Hilton Head Bound

Sometimes you just need a beach trip. We've had a pretty hectic year thus far. Cam has traveled quite a bit. The kids and I have had a lot of adventures here in North Carolina, too. It's been fine -- fun even -- but certainly stressful. I craved a week away with the whole family. Not just away, but away at an awesome beach location. After attempting to plan a beach trip a few times with nothing feeling right, Cameron endorsed the trip, and I finally managed to pick a time and location that felt perfect. We were going on our beach trip!

Hilton Head Island has been recommended to me by a few people. I was told South Carolina is the best location to go if you're traveling in the spring because it warms up a bit quicker than places further north. We went to the Outer Banks last year, and while it was a very fun trip, I could see the benefit of going somewhere warmer this year. We were pretty chilly trying to go to the beach at the Outer Banks in May. This year, at Hilton Head, we didn't have that same problem.

I needed some hand holding during the planning phase. Going somewhere new is always tricky because it's hard to know a good location to book and where to go and what to do and all of that. Thankfully a friend of mine was an absolute life saver and helped me with anything I needed. She recommended a great vacation rental company for the area. I found a rental that was a bit further from the beach than a lot of them, but looked so beautiful!

Admittedly, one of my favorite features was the queen over queen bunk bed in one of the bedrooms. I don't know what it is, but I LOVE bunk beds in vacation homes. This one was perfect because we were able to get my mother-in-law Marsha to come with us for part of the trip, and I wanted her to have her own room during her stay. As a result, I needed a room where I could put all four of my older kids where they would all be able to sleep comfortably. This bunk bed was the answer! The kids were so excited! And, being totally honest, I would have liked to play in their room a bit, too!

Marsha flew into Raleigh Durham Friday, the day before we drove down to Hilton Head Island. It was fun to have her along for our roadtrip. I didn't pack as light as I usually do ("To heck with it! I'm taking it all!"), so the van was packed a bit tighter than usual. But, we all fit!

I got a new hat for our trip. Actually, I bought the hat before I planned the beach trip. Really, the hat was one of the reasons we went on the beach trip at all. I mean, you can't own an awesome beach hat and not go to the beach. It's a sin. And I will NOT be that sinner.

We ate breakfast before we left, and planned to eat lunch at a local place when we arrived in Hilton Head. Unfortunately, our schedule ran a bit later than we'd hoped, and we had to abandon our dining plans in favor of an earlier refueling stop at a Wendy's along the way. Sometimes it's best to make sacrifices in order to avoid hangry children.

We arrived at our destination in the late afternoon. We took a bit of time to unload and get to know the vacation home we would be spending the next week in. It really was as beautiful as the pictures made it out to be. Everybody was pretty happy with it.

The townhouse is also right on a little lake, and you could look out onto it from most of the rooms. There was also a little deck area with rocking chairs and a grill. Perfect.

We decided Saturday was a good chance for the kids to go swimming in the pool with Grandma while Cam and I grabbed some groceries and a pizza for dinner. They were pretty thrilled with this arrangement.

The setting was perfect. There was Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Just looking around at the beauty made the whole drive worth it. It was paradise. Everyone was thrilled to be there. This was going to be an awesome trip!