We managed to shorten another Michigan winter by driving to Hilton Head Island as the first stop on our journey to winter sunshine. Albeit this winter’s super El Nino dampened the temperatures a little bit. This marked our first time back to Hilton Head Island since 2014.
We stayed at Marriott’s Surf Watch (vacation club) in a 2,000 sq. ft., two bedrooms, two bath condo with an ocean view. The condo came with a fully equipped kitchen and laundry room. It really had everything you could need. This may have been the nicest Marriott property we have ever stayed in.
The oceanfront property had 5 pools (one indoor) plenty of activities (exercise facility w/ sauna, bocci ball, corn hole, fuse ball, horseshoes, club houses, restaurants/bars, games/tournaments, live music, beer tastings, light dinners/snacks, etc). The grounds were excellently maintained.
It was exciting rediscovering the island. We biked and ran nearly every day along Hilton Head’s extensive bike path network. Along the way we happened upon The Bank Brewery (which is new since our last visit to Hilton Head). The Bank offered an ample selection of very good beers, and their facility and grounds are top notch!
While plenty had changed in 10 years (new bike paths, hotels and breweries) many things remained the same. Below depicts us in the exact same spot, on the same beach, ten years apart. The same swing was still there too!
To explore the surrounding area a little we took a day trip to Beaufort, SC. It was a quaint, historic little town a little over an hour north of Hilton Head Island. Along the way we discovered beautifully maintain, 20-mile bike path just outside Beaufort. It was a gorgeous ride on the Spanish Moss Trail!
We enjoyed Hilton Head so much that we plan to revisit again next year. Next it’s off to Georgia and Jekyll Island for some “Splendid Isolation”.
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