Harbor Island 2011

We took our annual Thompson family vacation to Harbor Island this year, marking our third visit to the South Carolina Coast. We stayed in a duplex called Pelican's Point. Pat, Tommy, Sally, John, John David, Jackson, Schatzi, and I made the trip. First, I'll just outline what we did each day.

Saturday, June 25th
We left Andy early that morning, heading north and then east across Georgia. A highlight of the drive was our picnic at Lane's Peach Farm. We arrived in Beaufort that afternoon, stopping at Publix, of course. We arrived at our house on Harbor Island early enough to walk on the beach.

Sunday
After a pancake breakfast, we packed our lunch and headed to Hunting Island, a state park only a few minutes away. We stopped at Barefoot Bubbas, a store that had everything we needed for fun, including free ice cream. We sat on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, watching the tide come in. Later on we climbed an old lighthouse and moved to the north section of the beach, which has a very unique look. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed swimming and watching the tide. We rented bikes from Bubbas.

Monday
We decided to avoid the rides to Charleston and Savannah and opted to visit Beaufort. I shopped a little, purchasing redneck wine glasses, a floppy orange hat, and a turquoise fascinator! We toured the harbor and a little of the historic neighborhoods. Back on the beach, I took lots of pictures of shrimp boats and dolphins. We had fun sitting on the beach until it started raining.


Tuesday
After taking Schatzi for a walk on the beach, Sally, John David, and I went on a photo shoot at St. Helena's Island. We found a sunflower patch, which was gorgeous. Then, we visited the Penn Center and the ruins of the Chapel of Ease. John David and I went to the Gullah Grub for lunch. I had she crab soup and he had fried shrimp. We also enjoyed sweet tea and cornbread. We took Jackson some peach cobbler. Jackson and John enjoyed playing tennis.


Wednesday
We went back to Hunting Island, which is just so ideal for a day at the beach. Due to hurricane damage and erosion, many of the trees have fallen. We set up under the trees, which provided lots of shade. We swam, took unusual pictures, read, and looked for shells. That night we celebrated John's 49th birthday, having fresh boiled shrimp, Nanmama's secret sauce, and Sally's chocolate dessert. All of the food was delicious, much better than any restaurant. We continued a new tradition of viewing that day's pictures on the tv screen.

Thursday
We decided to return to Beaufort, getting out and walking around the historic homes. A lady invited us to tour her patio. Everyone in Beaufort was extremely friendly. The houses all had lovely gardens; it would be a nice place to live. We ate lunch outside; I had the shrimp patty sandwich--yummy!. After we returned to our temporary home, Schatzi and I decided to finish reading my book. Jackson and John were playing football, and John David decided to go biking. I should mention that the chain had come off twice already, and it was an old bike that had no handbrakes. Unfortunately, the chain came off again, resulting in a bike wreck that left JD's chin in a mess. John and I took him to the Lowcountry Urgent Care facility where he received FIVE stitches. He was a big boy and didn't even cry!

Friday
We chose to spend our last day at Hunting Island. The entire group enjoyed this semi-tropical paradise. The only thing missing was a daquiri machine.
Saturday
We returned to Andy, stopping again at Lane's for peaches. We had a wonderful vacation, very relaxing after a ten-day tour of Europe. We enjoyed spending time with the grandparents and aunt. We've been taking these vacations since Jackson was two, and now he's fourteen. I know boys will never forget all the fun times we've had together going to the mountains and beaches.