This year for Christmas I decided to give my family a different kind of gift. A mini-vacation at Hilton Head.



It turned out to be a wonderful idea and I still feel the calm and restorative energy when I think of it.



We arrived late on a Friday evening, driving from West Central Georgia. The family traveled in two vehicles. My son and daughter in law live about 60 miles from me. It would have been out of the way from them to come to my home first.


We had reserved a lovely three bedroom condo at Surfwatch. It was absolutely beautiful. My two granddaughters loved the mini-vacation. The twelve year old enjoyed the pool and walking on the beach. The baby was more impressed with the pool.


We keep the baby while my son and daughter in law took a walk on the beach, the two girls enjoyed a dip in the salt water pool.




I was up first on Sunday morning and walked down to the beach for the sunrise. I'd checked the time of sunrise Saturday night and was there at the specified time. I was there, the sun wasn't, or at least it wasn't visible! That was disappointing, but the two young men on their surf/buggy boards riding the waves were a good diversion.



I walked on the beach alone for almost an hour, when I headed back to the condo, I met my hubby coming to look for me! I'm not usually out of his sight for that long and he'd become worried.



It was a wonderful trip. It would have been nicer if it had been sunny, but the island is beautiful even in the rain.





Just what I needed a quiet walk on the beach and time with my family. I've decided this should be a family tradition.
















19 comments

  1. Pamela Varnado // February 4, 2012 at 7:00 PM  

    Hi Scarlet. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the Hilton Head min-vacation. It's a great idea to get away for a few days every now and then. And walks along a beach is good for the soul even when it's raining. Where do you plan on going next?

    My daughter is coming back from her military deployment in April and we're taking the boys to Disney World. I can't wait.

  2. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 4, 2012 at 7:22 PM  

    Pam, the boys will love Disney World. We went there three times with our first grandchild. Now we have another on to repeat the adventure with! She's not quite old enough yet at 17 months, but soon. I'm thinking we might go back to Hilton Head again in the spring.

  3. Mary Marvella // February 4, 2012 at 9:46 PM  

    Hey, Pam, I KNOW you will love Disney World as much as the boys will.

  4. Mary Marvella // February 4, 2012 at 9:48 PM  

    Scarlet, sometimes we really need to escape to a quiet place and enjoy nature. So glad you took the trip.

  5. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 4, 2012 at 9:55 PM  

    It was nice and I plan to use the walk on the beach in my writing. It was very inspiring.

  6. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 4, 2012 at 10:00 PM  

    Ladies, I got an email from our own Nightingale saying she had received a contract! I'll leave the details to Linda, but everyone break out the chocolate and bubblie, it's PARTY TIME!

  7. Patrice // February 4, 2012 at 10:23 PM  

    Sounds lovely. I've been there for a few days with my husband, and it's a great mini getaway. I'd love to do a family trip but we have combined two families which means 4 couples and 8 grand-children. I need to sell a lot of books. lol.

  8. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 4, 2012 at 11:06 PM  

    The condo had three bedroom, two had two queen-sized beds, the master had a king. There was also a pull out sofa in the living room. So in all it sleeps 12. There is also room for sleeping bag for the kiddies in the two double bedrooms. So you might could work it out. It was really nice and the pools at Surfwatch are heated, both the outdoor and the indoor pool. Our balcony looked out toward the ocean, but we were on a lower floor. I imagine the top floors had awesome views of the beach.

  9. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 4, 2012 at 11:06 PM  

    The condo had three bedroom, two had two queen-sized beds, the master had a king. There was also a pull out sofa in the living room. So in all it sleeps 12. There is also room for sleeping bag for the kiddies in the two double bedrooms. So you might could work it out. It was really nice and the pools at Surfwatch are heated, both the outdoor and the indoor pool. Our balcony looked out toward the ocean, but we were on a lower floor. I imagine the top floors had awesome views of the beach.

  10. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 4, 2012 at 11:13 PM  

    The condo had a complete kitchen and washer/dryer. We didn't use the kitchen except for coffee in the mornings and to make the baby's bottles or warm her food. The table seats six I think. You might need two condo's for that many.

  11. Barbara Monajem // February 5, 2012 at 12:02 AM  

    What a great break that must have been. I've gone to Myrtle Beach several times, but never Hilton Head.

  12. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 5, 2012 at 10:32 AM  

    Barbara you should visit Hilton Head, the thing I love about it is the laid back atmosphere and really good restaurants. There are also two large outlet malls just before you cross the bridge to the island. Shopping, good food and the beach what more could you ask for? Oh yes, lots of beautiful golf courses for those who enjoy golf.

  13. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 5, 2012 at 10:34 AM  

    Beginning to sound like I work for the Hilton Head tourist commission, isn't it? Really, I am quite taken with the place.

  14. Josie // February 5, 2012 at 2:27 PM  

    Hi Scarlet,
    What a lovely get-away for you and your family. We love Hilton Head island and have visited countless times. We live in SC and it takes about 4 hours by car to drive there. We stay at the Disney resort--across from Palmetto Dunes and near the mall. Great fun!

  15. Beth Trissel // February 5, 2012 at 4:49 PM  

    What a wonderful family outing, always to be treasured.

  16. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 5, 2012 at 6:49 PM  

    Josie, thank for the info about the Disney Resort. I'll check it out. My DIL loves all things Disney! This was our second visit this year, before that we hadn't visited there since the early 70's. The kids were small and we just drove through on the way from Savannah to Charleston. I think we will make it a family tradition.

  17. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 5, 2012 at 6:51 PM  

    Beth, it was a very nice trip and will be a fond memory for years to come.

  18. Mary Ricksen // February 6, 2012 at 7:57 PM  

    gosh this sounds good. I'd love to get away!

  19. Anonymous // January 27, 2013 at 6:51 PM  

    Hi Scarlet,
    My name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
    I was looking for blogs about Surfwatch in Myrtle Beach to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
    Hope to hear from you!
    Jane