Last Days of Vacation

We tried to get some early morning pictures on the beach.  But, that didn’t work out too great!  The sun was SO. BRIGHT!  So, it was a no-go.  Hayden wasn’t real cooperative and we just decided we would do with out beach pictures this year.  Kind of sad.

The last day of vacation was a beach day! Not a lot on the agenda. Just a day to relax and enjoy the scenery one last time. Love those days.

Hayden’s Nana bough a kite and he was loving it.  Until we knocked an elderly gentleman in the head with it.  Oops!  I felt so bad! 

The boys, big and little, had the best time making sand castles.  Hayden’s favorite part was when he could stomp it down with his foot. 

I think this is my favorite picture from vacation.  Especially if it didn’t have some random guy in the back.  HA!

And that concludes the Smith Family Vacation 2012.  :-)

Vacation, Part 2

On Wednesday, Matt, Sherry, Brooklyn, Cole, Yolanda, and I woke up early and headed to meet up with our fishing guide for the day. 

Brooklyn is ready to go!  Cole being silly as always. 

The fun begins.  Gotta catch some bait! 

First catch of the day.   A baby shark.

 

Brooklyn’s catch of the day.

Cole reeling his big shark in!  :-)

He didn’t want any part of touching it, so our guide held it for him. 

Sherry’s turn…

Yolanda had the biggest fish and the longest fight with the reel.  Our guide said probably about a 50 pound “brownie”.  But, her fish somehow got off.  We were all sad! 

This is what was on the line when she got it in.  I am guessing the big fish had a hold of this one?  This is called a toad fish.

I actually never touched a rod.  We kind of had some bad luck getting our bigger fish in.  As you can tell, we caught a lot of sharks.  But, we saw several dolphins a lot of HUGE sea turtles!   Brooklyn actually had a sea turtle on the line that got off.  We really wanted to get him reeled in so we could get a good picture of him, but he got off.  Our guide was not real happy having a sea turtle on the line.  I am pretty sure people are quite protective of them.   It is hard to tell in the picture how big he really is, but our guide said they get about as big as the top of a VW beetle. 

We had such a fun time though! 

Jeff, Corene, Mark, and Hayden did some exploring around the island while we were off fishing. 

That night, we went on the Dolphin cruise.  It was about a 1 1/2 hour long boat ride.  We did see several dolphins, an awesome rainbow, and some very large homes! 

Just a weekend home with a guest house on the side.  I actually think our boat captain said that these people only come 4-5 times a year.  Goodness, me. 

Hayden was super excited about driving under the bridge you see in the picture above. 

After we got through with our cruise, we headed to South Beach to the famous Salty Dog area.

Isn’t it neat looking?  We ate at “The Wreck”. It was kind of expensive, but pretty good!

Then, we followed up with some ice cream! 

Before we left Hayden needed his hands painted. 

Wednesday was a super fun day! 

One more post and I think I’ll be done with vacation!  :-)

Vacation Part 1

The morning after we arrived at our beach house (Sunday), we went into the garage to discover what items were available for our use.  Well, Hayden quickly found a bike that he wanted to ride.  Hayden has had plenty of experience riding his tricycle, but he has not ever taken a ride on a regular bike with training wheels.  Well, he was a pro and LOVED it!  If were at the house, he wanted to be outside riding that bike.  If it wasn’t for those fierce mosquitos he would have been! 

A view down our street.

Entrance into our resort.  The landscaping everywhere was so pretty!

The first day we enjoyed some coal fired pizza at Paulie’s.

Brothers hanging out by the pool.

Hayden enjoyed fishing in the pool while Brooklyn swam. 

On Monday, Sherry, Yolanda, Corene, and I enjoyed a morning at the spa.  It was wonderful!  I got a massage, facial, and a pedicure!  Pure bliss!  That afternoon, the boys went to play golf and Sherry and I took Brooklyn and Hayden to the beach.

Enjoying a little snack.

A storm rolled in quite quickly. 

On Tuesday, we headed to Savannah, GA.  First stop, Paula Deen’s store and famous restaurant, Lady and Sons. 

Waiting to go in…

Yolanda had made reservations for us, so we actually were the first ones in that day.  Yay!

This is what awaits you when you enter.  Pure deliciousness.  A greasy hoecake and cheese biscuit.  YUM!

Jeff and I enjoyed the buffet.  The best fried chicken EVER!  Seriously, so delicious!  The buffet had fried chicken, baked chicken, lasagna, mashed potatoes, gravy, Italian sausage, green beans, sweet potatoes, the cheesiest, and most delicious baked macaroni and cheese ever.  Then, we got to choose between three desserts.  Banana pudding with homemade whipped topping (my choice), peach cobbler, and gooey butter cake (Hayden’s choice).  Oh my.  Is your mouth watering yet? 

Bobby Dean happened to come in when we were there.  They said that one of the brothers usually comes in once a week.  Then, Paula comes in every month or so. 

Bobby Dean and my SIL Yolanda.

My sweet boys.

We took a little time to explore downtown Savannah and walked through some shops.

Cole being funny. 

Corene (Nana) and Sherry (SIL)

Down by the harbor area.

Before leaving Savannah we made a stop at Ft. Jackson to look around.

This guy fired the cannon.  Really cool! 

More to come…