Hilton Head Island vacation

The 1st of April is Lesleigh's birthday and it is a great time of year to travel to warmer destinations and celebrate. Last year it was Mexico and this year we chose to go to Hilton head island which is in South Carolina, USA.

We got flights directly from Columbus to Charlotte in north Carolina and then caught another smaller flight to Hilton head island. Neither of us knew what to expect and from the air the ground looked like a mangrove with hundreds of tributaries weaving around denses tree locations. We arrived at the one building airport and went over to get our hired car which they upgraded to a brand new ford mustang. There is something special about the smell of new leather car seats that makes driving all the more enjoyable.

After driving around the island trying to find signage for the Hilton hotel we finally found the right road and went to check in. The rooms were not ready so off we went to get lunch and a glass of wine to pair with the fresh fish. The scenery and the island are truly like living in never, never land with mystical looking trees, pristine golf courses, loads of restaurants, the beach, and magnificent homes scattered amongst the dense tree landscape. This is a destination for the wealthy and there seems to be a lot of them here in the US.

Temperatures were in the low 70's and perfect for soaking up the sunshine and getting a little colour back in the skin. It was snowing when we left home and so it was great to be able to lie on the beach and tan just a two hours flight from home.

Back now in Dublin, and the weather has finally started to warm up with brighter days and lots of rain that has transformed the scenery to a very lush green neighborhood. Our yard is a lot bigger than I thought and yesterday it took almost two hours just to cut the grass area. Almost double the size of what we had in Denver.

 Left the snow behind to enjoy a little time at the seaside

 Lesleigh writes her birthday in the beach sand

 before we were able to check in we toured the resorts facilities, here is the deck in front of the pool area at the Hilton.

 We hired bikes and rode for 6 miles along the beach before heading up onto the boardwalk and then into town to get coffee and lunch.

 Nice sunrise on an early morning cycle.

 The dolphins surfaced about 20 meters from the shore and we stopped to watch them for a while.

 The board walk

 Parking the bikes in town

 Lesleigh driving the brand new Ford Mustang that we got for the weekend to drive around the island. Nothing like the smell of a new car this one had just 15 miles on the clock when we got it.

 This is harbor side at Hilton head where the heritage PGA tournament is played in the next week or two. Tough 18th hole but if you can play a draw this will make an exciting finish.

 Drinks at the Salty Dog Cafe

 The deck overlooking the water ways.

 The Italian look and my wife's new hat for the beach.

This was the view from our hotel room what a day!

The season has started for golf and I finally made the investment to buy the clubs I have been trying out for the past two years. They are every bit as good as they felt in the store and I am excited to play this season and see if this is the year I get to break par for the course, last year I got close but this year with these clubs I think I have my best chance, watch the blog pages for the news.