Hilton Head, SC
We left Charleston and headed for Hilton Head Island in early November. I’d visited once as a child and looked forward to returning. I was under 5 during the visit, so it didn’t leave much of an impression, but it was the origin of my favorite Christmas ornament.
My parents picked up a glass bulb ornament at Hilton Head that was filled with sand. It included a tiny pail and shovel along with a few seashells nestled inside to complete the scene. I knew that it was our most fragile ornament so when I was old enough to hang it on the tree myself I took that honor with great care. I loved the way the sand moved and buried the small items when you tilted the ornament.
We spent our time in Hilton Head at Harbour Town Marina. A few highlights:
- Harbor sunsets so beautiful that there was a wedding venue just a few hundred feet from our dock slip – we watched tastefully from the back of our boat
- A piano bar sing-a-long night followed by a live jazz show. Incredible music and a rare evening where we were the only souls under 60 out and about. Our Uber driver home that night was Santa. This man wore the hat and played the part, talking our ear off about the latest between Mrs. Claus and Rudolph
- Sneaking groceries back into the gated community of the marina on our electric scooter. The groceries weren’t contraband, but scooters were prohibited so I did some shady back gate work to get around security.
- A run around a nature preserve, but spotted no gators to my dismay
Savannah, GA
Our next hop was a new place for both of us – Savannah, Georgia. We pulled into Thunderbolt Marina, expecting to just get fuel, but they had a slip available so we decided to go explore the city.
- We checked out the Graveface Museum. It’s an immersive glimpse into the human condition through artifacts and decades worth of research on topics ranging from true crime, cults, sideshow history, secret societies, and the occult.
- Tyler’s sister Maddi met us in Savannah later that evening for a visit! We celebrated her arrival at a very cool African savanna themed bar which had creative drinks, delicious food and walls full of wild taxidermy
- Maddi jumped right into life aboard and went into the engine rooms to do checks with Tyler that first night for us to go outside the next day for a quick sail.
- She also helped us tackle some organizational tasks we had yet to get to – from organizing spares to doing inventory for our med kit. We didn’t get the weather we had hoped for her visit, but hope to host her again. She also left a little holiday magic and decorated our salon for Christmas which I was delighted to find on my return from CA.
California *by plane
We docked the boat in Savannah and flew to California for my brother John’s wedding. John and his wife Heather had a beautifully intimate ceremony with only immediate family, which I had the honor of officiating. Their home, a stunning geodesic dome nestled in the mountains of Los Gatos, provided an incredible setting for the wedding. We stayed in California for Thanksgiving with Heather’s family and thoroughly enjoyed our time on the west coast.
Fernandina, FL
We set out to Fernandina Florida when we returned from California. Fernandina is a quaint little town in northern Florida and by the time we arrived they had done up the town with Christmas decorations. We loved our evenings walking around, eating out and catching live music at Florida’s oldest bar.
