Hilton Head Island

We left Skidaway Island last Sunday around 11AM and headed to the Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort. We were led by a resort host to our campsite across the street from a small lake and were surprised at how narrow the roads were. Not a very “big rig” friendly park. The resort is heavily wooded preserve, so there’s lots of shade, but no satellite TV reception. We had an excellent Verizon signal so we could stream Game of Thrones on Sunday night!

We got our rental bicycles delivered on Monday and enjoyed a nice ride through the RV resort after dinner.  

Tuesday I repaired the retractable steps for our motorhome. We began having problems right after the tire shop guys drove the motorhome into the shop a couple of weeks ago. The mechanic apparently opened our front door and stepped on the steps before they were fully extended which ruined the drive motor.

I ordered the replacement parts on Amazon and had them shipped to me at the resort before we got here. I watched several YouTube videos to get an idea of what the repair involved. It took me about an hour and a half to complete the repair.

Tuesday after dinner, we drove over to the beach about a mile and a half from the RV resort. It was a beautiful evening. We enjoyed stopping by the beach-front Tiki bar and listened to a band playing there. 

We rode our bikes to the beach on Wednesday after lunch. It was a nice ride, once we figured out where the bicycle paths were, as we didn’t want to ride in the street.

We decided to go have an early (4PM) dinner at a highly-rated seafood place called Skull Island Boathouse on the other side of the island. The food was good but the view of the water was better. We ate outside on another beautiful day. There was a long line of people waiting to be seated when we left around 5:45.    

Today, our last full day in Hilton Head, we decided to go inland about 20-miles to the Latitudes Margaritaville development that we passed by on our way to Hilton Head Island last Sunday. It’s a brand new 55+ community being built. We wanted to take a look at the model homes and they were really nice. They have built 150 homes out of the 3,100 they plan to build. This new development will be close enough to do a day-trip to Charleston, Savannah or Hilton Head Island.

Hilton Head Island surprised us, as neither one of us had ever been here. It’s heavily wooded all over the island and businesses are set back off the road so you can’t really see them for all the trees. Hilton Head Island appears to be a big vacation destination with its beaches and 24 golf courses. It was a fun stop on our journey up the Eastern seaboard.  

Steve & Julie Cornelius

Savannah

We enjoyed a two-hour drive up I-95 from Kings Bay north to Savannah last Tuesday. We arrived at Skidaway Island State Park, about 20-miles southeast of Savannah, and had a nice, long pull-through site. The park is beautiful with its many pine trees, live oak trees covered in Spanish moss and cabbage-palmettos. This is our second time to stay at Skidaway Island as we spent a couple of days here five years ago in May 2014.

Our Wednesday was busy as we went into Savannah for lunch at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room (Trip Advisor’s #5 of 662 restaurants in Savannah). The dining room, open since 1943, only serves lunch Monday through Friday, 11AM to 2PM. We arrived at 10AM and joined about 20 customers already ahead of us in line. Lunch is served family-style, where 10 people sit together at large tables and enjoy some of the best homestyle Southern cooking around. The fried chicken is the best I’ve had anywhere, bar none.    

We stopped at Leopold’s Ice Cream shop (#3 of 662 restaurants) for dessert after lunch. It has been in Savannah since 1919, founded by three brothers from Greece, and their soda fountain business is legendary. Leopold’s premium hand-crafted ice cream was really, really good.  

We went back to Skidaway Island after our big lunch and dessert and decided to go for a walk to work off some of those calories. The state park has several trails and we hiked the three-mile long Big Ferry Trail Loop. It was fun, seeing the old moonshine still, the different birds, especially the beautiful red cardinals.  

On Thursday we drove over to Tybee Island, about a half-hour east of Savannah. It is a Georgia barrier island that has been a popular vacation spot since the 1800s. We enjoyed going out on the town pier and pavilion. The original was built in 1891 and lasted 75 years. A fire destroyed it in 1967 but it was rebuilt in 1996. We also stopped by to see the Tybee Island lighthouse.

A beautiful Friday in Savannah with sunshine and highs in the low-80s. We enjoyed lunch at the nearby Driftaway Café. The fried green tomatoes, panko breaded with goat cheese and buttermilk dressing, were just plain yummy. My grilled fish sandwich and Julie’s shrimp tacos were good too.

We took a hike after lunch at the state park’s Sandpiper Trail and Avian Loop Trail. We did see a red-headed woodpecker, a finch, and one cardinal but I couldn’t move fast enough to get any pictures with my phone.

Today, Saturday, we drove into Savannah for lunch and to take a walk-a-bout. We love the layout of the Historic Savannah houses, live oak tree covered streets, and the beautiful square city parks. There are 22 squares in Savannah. We located the Mercer House, featured in the book and movie titled “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, based on a true story.

We leave Skidaway Island tomorrow for a short 53-mile drive to Hilton Head Island and a five-night stay at the Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort. We’ve already reserved two bicycles to get around. 

Steve & Julie Cornelius

Mayport, FL to St. Marys, GA

We enjoyed our week-long stay at the Navy family campground in Mayport, Florida, watchin’ the ships roll in, then watch 'em roll away again. The weather was sunny and warm and we had some amazing sunsets. 

Last Thursday, our last day in Mayport, we drove about 35-miles along the Atlantic coast down to St. Augustine. We enjoyed dinner there at the Columbia Restaurant in the St. Augustine Historic District. It was our first visit to a location other than the original Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, Ybor City. 

We enjoyed the sparkling white sangria and the famous 1905 salad, as well as our dinner selections.

We departed Mayport on Friday morning and drove through straight west through Jacksonville to get to a truck tire shop. We had the torque checked on our front wheel lug nuts to ensure they were okay.

Then we headed north up I-95, crossed the state line into Georgia and got off at Exit 1 to head east towards St. Marys, Georgia and Navy Submarine Base Kings Bay. We had heard a lot from other military campers about how nice the Kings Bay campground was. The Eagle Hammock RV Park had won Campers Choice awards in 2009, 2010 and 2011 as the best military campground (Eastern USA). It is very nice, situated on a small lake, with pristine facilities.

The weather during our 4-night stay has been mixed. We had some sunshine one day, but rainy the next few days. We did however, spot one Navy submarine yesterday. 

We head out on Tuesday and drive two-hours north to Savannah where we’ll spend five-days.

Steve & Julie Cornelius