Nadines Travel Blog

The Marriott Harbor club resort is a small wonderful timeshare on the sound in Hilton Head Island.  When driving up you see a very large what appears to be an old-fashioned plantation house but it's actually the main check-in area.   This was the view to wake up to.  The picture does not do it justice. You can sit up on the porch in a rocking chair and the only thing that is missing is a mint julep in your hand.  We would have sat there probably every night to see the sun go down but the no-see-ums had a different plan for me and my flesh.  It must be noseeum season in February/ March and they were awful until I bought some bug spray at Walmart.  If you're not allergic to no-see-um bites then you wouldn't even know they were biting you.  They were not an issue for my husband. We had a beautiful two-bedroom two-bathroom unit that had the most gorgeous views of the sound and the water.  The unit has been recently renovated and we had full-lengt...

The Marriott Grand Ocean is a lovely expansive resort on Hilton Head Island Beach.  It has many pools and hot tubs and a lot of amenities to make for a great vacation.  Grand Ocean is located right on the ocean at Hilton Head South Carolina.  There is a few raised platform access points out to the beach. We had a two bedroom two bathroom unit and it was great.  The living room was super huge with one of the longest couches I have ever sat on.  The primary bedroom was gorgeously laid out with an extremely large bathroom.  The tub was super comfortable to soak in and the lighting was amazing. We ended up getting an end unit that was accessible so it was bigger than most and exactly 37 steps from the master toilet to the front door, so very large.  The kitchen was just like any Marriott Vacation Club kitchen that had everything that you needed or desired to cook.  One night I needed an extra pot and they quickly brought it up.   The dining ...

  One of the nicest places that I have ever biked in my life is Hilton Head.  It is a bicycle dream.  Biking Sea Pines, if you are not living or staying in Sea Pines area requires a $9.00 USD daily pass to enter on your bike or you can enter from the beach for free.  Sea Pines is located at the South end of Hilton Head and takes up a large percentage of the island.  Sea Pines has golf courses that are so green that you would think that they are fake turf.  If you don't mind the occasional gator on the course, then you should be good. The flowering trees and Spanish Moss are dreamy and make everything look so pretty.  The bike trails are very established here and smooth to ride on. You still have to watch out and be aware that there are bodies of water here that can always contain gators lounging or swimming somewhere.  We spotted several on our different bike rides.   There are pamphlets with maps and maps posted around the island to hel...

 If I were to describe pure joy it is walking, biking or hiking and exploring new areas in the world.  Today we biked the beach at Hilton Head South Carolina.  I know this sounds weird because who can bike on a beach through the sand?   At Hilton Head when the tide goes out the Atlantic Ocean leaves the beach with hard-packed sand.  It is the smoothest ride you will ever experience  It is euphoria for me biking North with the wind behind my sails and the sun at my back.  The beach is wide and free of obstacles.  In fact, the beach is so wide that you can easily maneuver around people.   Occasionally you will spot a dead Horseshoe Crab and you have to stop to look at it. Horseshoe Crabs are so big and absolutely prehistoric looking.  Apparently, they have blue blood and you can't eat them.   What a shame. Or you will spot a live blue crab.   Even the dogs that are walking with their people have an extra bounc...

The Sea Pines Forest Preserve is located in Sea Pines which is on the southern end of Hilton Head.  It's quite large and absolutely wonderful with biking trails throughout the 605 acres.  It is reminiscent of Northern Saskatchewan for me with the pine trees and numerous lakes.  The Preserve is a very beautiful and well-kept oasis for anyone who wants to walk, bike or drive into.  There are picnic areas and sitting areas set up throughout the preserve.  There are Oak trees that are hundreds of years old that stretch out their branches in the most peculiar ways.  There are viewing platforms and boardwalks throughout the property for picture taking and watching the wildlife go about their daily lives. It is absolutely free to enter and you can spend the whole day there if you want.  We spent almost 3 hours in the preserve biking around stopping and taking pictures and checking out the sites.  The second time we went, it was more for the purpose of ta...

We went Kayaking with a tour company that I  found on Groupon.  I was a bit hesitant because you never know what you are going to get.  However, everything turned out fine.  The company treated us well and the guide John was very nice and friendly and answered all of my questions about the area that we kayaked in. We kayaked around the Intercoastal Waterways between Hilton Head Island and the mainland of Georgia.  We kayaked in the Skull Creek area so we could see Pinckney Island and would love to go and explore that someday.  To the right is a partial map of Hilton Head Island which is sort of shaped like a boot.  We kayaked at the top of the boot area. One of the main reasons that I booked this trip was to kayak beside dolphins which is very common here. No such luck, not a one did we spot. We saw other wildlife. The boys saw turtles but I don't get as excited as they do with turtles. Coincidentally a week later we were biking in the Shelter Cove are...