The Beach - Part 1

This summer for our beach vacation, we went to Hilton Head Island, SC.  We love Myrtle Beach and usually go there, but this summer I found a good deal on a condo in Hilton Head so we decided to give it a try.  The island is beautiful and not commercial like most tourist beaches are -- which we liked a lot.  Don't get me wrong there is PLENTY of stuff to do on there it just lacks the hustle and bustle of other places.  The only thing we didn't like was the lack of street lights and all the traffic circles making it a little dark for night time navigation but after the first couple of nights we got the hang of it.  We took TON of pictures so I will probably end up doing a few posts even though obviously I won't post them all.
I decided that our best bet with Annalise was to leave really early on Saturday morning so that we could get 4-5 hours under our belts on the road before she would actually be awake.  Since the trip is approximately 13 hours from here I thought the more time she had to sleep, the better for everyone.  Admittedly the during the days leading up to the trip I was questioning how many times we would have to stop and basically how Anna would do with the loooooooong car ride.  I am extremely happy and proud to say that she was AWESOME!!!  Basically we read a ton of books (some of them I think I read at least 100 times =)), sang songs, drew pictures, just talked and looked out the window and napped.  We only stopped 3 times to stretch our legs and walk around a bit.  The week was great and relaxing with good weather the entire week (it didn't rain there even once) and had a ton of fun!  Stan and I also realized on the trip that it was the most time that Annalise has EVER spent consecutively with Stan and I together because of his work schedule -- so that was another bonus of the trip. Anyway, I highly recommend HHI to anyone who prefers to travel south to go to the beach!

At one of the rest stops on the way down, snacking on blueberries which are her new obsession.

This picture is really kinda goofy and not beachy at all but it makes Stan and I laugh each time we look at it.  One of the walls in the living room of the condo was mostly mirrors and Annalise had a blast playing with them!

Ready for the beach

The property where we stayed was right on the beach.  Each day I would get Anna ready and put her hat on her.  Each day she would wear it long enough to walk out the door to the beach and then would promptly take it off and hand it to me.  It was frustrating because I was so worried about her scalp burning but it never did thankfully.  She used to not mind a hat but now I can't get her to keep one on to save my life!

Looking at the sand on her feet.  She didn't really like having sand on her but would tolerate it for short periods of time and then she just had to wash it off in a bucket of water.

Surprisingly, Annalise was really cautious of the waves and wanted me to hold her pretty much any time we were near the ocean.  She would play in the surf but she had to be sitting on my lap.  Anna would get in the ocean with us and like bobbing with us in the waves but she pretty much had the death grip going on the whole time.

This is what heaven looks like in my mind (minus the ton of books and ice cream that I am sure must be there too, LOL!).

I had to put this on because I took it myself as I was sitting and watching Stan and Anna in the water.  I didn't think it turned out too bad.  In fact I think it is better than most pictures I take the normal way!

One day we rented bikes and did some exploring.  The whole island has bike paths on it and you can pretty much ride anywhere if you have the desire.  It was really hot and humid that day so we only rode a few miles and poor Anna was pretty warm in her helmet and got cranky after awhile because she wanted it off.

We rode down to one of the harbors and rode around looking at the boats docked there.

This sun dial at the harbor area is supposedly one of the largest working sun dials that exists.

I should have said that Annalise was cranky until we went to the playground that was at the resort where we stayed.  When we got back, we stopped there for a little bit so she could play after sitting on the bike for so long.  The girl loves her playgrounds and talks about them pretty much everyday =).

Stan and Anna on the alligator - one of her favorite animals.  At first she didn't want to get on it and kept saying "he bite".  We finally convinced her it wasn't real!

And this was Stan's fav =).

Judging by the look on Anna's face, she liked it too.

Caught Stan trying it out....LOL!

Here Annalise's Daddy is showing her how to "do donuts" by quickly spinning the steering wheels in the fire truck.

Here is Anna doin' donuts!

Mommy's Little Princess -- yeah, pretty much =)