Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Fun Times at Hilton Head Island


We had so much fun on our vacation reunion trip that I hardly know where to start. Of course, there was at least one travel snag on the way -- there's always something, right? Even though we had a Garm*in -- Ms. Garmin's directions conflicted with those provided by the Island Club properties, and I sent hubby the wrong way. Ooops! Oh well, Ms. Garmin got us straightened out and we finally arrived late Saturday afternoon. Note to self: Always listen to Garmin! :) HHI is so beautiful -- green and lush -- also warm and very humid, but with an ocean breeze to push a bit of that humidity away. The beach is so lovely there.



What special times we had with the other families! Maddy quickly made friends with the big girls (five-10 year olds) and the other two seven-year olds. It was almost as if the girls had all known each other their whole lives. Bonus - it was so fun for me to see how the tiny 9-month old babies that I met in 2000 had grown up in the past 9 years! They are beautiful and sweet girls - so fun to see them again and their parents. None of the parents had aged a single day, by the way and were just as warm and friendly as they all were when I first met them.

Most days our schedule consisted of something like this:
bicycle ride, beachtime in the morning, craft, lunch, pool time, bbq or dinner out, chatting time (lots of that) and/or evening beach walk. Oh and tennis -- Mr. Tennis played a fair amount. It was a blast hanging out with my sister and her sweet family and the other families too. They are all just as kind and welcoming as I remember them from the trip to China.


The ocean drew them all in the first evening -- in their clothes, of course!

26 comments:

Kim said...

Sounds like a perfect reunion! Glad you had fun getting together with everyone again.

I've always wanted to vacation at Hilton Head. Your photos make me really want to go!

Dawn said...

Looks perfect! I think our Changde group is planning on Hilton Head next year...it looks wonderful!

Marla said...

The pictures say it all, glad you had a great time.

Kam said...

Janet, what a trip! I just think that's so stinkin' cool! We will go to Thailand alone and it makes me kinda sad that we won't have the experience with other couples.

These pictures are beautiful! Can't wait to see more!
Hugs~

The Byrd's Nest said...

Oh I love the last picture.....just perfect! Looks like a beautiful and peaceful place.

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

What a wonderful week.....your days sound perfect!! I love that the girls all took a dip that first night....clothes and all:)

Lots of special bonds......these girls will hold onto these memories for a lifetime!!

Hope your work week is not too rough after being gone last week.

Lisa

Courtney said...

Sounds like a great trip. Love the beautiful pictures!

a Tonggu Momma said...

What a wonderful reunion! And what a wonderful place to have it! Sigh... I miss that bit of SC.

Jodee said...

What a fabulous reunion trip! It looks like you had a great time! I love these pictures! I am so glad you got to spend some time with Amy and her family too!

Number 6 and no more counting! said...

gorgeous pictures!

Lea
xo

Kristin said...

What a wonderful trip! We love Hilton Head!!

Kim said...

It does sound like a fabouls trip, what a fun reunion too! We had a little trouble with our GPS on our trip too, we call her Lola :). She didn't understand that there were interstates near which made for lovely scenery but a lot of time in the car!

Buzzings of a Queen Bee! said...

Oh my gosh, your photos are making me want to hit the beach. Looks like such a fun time!
Carrie

Gail said...

What a great place to have a reunion! Gorgeous images Janet, wish I was right there...:)

Lucy said...

Looks and sounds like a wonderful time! We are having our reunion this weekend. I can't wait to see all the girls together. Memories for a lifetime!!! Welcome home. :)

Sarah said...

Hi, Janet!! I'm so glad we found each other, thanks for coming over to my blog and checking out my kitchen today. It's great to "meet" you:)

Wow, what a fantastic family you have! Glad you had such a great time on your Hilton Head trip.

mommy24treasures said...

oh it looks and sounds great!

SO glad you had a wonderful time.:)

Lisa said...

Sounds like you guys had an AMAZING time! Your pictures are beautiful! I'm so happy that you all had such a great time!

Jill and Rick said...

What a perfect getaway for your reunion! I know that you have to treasure those times together as we do. Touches my heart every time.

Kim and Dennis said...

Hi! Our family was in Hilton Head in June. Too bad we weren't there at the same time.
Hubby's family lives in NJ. The past two summers, we have spent vacation time at the Jersey Shore, Manasquan. Love the shore!
And I love meeting others that have adopted from China!

Jennifer said...

Beautiful photos. I am glad you had a great time. What a perfect place for a reunion......the beach!

Jen

Seattlemom said...

The photos are wonderful and what a special time! She will remember it forever.
Jill

Alyson and Ford said...

Love the ocean... love the girls together walking into the water.
Sounds perfect!
I am sure you have more pictures of all the kids.....
Happy Birthday to Mr. T too!

Alyzabeth's Mommy for Ten Months

Super Mommy said...

Looks peaceful! Glad you had such a great vacation!!

Bridget said...

Janet -
Looks Like you had a great trip!!! How fun to get together with all of your travel mates and for Miss Maddy to make some new buddies! Love all of your pictures - especially Maddy and her Dad - too cute! Hope you enjoyed HHI as much as we do!

- Bridget

Heather said...

Sounds like a perfect trip...doesn't look like we will get a vaca this year (wahhh) so I am living vicariously through my blogging buddies!

Thank you for sharing!

Heather