HHI: Day Seven - The Last Day of Vacation

It rained again today, but during the breaks in the rain bands we made it out to the pool where the kids showed off their dance moves.

In the afternoon, we drove back to Savannah to do dinner and candy shopping with the kids.

Here's Mommy, Henry and Caroline in front of the River Street Sweets shop where we picked up some salt water taffy and pralines.

Here's Daddy and the kids in front of the Savannah River Queen. We ate at the Shrimp Factory on River Street which was delicious. Our placemats at the restaurant had a recipe for the most dangerous punch recipe I've ever seen -- Chatham Artillery Punch. If you've never tried the stuff, take a gander at this recipe. It tasted like gold and one batch had me wobbling like a fighter in the twelfth round. I scored a glass from the Shrimp Factory for managing to finish it (I think?).

I may be trying the Chatham Artillery Punch on the Pig Roast. Beware!

Well...that's a wrap for the vacation. I'll leave you all with one of my favorite videos from the trip.

You can tell a lot about the time your family is having by the morale they have at some of the lowest moments on the trip. Here we are on the Folly Field Road bike path after having taken a wrong turn and walked one mile out of the way off of the beach. It was 85 degrees and muggy and during the entire trek no one complained, no one whined and everyone was lost in their own precious thoughts.

Of all the memories you make on a vacation, sometimes it's the ones that you least expect with the least amount of effort that give you the most satisfaction.

This one is mine.

We'll see all of you very soon.

HHI: Day Six - Paula Deen and the Savannah Monsoon

We headed south to Savannah, Georgia today despite the wind and horizontal rain from T.S. Fay. Upon arrival, Mommy managed to score the fearsome fivesome a reservation at The Lady & Sons Restaurant (that's the Paula Deen joint in Savannah).

Here's Erica crossing the street in front of our main Savannah objective -- Lady & Son's.

While we waited for our table, we walked the City Market district and visited some candy stores and various historic sites.

The rains were constant and heavy, but the kids were surprisingly resilient.

However, the rain, the swimming, the beach and the anticipation of buffet dining were too much for the little Holmans.

Here's Caroline at Lady & Sons.

Ditto for Henry.

But once again, Lil' Jo was not going down without a fight! She was all smiles at the buffet.

Holmans love buffets, but this was different. The food was well-worth the drive, the wait and the weather. It was fantastic and only $36 bucks. I would have paid $100. It was that good.

With a successful meal, we hopped the trolleys and cruised the town in 90 minutes.

Savannah is a great place to visit. Cool architecture, trendy museums and art galleries and tons of history. We spent approximately six hours in town and would have done more if it weren't raining buckets.



There's always next year.

We're back in HHI for our last day. More to come...

HHI: Day Five - Oy Fay!

A sunny start had us thinking about the beach this morning. Here's what was waiting for us when we arrived...




Today we saw 25 to 35 mph winds and a 7 foot surf more than 250 miles from the eye of the storm. Rip currents, high surf warnings and occasional rain showers. No lasting beach shots today.

However...

Jo-Bear was up to the effort.

Once we got her out of the wind, she was happily attached to Dad during our (longer than anticipated, yet sunny) trek back to the pool. On our way back, I managed to snap a picture of the house we may buy for Grandma. It must be nice to have a second home, eh?

After another ill-fated attempt to eat at the Salty Dog Cafe, we made our way across the island to visit the outlet malls and then called it a night.

Henry and Caroline managed to sneak in a late night swim session and now its an early bedtime for an early rise tomorrow. Destination: Savannah, GA. Mommy is readying the crew for a Paula Deen buffet.

More later...

HHI: Day Four - Henry Swims! Caroline Tubes!

Henry started the week afraid of going under water, but promised to try when he felt he was ready. With little prompting (seriously), he pulled off the following. Later, he swam unassisted between Mom and Dad in the pool. Unfortunately, much like the Sasquatch, we didn't have a camera to capture the moment.

Caroline began the week unable to go into the pool without Mom or Dad helping her hold and pull a float. Today, she took her brother's lead and broke free of her parental restraint. Ugh.

Prior to the pool, we made it out to a partly sunny (but windy) beach. Contrary to rumor, I did not feed the Joester with my Moobs (i.e. Man-boobs, for those who haven't heard me talk up my gorgeous chest). They do look good, though, don't they?

While digging with the kids' plastic shovel, Mommy found buried treasure -- a plastic fabricated sand castle! Unfortunately, she also broke the shovel in the process. The gang showed off the results below.

A snack break at the beach with Henry and Caroline. This photo was taken shortly before the Hitchcock Sea Gull Fest began.

We dined at Shelter Cove and watched Harbor Fest this evening. Here's a great picture of the girls enjoying a Shannon Tanner show.

A proud Dad and a tired Henry.

Well, we're still waiting for our luck to change with the weather, but so far it looks like we may squeeze out a few more days of sun. It's obvious that no one knows what T.S. Fay is doing and we may sneak another trip to the beach tomorrow. After that, it's off to Savannah to eat (more) fried food. More later...

HHI: Day Three - The Holman Trifecta

Day three was all about hitting the Holman trifecta: beach, pool and mini-golf.

Here's Jo-Bear meeting the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

Henry and Caroline took to digging their version of Uncle Bill's giant beach hole.

After three hours at the beach, we returned to the pool for a mid-afternoon swim.

After dinner, we settled the family score at the Pirate's Island Mini-Golf Course on Blackbeard's Original Adventure Course. Henry amazingly holed out on the first two holes! No kidding. Unfortnately, success went to his head and he quickly regressed to free-swinging. Henry was not fond of the pace of play. Typical.

Caroline was our resident Mike Hargrove specialist. Average Caroline time per hole: 4.5 minutes. Check out the look on the faces of the people who had to watch in agony as Caroline "directed" her ball with the back of her putter. Classic!

Meanwhile, Dad was caddied by his youngest daughter Josephine who called out hitting angles and marked ball locations with her stringy drool.

In case Bill needs to know, I finished even par with one hand.

We are waiting for T.S. Fay, but enjoying the sun while it lasts! The weather predictions here are about as reliable as Punxsutawney Phil's. We've regressed to asking Caroline what she thinks about the weather and going from there. So far, she's 2 for 2. With that, we're off to the beach!

HHI: Day Two

Henry, Caroline, Josie and Dad make the three block walk to the beach.

Mommy and Jo-Bear enjoying the pool.

After resolving some technical difficulties with the camera and computer, here is the video from Saturday night's mad dash to the Atlantic.

We're off to Sea Pines for the tourist trap known as the Salty Dog Cafe.

Greetings from Hilton Head Island, SC!

Twelve hours and one Charlotte, NC barbecue joint later, we made it to HHI.

Upon arrival, Caroline decided to make a bee-line for the Atlantic -- with her dinner clothes on.

Here are the kids frolicking in the ocean while Mom, Dad & Jo-Bear watch helplessly.

Henry and Caroline were soaked.

More pictures and videos to come. However, with bad weather coming (T.S. Fay) we're out at the beach and the pool trying to get as much sun and fun in as we can.

Channeling Jim Henson

Amazing what new training wheels will do for a 5 year old. Of course, only one image comes to mind when you see Henry on a bike.

The similarities are uncanny.

Here's a link to the soundtrack for the ride. As you can see, Henry was joined by Dad and Henry's buddies, Caroline and Mason, who took a leisurely stroll in the bike buggy. The kids loved it!

Caroline and Mason readying their exit.