PassPorters playing together at Hallowe’en! THREAD 6 UPDATED 1/22 About This Page:

[chezp]

This is the sixth thread of this trip report.

The first thread can be found here

The second thread can be found here

The third thread can be found here

The fourth thread can be found here

The fifth thread can be found here

[chezp]

Tuesday 7 November – part two: sad dogs, green monsters and toy tractors!

We finally set off at about 10.40, after struggling with the petrol pumps at the Hess gas station. What is it about getting gas in America? We can never get it right here, I don’t know why. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img]

The drive was pretty boring. We eventually decided that we preferred the drive through the desert from Lake Havasu City to San Diego that we did in the spring, as at least you could see further and the scenery was more unusual. Here, it’s just trees and more trees and it gets very wearing very quickly. I did get some photos on the way.


Downtown Orlando – believe it or not, in all the times we’ve been to Disney, we’ve never been through downtown Orlando! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

One of the TV channels we often watch while we’re at Disney

We saw these kind of signs everywhere and just found them hysterical – everyone had the “largest selection of fireworks! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]

The monotony of the journey was broken up for about an hour of so by the two “sad dogs” and the two “green monsters” – all trucks. The first two both looked like sad dogs from the front view and the second two were both carrying tractors and were huge beasts. They even ended up overtaking us, which we found worrying, as we were doing the speed limit! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]


Our two green monsters! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Terri, we thought of you during this stretch of the journey! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

Crossing the state line

We stopped to get some food at Wendy’s, not much over the border into Georgia, as we were both finding the drive very hard work and it was a welcome break, as I could use the rest rooms to put the drops in my eyes (doing it in the car is possible, but not exactly easy! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] ) As we came off at the junction, we saw this sight:



I don’t know if you can make it out, but instead of carrying a life size tractor, this truck was just carrying one toy one, all carefully strapped down. Too cute! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Once we finished eating, we were back out on the road for the second part of the journey and more trees alongside the road again [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] although at least this time, there were some fall colours to admire, but not much else and no more fun trucks either. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/pout.gif[/img]



Not what you expect to see at the side of the road… [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]

We have a similar plant we go past in the UK on the way to visit my parents – but no lake and water feature out front! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Another state line crossed! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]

I will be honest – when we got to Savannah, I really thought that we were only a little bit away from Hilton Head Island, not a bit of it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] we were still about an hour’s drive away and it was painful getting there. As we drove through Bluffton, we must’ve hit every single traffic light at red, it’s like they knew we were coming! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Finally we were on to Hilton Head Island:




Even then, it took us probably another 20 minutes to get to the Disney resort – I guess, despite looking at the maps, I hadn’t realised how large Hilton Head Island really was and how many junctions there’d be – and of course you can work this out – how many of those would have red lights! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Finally we arrived.

Next: I think the car’s drunk! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]

[chezp]

Tuesday 7 November – part three: I think the car’s drunk! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]

The first impression you get of the Disney resort is that it’s not easy to find. You need to now that it’s part of the Shelter Cove Harbour and so when we saw the turning for that, we took it and then I was lucky enough to spot a sign for the Disney Vacation Club, but it’s not very well signposted. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] You go to the right of Shelter Cove Harbour and you’re greeted with a barrier entry that you can either use your room key for or press a button and then you’re let in.



The main lodge building

Shadow’s kennel – for those who don’t know, Shadow is a dog that lives at this resort, at least that’s how the story goes anyway! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

A beautiful Disney topiary

We parked up and checked in and discovered that we were in the main lodge building, which I was quite happy about. I liked the idea of being in the main building, but unfortunately it’s nothing like the main building at Vero Beach, which has restaurants and a lounge. This place doesn’t have any restaurants, which isn’t that much of a problem, as there are plenty nearby in Shelter Cove and scattered all above Hilton Head Island, but a lounge would be very nice. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

The issue with this resort is that the pool, shop and quick service place to eat are all elsewhere on the complex and nowhere near where we were staying – a good five minute walk away. Not a problem, as we weren’t planning on using the pool, but the shuttle bus stop for the beach house is right by the main lodge building, so if you want to use all those facilities, you’re going to have to walk to get to them.

We parked up and got our luggage out. Mark said that he thought the boot (OK, is it trunk that you guys call it? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] ) of the car was wet, but I couldn’t think how, so I figured he was imagining it and thought no more of it.

We caught the elevator up to the third and top floor and found our room, 1333, which was right by the elevator. Oh my goodness, this has to be the biggest studio unit that the DVC has to offer. I couldn’t believe the size of it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img] and did wonder if we had been given a one bedroom unit by accident, but I knew it had the right facilities. It was just huge and beautifully decorated. This has to be the nicest room that you can get at any DVC resort and that includes the Beach Club Villas – and that’s saying something! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]


The view from our room…

… and looking across to Shelter Cove

Fishing decorations

The towel animal that greeted us!

As we unpacked, Mark asked me how much wine had been left in the bottle that I had opened at Old Key West. “I drunk a little bit”, I told him. He then told me that it was now empty. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] Oooops…. It had leaked all over the boot of the car. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] So that’s why it seemed to be wet earlier… [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/whistling2.gif[/img] The first concern was the laptop, but that was fine and then the second concern was the blue suitcase, which seemed to be soaked. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Fortunately, when we opened it up, nothing inside was wet, just the outside. Good buy then! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

Of course then the next concern was the state and smell of the car. Oh boy, we don’t want to be billed to have to clean the thing. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] We had just over two days yet before it had to be handed back. Fingers crossed that the smell goes pretty quickly, as the car smells drunk right now! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]

We didn’t have much time to enjoy the room or the resort, as we were booked for an early dinner at Harbourmaster’s Ocean Grill at 5.00. I knew it was in the Shelter Cove Harbour. I just didn’t knew where exactly, so off we set.


The view from the elevator on the third floor

This shows you’re in the southern states of America! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Next: is there any life here? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]

[wdwlovers]

Wow, what a room!

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you finally made it to Hilton Head [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] Unfortunately, no one drives the speed limit on I-95 [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] so it's not surprising you were passed!

Great pictures of the room! How nice and big! Glad nothing was ruined in the wine incident [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[joyjoy]

But what about the wiiiiiine????? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
j/k. Great update, Chez, the room looks nice! That drive sounds about like 100 others in the southern US. Have fun at dinner!

[WDWJAMBA]

Great update! It looks like an interesting place to visit. More please! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Grammy Grumpy]

Can't wait to hear more about HH as DH and I would like to stay there someday. My DB and DSIL have a home in Bluffton but we've not visited there yet. Keep it up!

[mattnkatsmum]

I nearly missed you up here!

I'm fascinated to hear about Hilton Head, although the drive sounds really monotonous.

The room looks brill. Can't wait for more.

[WDWfan]

I find Florida boring to drive in as well - and I'm from Illinois (which has one hill between Chicago and St. Louis)! The resort looks nice - and the room beautiful. Can't wait to hear about HH and Savannah. I've always wanted to visit that area of the country.

[chezp]

Tuesday 7 November – part four: is there any life here? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]

We tried driving around Shelter Cove Harbour, looking at the signs, but we couldn’t see the place named anywhere, so eventually, we parked up and walked round a little. It was getting stupid. There was no sign of it anywhere, so we went into a shop and asked and wouldn’t you know it, it was on the other side of the marina. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Oh well, the walk will do us good, after being cooped up in the car for so long today. It’s a lovely area, just totally quiet. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] It was a bit spooky really, there were so few other people around.


Finally we see the Ocean Grill! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]


When we got to the restaurant, I thought that they were closed, it was that quiet [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] but they were open and there were a couple of other people seated. We got a table by the window, which allowed me to get some nice photos of the harbour and Broad Creek. We also saw the evening cruise going out.



Now I had booked this early, so that we would qualify for the early cheap menu, but the one we were given didn’t seem to be that cheap. Just as well then that the table just down from us asked for the cheap menu. We followed their lead and got a three course meal for less than the entrées cost on the main menu. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

First, we both had calamari, which was much better than Cathy had been served with at Alfredo’s the day before. For main course, I had barbecued salmon, which had a bit too much barbecue sauce for my taste and I ended up having to scrap it off, while Mark had the surf and turf. We both had mango sorbet to finish. It was a pleasant enough meal and came to $56 with tip. Our server was OK, but not outstanding.

Harbourmaster’s Ocean Grill:

Appetiser 8½ 8½
Main course 7½ 8
Dessert 7½ 8½
Service 7½ 8
Atmosphere 8½ 9
Value for money 9 9

Average score: 8.29


The calamari

My salmon

Mark’s surf and turf

When we came out of there, it was dark and if I thought the place was deserted earlier, it was worse now. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] We only saw two other people, as we walked back to the car.


The restaurant in the dark

We had some problems finding the car, as there was so little lighting and this proved to be a problem, as we were going up to the Mall at Shelter Cove, as I knew that there was a Bath and Body Works there. There was no street lighting and it was really hard to see any of the turnings. It made the whole place like a real backwater.

We eventually found the mall, but we thought it was closed at first. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] There were no lights on anywhere (notice a trend here? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ) and there were very few cars out front. Granted it was late, but even so….

Once we walked through the doors though, you could see that it was packed with life. This is a nice mall and I quickly found Bath and Body Works and got to work in there [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] picking out the hand cream I needed. I couldn’t find a lot of my favourites, so I asked and immediately, they were out back checking for me. The staff in all their shops are so helpful. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

I got what I needed and some sleep socks and then the shop assistant tried to talk me into getting the “softest bath robe in the world”. It was just $35 if you spent $25, but I kept saying that it wouldn’t fit in the case, but it did feel good. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] Well, I got to paying and what do you now, I’ve spent more than $25, so I decided to get the bath robe. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] And I can tell you that it’s beautiful – I love it! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] I’m glad I spent so much in there.

We wandered around and went into a few other shops, but didn’t buy anything. When we walked back to the car, it had just started to rain, so we drove back to the resort and spent the evening in our room, watching TV. A nice slow end to the day.

Today we walked 3.5 miles
The weather today varied between being in the 70’s, but cloudy in Florida and more like in the high 50’s in Hilton Head Island.
The best thing today was seeing Stitch. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
The worst thing today was how boring the drive was.
Today we tried staying at Disney’s Hilton Head Island resort.
And the result was it’s a beautiful resort but lacking in facilities.
The most magical moment today was seeing the size of our room.

Next: small facilities, big food!

[DrDolphin]

[ QUOTE ]

[b]Terri, we thought of you during this stretch of the journey! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

You were like 1/2 a mile from my house when you drove under this overpass!!! That's my exit. Wish I had been in town so I could have seen both of you -- next time [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update! I'm glad you were able to find everything. Looks like Hilton Head is deserted when it's not tourist season [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img]

Glad you found everything at B&BW, and got the robe as well [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[chezp]

Wednesday 8 November – part two: squares, film crews and waterfronts

All fed, we set off and fortunately this time it didn’t take us as long to get through traffic light city [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] although we saw some interesting construction work on the way over to Savannah. When they build here, they don’t do it by halves. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img]


Shelter Cove harbour

Leaving Hilton Head Island and crossing back to the mainland

Construction work

Our first sight of Savannah – not what I expected! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img]

Driving over the main bridge into the city

It probably took us about an hour to get to Savannah and when we got there, we found our way easily enough and parked up near the Civic Centre.

We set off on a walking tour to see some of Savannah. I wanted to see some of the city’s famous squares first of all. Those were in Savannah’s original layout, which dates back to 1733 and the arrival of British army officer James Oglethorpe and, for the next 100 years, Savannah became a very prosperous place to be, selling first rice and tobacco and then cotton, which led to the establishment of the city as a port. Even today you can clearly see that this was once a park where the richest lived, although today there are a lot more signs of deprivation to be seen as well. I will say that I didn’t feel 100% safe here. It had something to do with the fact that there weren’t many visitors at this time of year and therefore, some areas were almost totally deserted, but we saw some characters too. I’m sure that some of them were totally harmless, but even so, people welcoming you to Savannah out of the blue just struck me as a bit odd and not what I’m used to. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]

Anyway, back to what we did. Our first stop was Telfair Square, which has the Academy of Arts and Science by it. What immediately struck me was how huge the trees are here. It’s really difficult to photograph the buildings around the squares, as the trees are so big. In one way, I loved that they were so big, as they were really atmospheric, but it was also frustrating that they had taken over such a big area.


I thought this was a really neat idea

We later found out that these were government buildings and apparently they don’t have to fit in with their surroundings, which has really annoyed local people.

We carried on walking down State Street and reached Wright Square next.


Then we turned and walked up to Johnson Square, where we found a film crew with lots of people, which didn’t help for photos. We couldn’t hear what they were doing. Johnson Square is the oldest of the city squares and was laid out in 1738. I loved the little touches that they had put in:


You can see the film crew and the people with them at the back of the square


From there, we walked up to City Hall, which reminded me of a smaller and less elaborate version of the Old State House in Boston.



It was there that we discovered the beauty of the riverside area. Now this is more what I was expecting from Savannah. Although the squares were lovely, they were situated quite far apart and to get to them, you had to walk through some what I would describe as less desirable areas. Here was yes more touristy, but also therefore felt safer.

This area has a lovely old world feel to it and you can just imagine the city a hundred years ago when you see the cobbled streets and how far down the waterfront is, compared to the more recent city streets.


The Old Cotton Exchange building

This area even has old gas lamps!


The view down to the riverfront

Next: “either give me a tip or give me a kiss!” [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures of Savannah [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]