This summer has been the most unusual summer of my life, as it has for so many of us. We are all in this really scary upside down world of masks or no masks, attend church or not, attend gatherings or not. Funerals are not being held when loved ones are lost, weddings are not being held in the traditional format, and we have all been cooped up in our homes doing our best to not lose our minds. We decided to take a beach vacation, with some long debating, conversation and searching for the perfect spot.
We did find a great deal in Hilton Head, SC on an apartment/condo. It was actually a great deal considering it was Hilton Head which is usually the “rich” vacation spot. But the building was only 4 stories, down the beach from the public beach, with a full kitchen and one bedroom, two bunk beds, and a pull out couch. It was right on the beach, with a balcony overlooking the beach and a small pool. It was perfect!
We left home on Saturday morning, arrived down there and settled in for the week. Once settled, my husband braved the strange world we were in and went to the grocery store. He bought all the essentials for us to be able to eat breakfast and lunch in the condo every day for the next week. The plan was to eat breakfast and lunch, then order takeout for dinner each night. This would allow us to maintain our social distancing, save money and still eat the local foods if we want.
We quickly learned the patterns of the crowds at the pool and beach. So we were able to get up and go for early morning walks, runs or bike rides, avoiding any big crowds. Then we would come back and relax, watch TV or whatever. We were able to out on the beach during the day without getting close to others, there was still plenty of room even with crowds, to keep distanced. Then after 5pm, most of the beach crowd would completely clear and we could spend time out there. The pool would also clear around dinner time. So we could go down to the pool and swim for an hour or two with very few around and sometimes no-one else was there. There were a few nights that we played in the pool until 9-10pm. But it was perfect, allowing us to keep distance, but still have fun.
We did take a Dolphin site seeing trip, it was a small boat, with a few other families and surprisingly cheap. My husband was not really comfortable with this in the beginning, nobody was wearing a mask but us. But it was an opened air boat, and once we started moving, we were able to maintain good distance from the other families on the boat.
All businesses required masks indoors. Outside, we saw many people wearing masks, but many that were not. It did not feel like we were being judged for wearing them though. It was very relaxed and laid back.
My favorite thing about the trip was renting bicycles for the entire week, also surprisingly cheaper than I expected, and riding those down the beach, and down the very well defined bike paths on the island. Hilton Head is an extremely bike friendly town and it is so fun to ride around exploring. Hilton Head is definitely on my favorite vacation list.