Thursday Nov 21st - Golf Rose Hill GC

Thursday Nov 21st - Golf Rose Hill GC
After a bit of a lazy morning we went to Rose Hill Golf Club (about 15 minutes away off-island). What a great day. At $25 each for 18 holes including a hamburger lunch and a golf cart, we were blown away, not only with the value, but the course itself. Not too long for Janice off the Ladies Tees and a nice distance for Derek off the mens' tees... some water, some sand, good condition and no-one pushing us from behind. Basically a great round ... considering we haven't played for a while. We sat and enjoyed a beer in the club-house bar 'happy hour' afterwards and enjoyed the view. The evening was spent watching the Leafs hockey game on the computer, but Janice flaked before the third period.

Didn't take long teeing off at the 17th Tee!!!!

Happy to be golfing in November

Wednesday Nov 20th --- Rig/Truck washing

Wednesday Nov 20th --- Rig/Truck washing
Today we decided to do something that badly needed doing, but we have put off for a while. It was a lovely sunny/cloudy/breezy day.. perfect to wash the rig and truck. So while Derek got started, Janice headed to the gym to have a workout and take a couple of photos.
When she was done she cleaned out the inside of the truck and then helped with the outside. After that she was pretty exhausted and sort of collapsed in a heap for the rest of the evening after supper.  We decided to book a golf game for tomorrow.

Pool and gym room (Restaurant upstairs)

Pool with harbour (Our RV spot behind trees)

The Gym

Tues Nov 19th - Exploring Hilton Head

Tues Nov 19th - Exploring Hilton Head

Lunch at the Quarterhouse in Harbor Town

View of Harbor Town

Because most of Hilton Head is comprised of private gated residential communities, it is not possible to explore the whole island, however there is a large private area called Sea Pines that charges $5 to enter and covers a large area of the island (the toe), and we decided to splash out and explore... The community has two areas with marinas, restaurants and shops. The first area is Harbour Town, which we had heard about. It is very nice but small and mostly just shops etc... we decided to eat lunch there at the Quarterhouse. It was a bit of a disappointment and the shrimp tasted positively questionable.... and Derek's pulled pork was ho-hum!! But we had fun and it was a lovely outdoor patio to relax on in the sunshine.
After we left Harbour town we drove to South Beach Marina and found a huge open log fire and a bar that looked lively and fun .. we didnlt stay but made a note for future reference. We drove round for most of remaining afternoon, checking out a couple of golf courses.  After picking up a few grocery supplies we headed back to base to cook up the fresh grouper we had bought at Benny's Seafood that morning.  Delicious.

Sunday - Monday Nov 17/18... Catch up time

Sunday - Monday Nov 17/18... Catch up time
The weather has been a bit cloudy and cool so we have taken the opportunity to catch up on some admin work, sort clothes out that we brought with us. We decided to start going to the gym to get back in shape (other than round!!!) and we did a few loads of washing. We caught up with the 'kids' and tried to do some planning for the rest of our time here in South Carolina. We plan on going to Savannah again, as well as Charleston, Boone Hall Plantation and some golf. The resort is having a Thanksgiving pot-luck so we may decide to participate in that.
We do like this area, and Hilton Head is a good place to be able to reach both Savannah and Charleston. But Hilton Head Island itself would not be a place I could see enjoying as a vacation spot, unless you are totally involved in golf ... there is not much else to do here, other than eat at the many restaurants.  Renting a beach front condo may be a possibility, but don't come for the night life.

Saturday Nov 16th - Savannah, Georgia

Saturday Nov 16th - Savannah, Georgia 

The road out of the RV Park

Lovely old homes

Day tripping to Savannah. It was a little further than we had expected ..close to an hour drive. We had booked a "hop-on, hop-off" trolley ticket so we could see the main sights at our leisure. We went most of the way round and got off in the main riverside area, exploring stores and just enjoying the area. Savannah is a city just teeming with history... but mostly centered around the revolutionary and civil wars, and the era of plantations and southern belles. It is built around a system of "Squares". there are 22 remaining squares left out of the original 24, and each square is named for a famous historical figure or an event... the plaques make interesting reading for history buffs.  The homes in the historic centre of Savannah are stately and well kept, the streets are lined with live oak trees, dripping with  spanish moss,  occasional palms and other lush vegetation. The people are very friendly. We saw sites from the filming of 'Forest Gump' (the bench etc) and 'Midnight in The Garden Of Good And Evil'. The trolley tour took quite a while and we learned much about the history of the city.  When we got off the trolley at the riverside, we walked for a while before deciding to have a bite to eat at Tubby's on the riverside, which was recommended to us... and with reason. We waited for a table while enjoying a cold beer at the bar and struck up a conversation with a local couple. They were really informative and we had a great conversation about the area and what it is like to live there. When we got a table we ordered a couple of salad's .. Janice had fresh local shrimp ... delicious, and Derek ordered ahi tuna on a spinach Salad.... his was amazing.... a huge piece of ahi tuna that was cooked to perfection... just seared on the outside... it was fabulous... definitely a place to go back to. After a great meal we walked a little more enjoying the sights and sounds of the area (including live music on the riverside). Hopped back on the trolley and headed back to the truck for the drive home... We decided to take in  'full moon party' at a restaurant/bar close to our resort (Skull Creek Boathouse) and totally enjoyed sitting outside watching live music, eating gumbo, chowder and peel 'n eat shrimp under a  beautiful full moon. A fun end to a  very successful day... . . . .

Beautiful day to explore Savannah by 'trolley' bus

Trolley boarded by pirate... cheesy but funny

Original basement used to store bounty and rum

Live oaks (with Spanish moss)

Next door to '"Fanny's your Aunt"

The steps from Riverside to town are REALLY steep

Steps from the top

Riverboat ride anyone?

Interesting squares (and historic plaques)

Another square

I love the Spanish Moss

The Old Cotton Exchange

Cannons from the revolutionary war

 Characters board trolley and tell historic stories

Full Moon shining above our table at Skull Creek Boathouse

Thursday Nov 14 and Friday Nov 15th - relaxing and exploring

Thursday Nov 14 and Friday Nov 15th - relaxing and exploring
On Thursday we decided to do some sorting and get to know the resort a bit better ...we also spent hours going through brochures and trying in vain to work out some sort of schedule for the next few weeks. We did decide that we want to spend a couple of days in Savannah and also in Charleston. We have short-listed a few restaurants.  Also want to cook up the local fish as much as we can. We went out for a quick trip to pick up a few supplies and then settled down to a chicken stir fry....  with as many veggies as we could stuff in there!! Back to our healthy eating regimen for a few weeks.

Benny Hudson Seafood store

Today (Friday) Janice got up and headed to the gym for an hour, feeling very smug when she got back to the rig for breakfast... I think Derek will join her next time!!! Headed out in the truck for the whole day exploring the Island. The first stop was a fresh seafood store in the harbour... Benny Hudson Seafood.... OH MY ..... WOW!!! Fresh Fresh seafood.  The owner John was chatty and informative about the shrimp... stuff we would never have guessed.  So we bought some swordfish and shrimp, and a bunch of various local spice mixes.... 

Oyster clumps ?

Shrimp boat by Benny's seafood

Then headed out to explore some more... A little disappointed to find that much of the Island is made up of gated communities... that sort of take up the prime beach accesses... not what we expected.. but, trying to stay positive, we searched some more and finally found a beach access, and wow what a beautiful beach it is. Also found an area called Shelter Cove with a great boardwalk and some neat little stores. We plan on exploring on our bikes next time and have a route planned so we can ride along the hard packed area of the beach for miles and miles. 

YES!!!! We found the beach!!!!!!

 After we got back to the rig we opened up a bottle of champagne we had been saving for our anniversary..but didn't open.. we relaxed outside ion the patio for an hour. Then Derek took over the BBQ and the kitchen and cooked up a fabulous meal of swordfish, cajun boiled shrimp, wild rice in savoury stock and a mix of Collard/Kale/Turnip greens. He excelled and may be in danger of being in charge again real soon!!! A great day indeed

Wed Nov 13th Happy 42nd Anniversary to us!!

Wed Nov 13th Happy 42nd Anniversary to us!!
Hard to believe that 42 years has gone by. It has though, and we are still enjoy each others company... well mostly!! This adventure is certainly a highlight. There have been so many over the years. We are truly lucky to have had all the happy times, great kids and full stomachs. 
We spent the day sorting out our internet (how romantic LOL)... but we did get to Time Warner and got a modem/router to ensure that we will have reliable internet for our 4 week stay here... such a bonus and a fitting anniversary gift to ourselves. We also got the iphone set up with a new SIM card so we are using it for our phone while we are here, with unlimited calling, text and internet for $50, plus unlimited international calling and texting for an additonal $10.. YES!!!! NO contract!!

Sea Scallops with Cajun sauce

Prosciutto wrapped redfish

After setting everything up in the rig (internet) and having a short chat with Braden and Grant, we enjoyed a quiet drink on the patio. Then walked over to the restaurant here at the resort (Sunset Grille) ... aptly named for the fabulous sunset.  A window table and a great meal... (Derek had prosciutto wrapped red-fish and Janice had giant sea scallops with Cajun sauce.... yum!!!)  We had such a lovely evening.

Happy Anniversary you

Back at you!!

Walk after dinner at the resort

Resort Marina

Saw a dolphin jumping from the dock

Oyster shells mounded up

Great resort... love it here!