopping that afternoon. But my ride back was not pretty. We did enjoy taking Dad Seitz out for lunch at a very tasty seafood restaurant and sat on the pier. We had some terrific seafood including some local flounder. I love trying new seafood dishes especially when the food is local and so incredibly fresh! The flounder is caught local, early in the morning. The staff stand on the bow of the boat with a lantern and spear looking for flounder in the shallow waters of the bay. We had a great meal and enjoyed lounging around the pool the rest of the day. In the evening we walked up to the stores for dessert after dinner and got caught in a downpour. After it stopped raining, we walked back to the house along the beach and the most incredible rainbow appeared over the Atlantic. I so wish I had my phone to take a photo! We were a little nervous to carry our phones around water, especially since Scott jumped in the pool with his phone in his pocket. (its done). 

We had some other interesting events at the house like the entire stove that needed replaced because the gas line was deficient and basically exploding every time it was turned on! Also a minor disaster when Dad Seitz fell through a small poolside table after he sat down to enjoy his drink because  he thought it was a footstool . Besides a very sore back, he lost a perfectly good glass of bourbon! Overall though it was so nice to get away, visit with the family and forget all about the pandemic. We especially enjoyed playing with Claire and baby Emma. We are also looking forward to meeting baby Elijah, Stacey and Matt's boy due in August. I brought along some gifts for the girls and for Elijah. His nursery has a space theme so I couldn't help myself and picked up a large Baby Yoda pillow along with some space themed toddler books including Darth Vadar and Son. Looking forward to attending Stacey's baby shower via Zoom next week. I also enjoyed spending time by the pool, reading my Dr Pol book that Allison bought me for Mother's Day and putting together another vacation puzzle. And basically there was not much thought about Covid. Except when we were driving back home on Saturday and found that several of the fast food restaurants that we stopped at still had their dining rooms closed, or limited staff interaction. 

We got home Saturday night but saved unpacking the van for Sunday along with laundry, lawn care and picking up Cookie and Allison's fish.