The last full resort day was finally upon us. With all last days, we wanted to cram in as much fun as we possibly could. We had plans for kayaking, heading out to Disney’s Beach House, shopping, resort fun and more! I relished my last quiet resort morning blogging on my comfy couch. I was joined shortly after by the rest of the family, ready to make the most of our last resort day. Our first activity for the day was a kayaking tour booked for 11:00 a.m. Although we have admired these tours from the shore, this was our first foray getting in a kayak. Emily booked an experience in Cocoa Beach for my birthday weekend but the tour guide canceled last minute. We were hoping to redeem ourselves today.
Resort Breakfast & Kayaking – Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort Morning
Hunter requested his chicken and waffles for breakfast from the resort quick service location. I took the opportunity to enjoy a morning stroll to pick up breakfast for the family. After breakfast we relaxed a bit before getting geared up and sunscreened up for our kayak tour. We arrived just before 11:00 and were greeted by our tour guide, who was a third party vendor to Disney. He pulled us aside and informed us that today wasn’t optimal for kayaking. The tide, which is normally 6-7 feet was currently at 9-10 feet. He said that the tide, in combination with the wind, would make for a horrible experience. We thanked him for his honesty and agreed we should cancel. Although Hunter was bummed that the experience was canceled, he understood.
Hilton Head Shopping, Playground & Lunch
The canceled kayak tour gave us some additional time to be outside exploring. We hopped in the car and took quick drive over to the Shelter Cove shopping area. Emily spotted a few stores she wanted to visit while I took the boys to the playground overlooking the inter-coastal waters. The boys had fun swinging, climbing, and sliding on all the fun playground equipment. Hunter looked like Thanos next to all of the smaller children playing on the playground.
Based on a recommendation from Emily’s friend Emily Pickle, we set our Waze app to the Baja Burrito Co. for lunch. As most things on the island of Hilton Head, it was a ten minute drive. The restaurant was similar in format to Chipotle but the food for some reason was so much better. Hunter ordered his first burrito ever and Em and I got a bowl and burrito, respectively. We sat outside in the only available table that had access to some sun. Being that it was almost noon it was still in the low 60’s with a bit of breeze.
Afternoon Beach House Fun – Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort
We returned to the room after lunch in need of a chill break. Emily and I secured some hammocks near the room while the boys played LEGOs together. After some time off our feet we wanted to head out to the beach house. Since it was Friday, the bar was open for the weekend and we were ready for our last vacation Captain’s Mai Tai. The boys took advantage of the available ping pong table and slapped the ball around a bit. Our beach house visit gave us one more chance to walk on the beach. It was low tide providing a huge area of sand to get out to the ocean. On our walk we spotted a bunch of jellyfish both in and out of the water. We snapped a few beach photos, hopped on our bikes, and returned to our room in the main resort area.
With our Poseidon dinner reservation at 6:30, we had about two hours to relax before dinner. The boys grabbed their devices and laid down in their beds. Emily grabbed her All About Me book, a glass of wine, and headed to the porch. The book was filled out by her late cousin Amy which they exchanged as teenagers. Their plan was to read them together when they had both turned forty. Now that Emily has passed that mark, she brought the book to Hilton Head to read alongside the marsh (Amy grew up in Savannah alongside the marsh). This was her first time reading it since her cousin passed.
I took the laptop to a nearby picnic table to do some writing. It was quickly interrupted by a text informing me someone stole my credit card number. A short conversation later and I had to cancel my credit card. Ah, so relaxing.
Resort Swimming – Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort
Realizing that we had yet to swim during our visit, the warm afternoon temperatures provided our best opportunity. I asked the boys if they had any interest in swimming and going down the slide. To my surprise, they actually did. The boys and I suited up and we walked down to the pool area. Emily was happy to watch from the comfort of a deck chair. We took our first slide and slowly acclimated to the water temperature which was 84 degrees (or else we wouldn’t have survived). We spent the next 30 minutes splashing around in the pool. Sawyer went on the slide 20 times and Hunter went 10 times. We enjoyed the hot tub for our last bit before heading back to the room to get ready for dinner.
Poseidon’s Dinner – Shelter Cover Hilton Head Island
We finished up our evening dining the same way we started it, with dinner at the nearby Poseidon’s restaurant. We requested a table outside to enjoy the beautiful sunset and evening temperatures. The table provided an amazing view of the inter-coastal marsh area with a sunset background. Sawyer requested his butter noodles as usual and Hunter requested the same steak and mashed potatoes that he had on the first night. Emily and I shared some oysters, crab dip, and a BLT flatbread. It was a perfect night to be dining outside as we enjoyed the beautiful sunset at Poseidon’s.
After dinner we were back in the room enjoying brownie sundaes, and watching our last movie of the trip, Thor: The Dark World (which was a horrible movie, by the way). We barely made it to the end of the movie which ended at 10:30. Following the movie we all crashed after a long, enjoyable spring break vacation!
Departure Day – Our Last Resort Fun
We reluctantly awoke on our last day at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. While we were not excited to be leaving, we wanted to enjoy our final morning at the resort. One of the advantages of having such a large villa is there is plenty of room to store all of the items and food you bring. The downside is that it makes packing up those items quite a project on the last day. Emily and I teamed up and managed to cram all of our junk back in the car for the five hour drive home.
After getting the group ready and saying goodbye to our villa, we were out taking our final spin around the resort. We dropped our rental bikes off and took our final walk around the pool area. We walked through the beautiful wooded resort area capturing pictures along the way. Our packing and exploration took us to late morning. Since it was so close to lunch time, we decided to have one more lunch at Signal’s at Disney’s Beach House.
Our Last Lunch at Signal’s – Disney’s Hilton Head Island Beach House
With the car packed up we hopped in and made the 10 minute drive out to the beach house. We ordered our favorites for lunch and snagged a few beach chairs in the sun. The boys took advantage of the wait for lunch and played some ping pong and pool. The relaxing pool and ocean backdrop made it the perfect last meal at the resort. We finished our last bites and sadly said our goodbyes to the beach house.
Wanting to do one last round of DVC photo booth photos, we drove back to the main resort area. We headed up the stairs to Big Murggie’s Den where our vacation started. We huddled together for a couple of family photos. I would be curious to count how many of these we have taken over the years.
The Drive Home & Dinner in Jacksonville
The drive home from Hilton Head is never as fun as the drive there. We struggled through some of the back roads getting out of South Carolina. With all due respect SC, nobody seems to care about efficiency. We managed to wait our turn in the half mile line at the stop sign to turn onto the highway (don’t get me started on that one). After 84 roundabouts and the interminable stop sign, we were finally on some semblance of HWY that took us to I-95.
After a quick stop at the Florida Welcome Center for a bathroom break and some photos, we were back on the road. On the drive up Emily discovered that there is a Nordstrom Cafe in Jacksonville. Since our Nordstrom closed in Orlando, we have been missing the Cafe greatly. We used to take Hunter there when he was a kid because everyone loved it. We decided to make the slight detour to the Nordstrom Cafe for dinner.
The Nordstrom was attached to the mall in Jacksonville just off HWY 295. We have visited this shopping center numerous times before on our drives up I-95. This was our first time going to this Nordstrom however. The sights, smells, and tastes brought back so many great memories. Our favorite item by far was the herb fries with aioli dipping sauce. Such a great meal and a nice break from the five hour ride.
We continued on the remaining two hours, excited to be home and out of the car. It was a fantastic spring break vacation with the entire family. Can’t wait to go back!
