Hilton Head

After a relaxing evening, we decided to set out the next morning for Hilton Head, which was about a 30 minute, beautiful drive.  And just like that, we were there.

We found a great parking lot, parked the truck, and joined the pilgrimage to the beach.  It was apparent that most of the families had done this before and they were prepared for a day in the sun.

A nice place for old people to stop for a rest.

And then we started the march out to the sand.  What a great walkway.

Wow, the place was packed in every direction!

People of all ages were having fun in the surf.

And yes - I lost the flip flops and found myself wading in the warm water.

These people had the right idea!

By that time, it was time for ------- LUNCH!  Remember, it always involves a meal. 

We walked around town (man, it was hot) and found ourselves here.

Too hot to sit outside so we headed inside into the nice. cool. air conditioning.  The kitchen was bustling.

A variety of menu items - we settled on these.  Ron had a basket of South Carolina shrimp.

I had a shrimp cake burger.  Shhh, don't tell Ron but I think I got the better end of the deal.

We learned about sea turtles that are common in the area.  

Photo courtesy of Hilton Head Island Government 

While we didn't see any turtles nesting (although I'm not sure we knew where to look), we learned:

• Females usually begin to nest the first or second week of May
• The nesting season usually ends by the end of August
• Females usually emerge to nest at night and lay an average of 120 eggs per nest
• They judge the appropriate place to nest by judging the temperature and moisture of the sand
• The female uses her rear flippers alternately to excavate a nest.  When laying is complete, she covers the nest with sand and then compacts it with the weight of her body
• And then it's back out to sea

The locals seem to do all they can to protect the nests.  They even ask residents with buildings visible from the beach to turn off their outside lights from May to October.  And they keep track of the nests they have found.

As we walked back to the car (did I mention it was HOT?) we saw a beautiful Hibiscus.

On the way back to our trailer, we made a slight detour so that we could stop at our preferred grocery store.  There are none in Florida so we were happy to purchase some of our favorite brands.

We love earning (and using) fuel points to save money on gas so this was a welcome stop.