Eli's First Vacation - Hilton Head Island!

Last week, we took Eli on his first vacation to Hilton Head Island. Actually, the trip was his first out of Kentucky and he traveled to four new states on the way there: West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. His first vacation companions were his dad, my mom and me. We stayed in Forest Beach where Ryan and I stayed many times before Eli. Boy was this vacation different than those!

Our first stop on the way down was Cracker Barrel in North Carolina, because that's what you do on road trips in the south. You go to Cracker Barrel for lunch!

We got to our villa at about 6 pm so it was basically a mad dash to unpack and get things set up for his dinner and bedtime so that my mom and I could go get groceries. The next day was Ryan's 33rd birthday! He got to spend it by taking his son to meet the ocean for the very first time!

Unfortunately, his favorite Hilton Head restaurant, Amigos, is closed on Sunday so we had to delay eating there (for the first of 3 times) until Monday! Instead, we went to Captain Woody's and it was delicious!

We spent the rest of the week doing a lot of the same things each day: hanging out by the pool, going to the beach, going out for dinner, going shopping, and so on. The three of us rotated sitting in the villa while Eli napped so that we could each get some relaxation time at the pool. Several nights, Ryan and I would head back to Coligny Plaza after Eli went to bed so we could have some mini dates while we were there! Here is a massive picture dump from the week:

Some of Eli's favorite things about his first vacation were: chasing birds at the beach, digging in (and eating) sand, watching the ocean (we could stay at the beach or pool for about an hour before he got bored), his pool float (once his idiot parents figured out how to work it correctly), exploring his new living space and spending lots of time with his dad and grandma - since he doesn't spend as much time with them as he does with his mommy! He was also GREAT in the car - which was about a 10 hour drive on the way down, and a 12 hour drive on the way back since we came all the way back to Lexington. It's safe to say that our baby is a happy traveler and LOVES the beach. Guess it's time to move a little further South!