Tenbus Tails: Trees & Two Year Olds....Spring Break '11

We have just returned from a week-long getaway with John's family. Friday after school we left and headed to Wilkes Barre, PA to get in the car with the Eick's and head south. We were so excited to see our two year old niece, Emma. I quickly realized how much Emma has developed since the last time I saw her; she is quite the chatty cathy now. She sings songs and repeats everything. She tells jokes and plays word games. She brought not one, or two, but 10-15 baby dolls on vacation with her. Everyday she would put them in a row for a daycare circle-time song. It was effin' adorable.

John's parents own a timeshare & this year they traded their week in FL for a week in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. More specifically, Island Links Resort in Port Royal Plantation. The first things that strike me about Hilton Head are the trees. They are thin, they all have beautiful green leaves (I'd forgotten what that looks like), and they were all enormously tall. They are everywhere and cover stores and houses from the road. You can barely tell what something is before you drive by it because of all the trees. There are walking paths all over the island and you are under a near constant canopy of quiet shade provided by all these beautiful trees. It's incredibly peaceful and private. I absolutely loved it.

The apartment we had was gorgeous; it was three bedrooms, with two bathrooms, a living room, dining area, kitchen, and terrace overlooking the golf course (through trees of course). It was quiet and private. The resort had its own golf course as well as two pools and a spa. The beach was within a mile, so we mostly drove to it but one day John & I braved the heat and walked to it. We had fantastic weather- high 70's to low 80's all week. I went to the ocean everyday. I read two books, soaked up the sun (in small increments rotating in and out from under my umbrella), built sandcastles with Emma, and totally de-stressed. The ocean was exactly what I needed. As if I hadn't already fell completely in love with Hilton Head, we soon discovered that there were outlets!! John hit up the golf discount store and I did some damage in Bass. We both found some good deals in the Nike outlet. John was able to get out for two good days of golfing. It was a great vacation and I'm already reeling at the idea of having to go back to work on Monday.

Da Beach!!