I got up early to see what damage we got from the heavy rains and saw a cow wandering by. April Fools!!Man did it rain last night. At times it came down in buckets. In fact we had expected some thunderstorm activity but other than the rain being heavy we were able to get a reasonable nights sleep. Since the weatherman said it was going to be a rainy day so we decided to go for a drive. After checking the map it looked like Hilton Head, just over the border in South Carolina might be a good place to visit. Probably about 40 miles. So we packed up the kids, locked up and headed for Savannah. (The top photo is looking out the car window as we are crossing the Savannah River Bridge. Those are the suspension guy wires. The photo below is from the bridge looking out over the Savannah River).
Our first stop was an orthopaedic shoe store so Tina could get fitted with some orthotics to help reduce the pain in her ankle. While we were there I figured maybe I should do the same for my feet since my doctor suggested it two years ago to help alleviate the pain from nerve damage in my right foot. Leaving Savannah we caught SR-17 to cross the Savannah River into South Carolina. Rather than stay on major roads we got off SR-17 to take a couple of back roads through the coastal lowlands. This let us drive through some very pretty pastoral back country past farms ad horse ranches. Eventually we got to SR-278 and pulled into the Visitors Information Center. We talked to the young lady about places to go on Hilton Head and where to have lunch. She gave us a map with several areas circled then suggested Charlie Crab for lunch. 
We expected Hilton Head Island to be more like Whidbey Island with rural country roads and there are places where it's like that. But the main drag onto and around the island, SR-278 is a four lane divided highway. Nicely landscaped as you would expect for the island playground of rich and famous people, but not what we expected. Five miles from the VIC we turned off onto one of the rural side roads and drove to the "Charlie Crab" restaurant. It's located on the west side of the island on Calibogue Sound. Charlie Crab turned out to be a really nice place, much like an Anthonys, a weathered wood building with beautiful landscaping and casual dining in a fine dining setting (white table cloths and cloth napkins). 
We were seated by the window looking out over flowering azaleas out to the harbor. Following recommendations we ordered a "Huge Chunk" crab cake appetizer, followed by a lovely chopped spinach salad drizzled with warm bacon dressing. Tina ordered a lobster sandwich while I had the She-crab soup made with a sherry bisque. Mmmmmm, mmm. Delicious! After lunch we walked around the grounds for a while since the rain had stopped.
Returning to the car we headed out to Port Royal Plantation, a beautiful community of plantation estates on a golf course. Very nice place. From there we drove to the only public beach on the island only to find out it was closed due to road construction. We were disappointed as we wanted to take the dogs for a walk. Our next stop was South Beach Village, located at the south end of the island. To get there we drove along another long winding rural road with immaculate landscaping until we came to a gate house. Stopping at the gate house a man in a uniform, with a badge, came out to greet us. Looking up at him he asked us where we thought we were going. I kinda stammered and suggested we were in the wrong place and must of missed a turn. He asked me again where I wanted to go, so I said, "South Beach', whereupon he responded "Okay, you're on the right road. But to get there we had to purchase a one day license permitting us to be traveling on the community road. I handed him a fiver and he handed me a 5" by 8" license to be prominently displayed on the cars dashboard. 
Completing the transaction we thanked him and continued on our way. It was like driving through some of the gated communities on Mercer Island, only nicer. Driving along the shaded lanes (overhanging with live oak trees) there were lots of people on bicycles. The island of Hilton Head is very bicycle friendly and has bike paths everywhere. About five miles on we came to the Village of South Beach, a collection of small seaside shops and a large outdoor restaurant called "The Salty Dog" and a small marina with docks and private boats. There were a lot of people at the restaurant and clustered about the bar and a few people shopping so we got the dogs out and went on an exploration walk around the area. To some extent it reminded me of Roche Harbor but without the large marina. We walked around the shops, visited with different people then headed back to the car.
By now it's getting on for 4:30 so we decide to head back home. That's when I discovered I had left my hat at Charley Crab. Fortunately it was on our way home so after returning to the west side of the island and making a brief foray to pick up my hat we headed off the island of Hilton Head for the hour long journey back to Tybee Island. We had been very fortunate, all day the weather steadily improved with the sun coming out for brief periods of time. But by the time we got home it was starting to sprinkle again. Not having anything planned for dinner, we called the local pizza place and ordered a large sausage and mushroom pizza with extra cheese. I picked it up and brought it home. We were pleasantly surprised to get a very, very good thin crust pizza done just right. We even had some left over for tomorrows lunch.To see all our photos, click on:
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