You know me, I have to gaze longingly at the ocean and breathe in the salty air to keep my soul in balance. The month doesn’t matter, I’ve dipped my toes in the ocean every month of the year at some point or another. The fam and I headed to Disney’s Hilton Head Island resort in South Carolina for a few days before Christmas rolled into town. It was such a fantastic time to get away from the holiday madness and reconnect with each other.

Disney has resorts all over the world (and no, they don’t all involve a theme park) but their property at Hilton Head remains as one of my favorites. It is so relaxing to sit in a rocker on your private balcony, staring out at the live oak trees, moss dangling from their branches. Watching the tide go in and out of the sound that the resort sits alongside. In warmer weather, spending time in the pool at the main resort or over at the Beach House makes for a great day. Since we visited in December and the weather was pleasant but not really great for swimming, we spent some time poolside but not in the water itself. The Beach House is a fantastic place to just sit in a chair and relax in the sun; it is located oceanfront and a short distance from the main resort (via shuttle, your own car, walking, or biking).

Something we always do while on resort is enjoy a Mickey tie-dye session. We were wondering how that would unfold in COVID times and, I have to say, it was super! The Cast Members had skillfully prepared the tie-dye area for maximum safety from cross-contamination and social distancing. The shirts were already rubber-banded for us in the traditional Mickey head tie-dye pattern (SO GREAT! This is always a challenge.) and all of the dye was clearly labeled. Each tie-dye participant had a good bit of space to create their art and the entire process felt less hectic than usual. Kudos to the team and I hope this process stays the same post-COVID!

We all love to collect seashells and explore the beach and we found an incredible new spot on the island, tucked away from the usual scene, full of so many things to observe. There were actual oyster reefs, a hidden river (that made the shells the water ran over become so smooth!), so many horseshoe crabs (only the shells though), shells like crazy (a bit unusual for Hilton Head), and a lot of peace and quiet. I’d love to share the location but — not gonna happen! I had to do some digging to find it and don’t want to spread the word on this one and have it lose its charm. All I can say is, do your research and you might find the joy that we did at this quiet spot. We found several shark teeth this time too and now I’m hooked on looking for those!

Dinner at the Salty Dog Cafe in Sea Pines was delish as always plus they offer outdoor seating if you’re not comfortable indoors during COVID. Their indoor seating was very distanced though and I didn’t have any concerns with safety. We were so happy to be able to try the Salty Dog Ice Cream Factory, which is never open when we visit Hilton Head, and enjoy some of their tasty offerings — pumpkin cheesecake, sweet potato casserole, gingerbread, eggnog, and so many more festive and standard flavors. Some fun times were spent at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store too, a blast from the past and full of Piggly Wiggly merch!

Let’s see, what else? Lots of Mickey waffles were consumed during our stay plus bunches of pin trading took place over at the Broad Creek Mercantile store. This resort is always one of the best for pin trading. The Cast Members here are so very friendly, management gets engaged and comes out to talk to the guests and help out the staff when needed, plus you have the typical Disney quality and cleanliness. We see some of the same Cast Members visit after visit and that’s so much fun for us to see ‘old friends’.

The hubs, kid, and I brought along my stepdad, two nieces, and my sister on this journey. My mom decided to stay back and prep for Christmas (boo!) so she missed all the fun. Other than some ridiculously loud neighbors (bless their hearts), we had a blast. We walked my poor stepdad for miles and miles but I think he enjoyed hanging out with the craziness. Another bright spot in the trip was the reconnecting. Sometimes when you travel with family, you have your moments when you want to lock each other out of the room, and we had some of those. But I have to say, I spent a lot of time with my sister and I think we both came away with a great experience. There was a lot of bonding going on, bent over picking up shells, and hoping that next find would be a shark tooth or some other super cool shell. Goofy moments in the car, food quirks, shell identifying, and sharing that pumpkin cheesecake ice cream made for some great memories. Thanks Leslie.

xoxo,

Amber