At Westin Hilton Head Resort Spa beach access
T-B Photos: late lunch dinner at Skull Creek Dockside; the local IPA, and one of the pelicans.
Not so many people know about Hilton Head Island is a great place to spend a short weekend away from home. I have been curious about it since I first came across an article about it in 2015. I have been planning to go to here for so long but it always fall at the back burner, So when a planned trip to Hawaii this March fell through, I, along with two of my friends, spent a three days off a couple of weeks ago here.
A four hour drive to South Carolina wasn’t that bad with two other equally energized and curious minds- MK and Lynette- to finally make this long overdue trip. Radio on full blast, with current Pinoy and foreign pop music playlists, plus in between chats and sing-a-long, the time quickly passed. We arrived at almost four PM, checked in to our room that overlooked the ocean, got ourselves refreshed then headed down to check the resort and the beach. We three, were all happy.
We never had to stop on our drive to eat, we nibbled some snacks while on the road; at almost 5PM when we all were hungry, we decided to head to Skull Creek by the Dockside to have a taste of the southern flavors. We had some Calamari with Shrimp on it (first time I had this and was flavorful!), Red Pear Salad, and Seafood Broil. All chugged down by the local IPA beer. With such sumptuous meal, all three of us were full after.
Dock Side at Skull Creek, Hilton Head, SC
This place was overlooking Skull Creek, hence the name- with the view of the fishing boat ramps. We decided to stay for a bit and explored the place. We watched fishermen cleaning up fresh catch fish and Pelicans waiting for some treats from them. I had similar experience like this in Chatham, the only difference was, seagulls were waiting for the treats. Such a quaint place. The dock was becoming busy since dinner time was approaching so we decided to leave and back to our hotel. It was almost sunset then so all three of us decided to walk by the shore along with other people until dusk. The sound of the waves coming through the shore was calming, and the soft breeze of fresh air was so relaxing; perfect way to end our long day.
Marshland at Discovery Museum
Day 2. All three of us decided that we will witness the sunrise the night before. At 0530AM, we woke up and headed to the beach to enjoy the sunrise. I brought my camera to take photos too, it has been a while since I shoot some sunrise so it was quite refreshing. Still a bit nippy, but that didn’t bother us, and some dawn breakers. We had a nice breakfast buffet at the Carolina Room when the sun finally shone. Then we headed back to our room and got ready to explore the town.
We made our first stop at Coastal Discovery Museum. A 70-acre ground that caters to experience Lowcountry wildlife and nature, history, arts and culture. There was no guide so we explored the place on our own; we got to see some of the marshlands, their flower gardens, and all the oak trees wrapped with spanish moss. Believe it or not, I still admire these trees even though I see them a lot in Florida.
capturing sunrise at Burke’s Beach;
bottom photo: the on top of the Harbourtown Lighthouse Museum
When we’re done, we decided to head back to the hotel and basked under the sun at Burke’s Beach. The weather was perfect- it wasn’t as scorching heat like the summers in Florida but rather reminded me of late summers of August in the Cape with the gentle breeze blowing. I finally enjoyed sun bathing once again. It was past noon when we all went back in in our hotel room to freshen up, and rest.
Crazy Crab at Javis Creek. Seafood restaurants were on top of our mission while exploring this quaint southern island, Crazy Crab was one in our lists. Once again, we were lucky to be dining while enjoying the vast marshland of the lowcountry. This was our second time dining with Hiltonhead’s tranquil landscape. It was in the low 60s but we didn’t mind seating outside as we enjoy both our food and the scenery. I have introduced Lynnette and MK to some of my favorite southern food- the Fried Green Tomatoes and Hush Puppies. The rest of the seafood and Salad we all shared. When late lunch/early dinner was over, we drove around town. One thing I noticed and admired- Hilton Head has so much greeneries. Despite a noticeable fairly new developments, it has kept and preserved its natural beauty- one thing I feel sad about Florida which has overgrown with construction in the last six years we’ve been here.
overlooking the Lowcountry on top of the Harbour Town Lighthouse
Our day ended at the Harbour Town Lighthouse and Marina. We climbed the 114 steps to the top that brought us a 360-scenic view of the lowcountry. It was rather breezy up the lighthouse but the view was our prize. I was hoping for a very good sunset while on top, but the thick cloud covered the horizon and the color was just grey and dull; that was when we decided to see the store and its museum inside briefly and headed back down. I always like exploring lighthouses and this, I must say was the first lighthouse I encountered with novelty shop on top. Quite an experience 🙂. While still walking around the grounds of the lighthouse and the pier/marina, we saw some dolphins playing in and out of the waters which was also a nice surprise. Then the sun magically appeared- creating a beautiful sunset underneath the grey clouds; my icing on the cake. That was a nice treat to end our day.
Lighthouse Museum and Marina with the unexpected sunset.
The following and our last day, I hit the beach one more time to enjoy the sunrise while Lynnette and Mk were still sleeping. I always enjoy the serenity of witnessing another day, and watching other people enjoy the same. Every sunrise is similar but always different- I will never get tired of seeing them. Later that day, we started our journey back home. We were all happy campers.
Harbour Town at the Marina