Regardless of the amount of time you spend on a vacation, you inevitably get to the last full day. With such an amazing week behind us, from our arrival day, a week prior, through today, we were not ready to leave. But today, the realization set in that this was the last day to enjoy all of the fun that surrounds the Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. The boys were having the time of their lives and we wanted to make the most of our last day.
We started the morning as we did our first resort morning with a brisk walk by Dad down to the Tide Me Over quick service restaurant for a semi-room service breakfast (they order, I bring it back to the room). We made quick work of our delicious favorites and cleaned ourselves up for some fun and adventure.
After Colonel and Kee’s departure earlier in the week, I wasn’t able to bike quite as much as I had when they were here. Hunter enjoyed riding, but Emily had not quite gotten comfortable with the tandem bike we rented for her and Sawyer. Sawyer is at that age where he isn’t quite ready to ride any of the rental bikes but is a bit too big for the trailer or child’s bike seat. Well, Emily decided that today was the day that she was going to take on the challenge of riding the tandem bike with Sawyer over to Disney’s Beach House, which is about a 2-3 mile bike ride away. We got suited up in our swimming gear, got the helmets on, and started on our way.
The bike ride was quite enjoyable as there are ample sidewalks and beautiful views to see along the way. It was a bit more work for Emily as she was doing the majority, if not all, of the peddling for both her and Sawyer, but she managed to make it to the beach house safely. We enjoyed exploring the grounds, and topped off the ride with a little lunch at the quick service location at the beach house. Because it wasn’t peak season, the beach house restaurant was only open a few days during our week-long stay.
After we had our fill of fun, sun, and food, it was back on our bikes for the ride back across the island to the main resort area. I am ashamed to say this, but this was a bit more activity than this family is used to doing in a day, and it was just after noon. We locked up the bikes and dropped our stuff off at the room and headed back over to Murggie’s Den, just off the front desk area. Hunter had been really enjoying playing pool and Sawyer absolutely fell in love the the Disney Vacation Club photo booth. In the lobby, they have a photo booth where you can take a photo of you or your group and it will print out postcard size prints for you to take. There are numerous settings and designs that you can use so Sawyer got a kick out of making fun faces and choosing cool picture effects. Hunter and I got in a couple games of pool until it was time for us to head back to the room to get ready for our afternoon activity.
Hilton Head has quickly become one of our favorite vacation destinations. In our multiple visits to the island over the years, we normally spot a boat rental sign on our way out of town and say, “Next time we should rent a boat and explore the water”. Well, this trip we finally took ourselves up on our great suggestion. Emily found a dolphin boat tour that was headed out in the afternoon that we took full advantage of. The tour was a two hour boat ride which departed just across the boat marina from Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort so it was a nice walk to get there. The marina is filled with some truly impressive vessels that made the walk over that much more enjoyable.
Once we arrived, we joined the other families and cast off to find some dolphin. The afternoon air was a bit brisk and being on the water only amplified the cold temperatures. Luckily Emily was prepared because if it were up to me, we would all be wearing shorts and t-shirts. The experience was unique as this was the first time we had gone out as a family to spot dolphins. There were numerous spots where we stopped and watched these amazing creatures move in and out of the water around the boat. We continued out of the intercoastal waterway as the boat captain pointed to visible water lines that were 20+ feet about the current waterline, indicating the crest of the hurricane waters reached. During this cruise we also spotted our fair share of dolphins, including a baby! After completing the dolphin spotting portion of the tour they turned the boat around and gave each of the kids on the boat a chance to drive. Needless to say, both of the boys had quite a fun time being captain.
Two hours was just the right amount of time to be on the boat as we were ready to be done and head back to the resort. Believe it or not, Emily and the boys found a gift shop to check out on our walk back to our room! On our way back to the resort we had one more stop, a photo in front of the Poseidon statue. This has been a tradition every time we have come here to get the boys photos in front of the statue as a sort of marker to how much they have grown. After quite a few shenanigans (check out photo slideshow at the end of this post), we finally got the photo that we were looking for.
Being our last night in Hilton Head, we wanted to do something fun for dinner that we hadn’t done before. Since Emily was getting the hang of the tandem bike, we decided to ride down to the shopping area down the road from the resort, Shelter Cove Towne Centre. We found a seafood restaurant called Poseidon’s where we tied the bikes up and enjoyed a delicious dinner on the outside patio. Emily and I enjoyed some oysters and seafood and the boys demolished a pizza. It is amazing how close this place is to the hotel and we had never eaten there before.
Since we enjoyed our Kilwin’s Ice Cream stop so much the day before, we finished off our dining visit with another round of ice cream cones. This visit was just as messy, if not more, as the boys found a way to get ice cream all over their faces and clothes in places you couldn’t even imagine. I almost had to excuse myself from the experience as the boys got quite a chuckle out of how much the mess grossing me out. By the way, can you help me understand how kids can get chocolate in between their eyes?
A short, brisk bike ride back to the resort and we were ready to spend the rest of the evening cozied up in our room. Emily and I enjoyed a drink on the porch overlooking the sunset marsh. The sunset was stunning as we took in our last evening views of the island. In keeping with our nightly tradition, I got the beds set up in the family room area and we watched Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time before nodding off to sleep. It was a fun, action-packed day, and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way!
Disney Hilton Head Island – Departure Day
What an amazing week it has been. It is so hard to say goodbye to this place but the inevitable part of vacations is they must come to an end. We crammed all of our weekly possessions into our suitcases and made multiple luggage cart trips down the elevator to the car. I have to say, one of the nice things about staying in the main building at this resort is that you can utilize the elevator! We said our goodbyes to the room and set out to enjoy our last morning on the island.
Since Emily had taken multiple bike rides in the last few days, she was really getting the hang of the tandem bike and was eager to take one more ride out to the beach. This day she was determined to actually bike on the beach which is one of my favorite things to do! It was a pleasant ride out to Disney’s Hilton Head Island beach house where you can ride your bike right through the parking garage and out the back walkway right onto the beach. We enjoyed the ride and the scenery as we captured fun videos and pictures of the experience. When you get to the beach early you have the entire place to yourself which makes the ride stress free. After the novelty wore off, we headed back to the beach house and enjoyed our last ride back to the main resort area.
Once back at the resort, we rode our bikes to the bike rental barn to return them, and weaved our way through the resort en route back to the main building. We enjoyed our last game of bocce ball as well as shot a few baskets before ending up in Murggie’s Den. Hunter wanted to play his last rounds of pool and Sawyer wanted to capture another dozen photos on the DVC photo machine. Still not ready to leave, it was finally time to hit the road if we were going to make it back to Orlando at a reasonable hour.
The ride home was relatively uneventful. We normally are freeway travelers trying to get to and from our destinations as efficiently as possible. We decided to be wild and crazy and drive through Savannah, GA, on the way back, hoping to find a fun place to eat. I don’t recall exactly what was going on that weekend in Savannah, but the streets were absolutely crazy. We slowly made our way down the bumpy, cobbled street and continued on to find cuisine elsewhere. We ended up stopping at La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant, which was on our route back to the highway. Nothing to write home about but we managed to fill our bellies, which was our main objective.
We arrived home, relaxed and refreshed from an amazing week at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. So many fun memories from Hunter’s 10th birthday trip. Can’t wait to go back!
If you enjoyed our last day adventures there is plenty more where that came from. Start at our arrival day in Hilton Head and follow along with all of the fun!
