If you’ve been following along with my blog for any amount of time, you’ve likely noticed that the majority of my posts are client-related — which makes, sense, after all, being a Washington, DC wedding photographer! But every now and then I like to share a bit from our personal lives — especially past vacations. I’ve come to realize that this is a nice to place to ‘keep’ some of our memories and I look back fondly on some of past trips through reading old blog posts!

Hilton Head Island in SC has become our go-to beach to visit with the kids. We’ve been fortunate enough to come here with my parents every year since Landon was born; this was our first time bringing both him and Gavin. The age gap certainly brought new challenges compared to past years. But we’re heading back next year, so I think it’s safe to say we all had a blast! Below are a few highlights from our trip!

We always stay in the same neighborhood and LOVE that each of the houses has their own pool! We stayed a new house this year (due to our old rental no longer allowing dogs — boo) and one of the highlights was the hot tub and the outdoor TV. None of us are huge TV watchers, but there was just something so cool about watching football from the pool!

 

 

We, of course, also spent a ton of time at the beach. We tried having Gavin nap there — which worked well for the first few days, but then he quickly became too excited about all the sounds happening around him! He loved putting his toes in the water and watching it go back and forth. And, of course, trying to eat all the sand.

Landon loved building sandcastles (so he could knock them down), getting water for his moats, chasing Granger, and burying each other in the sand. And in true HHI fashion, the beach was always nearly empty so we basically had the run of the place! Landon was more scared of the water than in past years… so we certainly didn’t tell him when we saw a shark in the surf (first time spotting in like — 7(?) visits!). Rob and I loved coming down here to walk Granger at sunrise and sunset.

 

 

Also new this year was a pirate boat ride! I’m fairly anti entertainment on boats, but this was actually SUPER well done and kept the kids engaged the entire ride! It was just the right length and had an adorable story, complete with defeating mean pirates and finding the treasure!

 

 

And in true HHI tradition, we wrapped up the week with some family photos on the beach taken by yours truly!

 

Already looking forward to a return trip in 2022! If you’re headed to the area and want park/activity/beach/restaurant suggestions, I’m always happy to help!