The Week of Father's Day and Summer Sale

We christened our family vacation in Hilton Head "The Week of Father's Day, 2014" since we spent the holiday there. My husband has always wanted a giant map, and thanks to Ikea I found one I could afford, so that's what we gave him for Father's Day this year. The map was so huge, however (larger than our king-sized bed), we went ahead and gave him his presents before we left. I could tell he was disappointed on the actual holiday, though, not to get any presents, so we decided to do something special every day.

A dolphin swimming in the sunset

We ate out in restaurants, went on a dolphin-watching sunset cruise, went crab fishing, hiking, took him shopping for new clothes, and explored the supposedly haunted ruins of the original plantation house that sits on the resort grounds. The resort is Sea Pines, and we do recommend it. Once you're there you can ride several trolleys around. We rented bikes because there are bike paths everywhere as well. The beaches get a little crowded for my taste, but if you go in the evening they're pretty deserted. There are stables and a petting zoo, a lighthouse, a nightly children's music concert, lots of dining options, pools, tennis courts, etc. We got a coupon in the mail that made it affordable enough for us to swing it, and I'm so glad we could. In 17 years of marriage, this is the first time we've ever spent a whole week at the beach. I have fond memories of my childhood annual week on Ocean Isle, so I am very happy we were able to give our kids the same wonderful experience. Even better maybe, because the Ocean Isle condo didn't have horses!

The Baynard Ruins, a 1790s tabby plantation house

Hilton Head is surprisingly wild for the amount of people using it every summer's day. When the tide was out the kids found live sand dollars, crabs of all sorts, starfish, conchs, and many water birds. The resort contains a nature preserve where they saw lizards, snakes, turtles, and even alligators. One was very close to the path and gave our daughter quite a scare!

We found a live Cannon Ball Jellyfish being eaten by a crab, so we took the crab away and relocated the jelly far out away from him. Did you know, Cannon Ball Jellyfish have no tentacles and cannot sting, so you can pick them up? I have many more beautiful Hilton Head photos on my Instagram as mandaline919.

Cannon Ball Jellyfish being eaten by a crab.

I did try to shop for my store. I hoped to hit a few thrift stores for some Hilton Head specific inventory, but we weren't able to get over there, so I looked while we shopped for my husband. I found a Lalaloopsy Pet Pals lamb. We discovered when summer began our youngest has outgrown all his shoes, so I have his summer styles listed now. Make sure to check the store out because right now I'm having my Summer Sale. Save 20% when you buy 3 or more items! EBay doesn't automatically included auction listings in this sale, but if you bid on and win three of my items I will send a discounted invoice to honor the sale. This is for one week only, so check it out here: http://stores.ebay.com/atelier-mandaline.