Afternoon Beach Time

Our last afternoon in Hilton Head was spent on the beach. October is just the absolute best time of year ever to be on the beach. The sky was crystal clear, the sand was soft, and the water was gentle. Henry loves the tide pools, so we stayed and played on the edge of one. 

Digging in the dirt is one of his favorite things to do! 

We chased seagulls

Ran from the waves

And jumped when the tide was "coming to get us!"

It was such a gorgeous afternoon, and Henry was having a ball.

So we took his clothes off and let him play in the late afternoon sunshine.

He was so happy! 

Day Trip to Daufuskie

While in Hilton Head late last week for a visit to see Abbye, we planned to spend the day on Daufuskie Island, off the coast of Hilton Head.

It had been on our list of to-do's while Abbye lives there, and this time of year was the perfect time to do so. 

We took a ferry over to the island early one morning, and once we arrived, were handed the keys to our transportation for the day - a golf cart. Henry could not have been more excited! 

We had lunch, got out our map, and headed to do some exploring. 

Abbye manned the wheel with Mama and Henry as the co-pilots.

I snuggled up to my man and enjoyed the back seat. 

There are hardly any paved roads, so we enjoyed crusing around the island via dirt road.

We stopped at many of the historical buildings on Daufuskie Island, including an old school house. 

While on the island, our major excitement came from a visit to the historic Strachan Mansion in Haig Point. Although a private community, my sweet mama convinced them to let us in and see the house. 

Built by shipbuilder J. S. Strachan on St. Simons Island, the house eventually belonged to our cousins, the Stuckey family. My mother visited the house as a child and had such beautiful, fond memories of the house and summers there.

In 1986, after the Stuckey family sold the house in prior years, it was moved from SSI to Daufuskie, where it now serves as the B&B in Haig Point. 

Here is the house today:

Mama said so much of the house is just the same as it had always been, but that the glassed in front porch was once all open-air. 

It was truly spectacular! 

And so fun to imagine what it was like filled with family 40 years ago! 

Next to the house are some of the original tabby slave ruins on the island.

Haig Point dockhouse and ferry

After our house tour, we headed to the beach to play.

We were delighted to discover that we were the only ones there! 

Henry had so much fun! 

As the day ended, we played on the tractor one last time before hopping back onto the ferry.

Here are two snaps of the Strachan house from the water:

If you're in the Hilton Head area, this day trip is a must-do!!!

More info here:

http://www.daufuskieisland.com

Its been a {beachy} summer

Our summer beach time has been incredible! 

Luckily, Henry is a beach baby...and that makes this mama so happy! 

Both our Griffin beach time and Hardin beach time are an annual trip, now spanning 5 generations.  

Here's our trip from last year, just for fun. (2013)

And the year before that. :)   (2012)

And the one before that. (2011)

More here. 

It's so fun to see how everyone has changed from year to year! 

Back to the present.

In late June, we headed to Mexico Beach for the annual Griffin Beach Week. It was so nice and Henry had a ball playing with his older cousins! 

He is enamored with our nephew Ben, and Ben is so sweet to Henry. 

Here they are playing with the outdoor shower and faucet. Henry LOVES water. He could play with a water hose for hours. 

We spent some fun afternoons on the beach with everyone. The older kiddos loved fishing in the surf. 

And this little man loved running on the hard sand. 

Kacie is only a few months younger than Henry so they'll be playmates as they grow older. She's such a little love! 

Here are all the cousins together! That's Wyatt on the end, then Rodney, Lizzy holding her cousin Kacie, and Ben holding Henry. 

How sweet is this?!?!

Henry and Daddy...so precious! 

She was really checking him out! 

Henry likes to be in the shade (like me!) but has fun playing with the sand.

After a few days at home post-Mexico Beach, we headed back to Florida for my family's vacation. 

The resort has added a kiddo splash area, and Henry wasn't quite sure what to think. He liked it ok, but I think he'll really enjoy it next year. 

Henry's not crazy about the pool, so other than our little splash area visit, we stuck to the beach. We were blessed with lovely weather all week! 

Henry had a ball spending time with everyone! 

He sat in Brince-O's lap....

 and climbed on the beach chairs with Mommy.

Henry loved exploring around the chairs...

playing in his pool....

and taking naps under the umbrella!

He even spent a little time in the buff! 

He loved playing with his Aunt Bren...

and with his cousins Hugh and Ivy.

More playing...

and more napping.

Lots of happy memories spent under these umbrellas! 

Jamie, Bren, Bengie, and Mom

With such a big family, there was lots of coming and going during the week. But we managed to get a pretty large majority of the group together for dinner at Boondocks one night. 

Tana, Katie, Gracie, Mollie, Ivy, Chandler, Hugh, Jamie, Bren, Abbye, Jill, Mama, Beng, Gongaman, Me and Henry

Gongaman with his two daughters! 

Me and my sissy! 

Henry loved playing on the boat! 

More beach time on the last day! 

Priceless moments with his Gongaman!

Hope you all have had a nice summer, with family and friends!