March 4, 2023

Matt broke out the drone and took some nice photos of the three boats anchored together. We left Savannah and all three vessels anchored in Hilton Head, SC. This is the first time on the loop anchoring together; however, this isn’t our first rodeo as we’ve all anchored together in the Puget Sound.

I was in charge of driving the rental car from Savannah to Hilton Head (we had a rental to make sight seeing easier while Vera was visiting). While out and about, I took the opportunity to provision and stopped in at Costco. It wasn’t easy though; I wanted to buy so many items, but my freezer and fridge is too small. Those mini wontons and potstickers looked so tasty, but I have nowhere to put them.

Something else I discovered is that in South Carolina, they don’t sell liquor at Costco. I also forgot to previously mention that in Georgia, you can’t go wine tasting on Sunday (but as we are now in SC, it isn’t really an issue anymore). Thankfully, I found a liquor store so I could buy some rum to go with my pina colada mix.

March 5, 2023

Hilton Head is home to resorts, golf courses, and nature preserves. We ventured to two preserves and walked the beach town.

Sea Pines Forest Preserve

The preserve is in a gated community that charged a $9 fee to visit, but it was worth it.

This is a protected nature area with walking paths and archaeological sites. While walking, we saw an abundance of wildlife including an alligator and turtles. The trails take you through old rice fields and salt marches.

My favorite site was the shell ring. The shell ring is over 4,000 years old (same age as the pyramids) and was constructed from the Archaic Indians. The ring is a low wall encircling the area made of shells and bones collected from the salt marches. The Ancient Indians built this ring over a period of 300 years and was most likely a ceremonial area and community plaza. The ring is now covered with dirt and leaves, but the shape and shells can still be seen.

Coastal Discovery Museum

The Museum is more than just a museum. It includes an informative building surrounded by a preserve of salt marshes and walking trails. Here, we learned about South Carolina Lowcountry and the Gullah culture.

After all the hiking and exploring, we had to enjoy some ice cream.

I’m the evening, we had friends come out to visit. I prepared a charcuterie and we enjoyed some of Steve’s manhattans and sparkling wine.

Today we just hung around and enjoyed each others company. It is also Vera’s last day. She had to leave in the afternoon with the rental car to catch her flight back to Seattle. It was nice having her visit.