Daufuskie Island- The Weirdest Place Ever

Okay, okay- last vacation post I swear. Listen, Jared and I likely won't be traveling anyyyyyytime in the foreseeable future so let me bask in my post-vacationess alright? ;) We kept most of our schedule open except for a morning at the spa one day (best prenatal massage ever) and a half-day tour of Daufuskie Island another day. It sounded different and adventurous so we figured why not? This tiny island only has about 300 people living on it and had been named a historic district due to it's Civil War history.

So we booked our tickets and boarded a boat Wednesday morning to see what we'd gotten ourselves into. It was a 30-minute boat ride from HHI to Daufuskie and our captain kept us entertained with facts and information. We saw a ton of dolphins on our way over which was awesome- they were so close to the boat! The downfall of the boat ride was a man who sat right behind us clearing his throat the entire ride over. I wish you could hear Jared's impression of it... the dude sounded like a lawn mower trying to start up, I swear. Let's just say, we were happy to get to land and start the day.

Once on Daufuskie we were given keys to a golf cart, a map and told to have a good time. The only things we'd really gathered prior to the trip was that there were lots of historic things to see and some beautiful secluded beaches. So we cranked the radio in our cart and off we went. We quickly realized our golf cart was a slow one as an odd threesome of hipsters flew past us with their selfie stick. A girl and two guys... and we couldn't tell who was with who. But I'm getting off topic.

There were a few ancient cemeteries on the island which seemed so strange. Civil War era people buried on this tiny 8-square-mile mysterious island in South Carolina. They were tucked away in between homes and it's incredible that there were even still headstones in place. As we made our way down the dirt and gravel roads we passed a guy building a fence in the middle of no where. Just hammering away putting up a fence post in a wooded area with nothing around him. He waved and we waved back but I made Jared promise not to drive down that lane again. Everything was starting to creep me out!

Then we stumbled upon this little gem. The Iron Fish. Where everything on their porch is for sale and everything is based on the honor system. Take what you want and leave cash or write down your credit card information for the owner to charge. I kid you not. It was so eerily quiet yet I felt like someone was going to jump out from behind a tree and yell at us if we touched their stuff. No, we didn't purchase anything.

We trekked on and saw an old two-room school house, the buggy that belonged to the island's "famous" midwife and a church that looked JUST like the church from Walking Dead. Anyone else  see it?! I was completely weirded out by it but Jared thought it was awesome.

This post might seem like a bunch of jumbled thoughts, but that's kinda' how the whole exploration of Daufuskie was- a jumble. We didn't know what we were looking at or why so many weird things were there but it was fascinating just the same. The crazy thing is that there are also gorgeous giant homes on this island that super rich folks come to; they love the seclusion and I guess don't mind that their house is just yards away from a rotting mobile home? Such a strange dynamic to this place.

So tell me- what's the weirdest town/destination you've ever explored?

Hilton Head Vacation

After a very full day in Savannah we hopped in the car for an easy 45-minute drive over to our favorite island- Hilton Head! We spent that first day just walking on the beach, soaking in the sunshine and letting our minds switch into vacation mode. It was nice not having any set agenda for most of our trip so we just wandered where we wanted, ate at whatever time we felt like eating and took naps on the beach whenever the mood struck us! Total relaxation mode.

We stayed near the Coligny Plaza which is our favorite little spot for the two of us. There are plenty of condos to rent and you're next to tons of shopping and restaurants. Walkable options everywhere, or hop on your bikes and go a bit further to even more great places. Hilton Head is such a relaxed environment and at the time of year we went- it felt empty most of the time! Since we beat all the Spring Break/Easter/Summer crowds- we got a great deal on a gorgeous condo right on the beach. We went through VRBO.com for the second time and couldn't be happier.

It was fun getting into a routine during our short week there. We woke up pretty early most days and Jared would head out for a beach run/workout and I'd sit on the patio eating breakfast and reading blogs with the ocean waves crashing as my background noise. Talk about perfection. I could definitely do that every day for the rest of my life and be fine with that. :)

A few Shout-Outs & Recommendations:

Hilton Head Diner- Does not get enough love on TripAdvisor but we tried this place for brunch and loved it so much we ate there twice! We had breakfast food there but they've got a huge menu and everything sounded delicious. Plus, they're open 24/7 which is convenient. I may or may not have ordered a massive stack of chocolate chip pancakes. Okay, I did. And I didn't get a photo because I couldn't wait to dive in...

Frosty Frog Cafe- Okay, they are known for their adult beverages but their FOOD is so tasty! Their chips and salsa are so incredibly fresh and delicious and totally worth the heartburn. Jared and I have tried their wraps, burgers and even pizza from here and everything is yummy. Plus there are TVs everywhere so we stalked the NFL free agency drama going on while on vacation- can't miss that!!

Hilton Head Bicycle Rental- HHI is a very bike-friendly community so there are dozens of places to rent bikes for the week, but this is the one we've went with two years in a row. They seem to have the best prices around and usually if you reserve yours two weeks in advance there will be an additional discount. They deliver/pick-up right to the place you're staying so there's no hassle at all.

Bomboras Grille- This place was recommended to me by some people at work because lo and behold, this place is basically a Bengals restaurant- the owners are originally from Cincinnati. Our head coach Marvin Lewis has a home in HHI and he and wife frequent this place. Plus on Sunday's during football season supposedly it's a sea of orange and black so we had to stop in. We ate some ridiculously good lunch here and met the incredibly nice owner who greeted us with a WHODEY when he saw Jared's shirt :)

It's hard to sum up all the fun we had but it was truly one of the best weeks ever. It was fun having a few random strangers ask about when I was due or if we knew what we were having, etc. No one had asked me yet so it took me by surprise but I won't lie, I loved the attention and loved telling people we had a little boy on the way. The owner of the putt-putt place we went to was so happy for us he even gave us a free game to celebrate!

I'll be back tomorrow with just one more vacation-related post because the island tour/excursion we went on deserves it's own day. TRUST.ME.

So That's Why They Call it a Babymoon

Jared and I took our final trip as a twosome last week and it couldn't have been better. I've been referring to it as a vacation all along, refusing to use the term "babymoon" but now I get it. Now I understand why that term is a thing- it was truly like a second honeymoon. Jared and I were just on cloud nine the entire trip- excited about life together, excited about spending these last precious days as 'just' a couple and excited about what's ahead for us. Our vacation was so incredibly relaxing and I feel like we just laughed all week long and enjoyed each other's company more than ever.

As I mentioned, we started our trip with a full day in Savannah, GA. I'd been once as a kid and Jared had never been so we were excited to cross off a new city on our traveling checklist. We started our day with a trolley tour through Old Savannah Tours. We opted for the on/off tour so we could utilize it whenever we needed for the rest of the day. It was about a 90-minute tour straight through and we both really enjoyed it. It gave us a good feel for the entire city (which helped in our own exploring for the rest of the day) and we learned a lot of historic tidbits we wouldn't have known otherwise.

After the tour we grabbed a quick lunch at Cafe at Market Street. Although we had dozens of recommendations, we weren't interested in using a huge part of our day to wait in line at the nicer sit-down restaurants. We only had a day in town so we opted for an easy lunch. The food was good- nothing to knock your socks off, but good! Plus, we sat by this crazy lamp that both fascinated and creeped us out at the same time ;)

After our bellies were full we were off to be tourist-y and hit up as many fun shops and stops as we could. It was a beautiful day out perfect for wandering through the town. We sampled the most unique cookie flavors at Byrd's; souvenir shopped at the River Street Market Place; loaded up on sweets at Savannah's Candy Kitchen; tried various forms of honey at the Savannah Bee Company; we did it all!

After a few too many sweets, the majority of the day was spent meandering through all the squares of Savannah. I believe there are 24 historic squares in all and we hit up almost every single one of them! We got a lot of scoop on our trolley tour but it was fun to take our time in each of the squares reading various plaques, checking out the statues and admiring the gorgeous scenery. The trees, streets and houses of Savannah are just too gorgeous and we practically had Forsyth Park to ourselves.

Our last stop? Leopold's ice cream. Quite a few of you mentioned this place and it was everything you said and more. YUM! I'm not even a huge ice cream person in general (I usually go for cookies and/or candy!) but their Peanut-Butter-Chippy was delicious and Jared fell in love with the Maple Walnut flavor. There was a decent line of people when we got there, but it moved quickly and was totally worth it.

We scored a great deal on our hotel which was in the historic district right on the river. Our huge room had a great view and the rooftop pool/patio were so fun! I was loving the orange furniture and later that night we got to watch fireworks from that same spot. 

Even though it was a brief 24 hours in Savannah I feel like we made the absolute most of it and saw everything we could. Talk about a way to kick off vacation! Up next, Hilton Head Island!

So Tell Me About Savannah

I mentioned last month that Jared and I had our made our plans for our last vacation as a twosome for this Spring. We're heading back to one of our favorite places, Hilton Head Island, and plan to stay about a week there. On our last visit we'd planned to make a day-trip over to Savannah, GA but never got around to it. This trip we'll be stopping in for sure! We're actually going to kick off our trip there and have a full day to spend there exploring.

That's where you all come in- of course! Getting travel recommendations is one of my favorite things about being part of the blog world. There are never a shortage of ideas and tips for anywhere I happen to be going. So thank you in advance, anyone who is going to chime in! 

We've got our hotel all taken care of, we'll be close to everything which will be nice. I've heard so SO many things about the food so I'd love to hear your must-eat's. We're good with hole-in-the-wall spots to grab lunch at, a nicer sit-down restaurant for dinner and definitely any dessert/sweets that we can't miss while we're in the area ;)

A guided tour is something we're also considering doing- but would love to get anyone thought's on this. Typically Jared and I are good with exploring on our own and seeing what we can discover while in a new city. However, since we have just one day there- we feel like we might be better off doing one of the hop-on-hop-off tours offered so we can see as much as possible. I am definitely looking forward to checking out all the historic homes and landmarks in the area.

Anything else major? Absolutely can't miss stops or photo-opps? :)  This cold, February weather has me itching to get out of town and onto vacation. I'm excited that this trip will blend an old favorite spot with a new city as well. There's nothing I love more than traveling with Jared. The countdown has begun!