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from Chattanooga, TN....I looked at yahoo maps and it looks like going all the way down I 75 is longer than another road I see, but according to yahoo the other way is longer. I wondered what route everyone takes to get there. I like the fastest way and prefer not to drive through Atlanta.
I was curious and just looked at the map myself. I did the drive home from there just this past weekend but was much further north than Chattanooga as I was heading to the Chicago area. It doesn't look like 75 is your best bet. Maybe you can take one of the less traveled routes heading east off of I-75 to avoid Atlanta?
I hope you have a great trip there. It's my families favorite vacation spot.
Thanks...I will have to do some more research...I 75 just looked like it took me too far south....
So...do you have any tips for our trip to HiltonHead DVC? What should we bring / buy? I think my son wants to do some crabbing and my husband some fishing...but I know our rods are too small for ocean fishing so I guess we would have to rent those.
What do you like to do?
Good luck finding a quick route.
We've been to Hilton Head 8 years in a row now so we're pretty seasoned travelers there. This year, for the first time, bugs were really bad, so be sure and bring some bug spray along with a ton of sunscreen. Our favorite activities are to head down to the beach and play in the water, during the times when the lifeguards are around. My kids enjoy the boogie type surf boards and the wooden skim boards to use in the waves. They can easily be picked up at Walmart and aren't all that expensive. I don't personally go in the ocean but the water temperature is pleasant.
I've always brought a good non-stick teflon frying pan and a couple of kitchen utensils as I think what they have in the villa leaves a little to be desired. I did notice they updated some of it. Also, you may want to bring your own laundry soap, as what they sell there is pricey. I love to do our laundry and come home with a suitcase of clean clothing.
As for crabbing, they sell nets at the resort for something like $5 each. My kids actually prefer to buy them at West Marine, which is on Hilton Head near the Cold Stone Creamery. Their nets are more metal and don't tangle as easily. The best bait is chicken necks which you can find at most of the local grocery stores.
We love to go down to the beach at night to see all the sandcastles created during the day. We bring along kites which we bought down at the Kite Shop in Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head. They are easy flyer kites and make flying them really fun. The pool at the Beach House does close at 8 p.m. so if you go down to the beach and plan to return to the Beach House, you need to do so before 8 or you'll be locked out as the key cards no longer work after that time.
Another favorite of ours is the shark fishing and beach combing excursions arranged through the resorts and done by Low Country Nature Tours. We have always had excellent trips with them and have been extremely happy with them. They also do dolphin tours. Although they are more expensive that a larger boat, the dolphins do come right up to the boat. We've always felt it was excellent money spent. Here's a picture of one of the dolphins we saw last week which came right up to the boat. If you have the money and are interested, it's one of our favorite activities:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...eadTrip129.jpg
We tend to do most of our cooking in the villa as over the years it is easier. Most restaurants have a good hour wait in the evening. If you don't mind waiting, there are a lot of places to dine. We usually go out for an early lunch. Two of our favorites are the Sea Shack and Just Pasta. They are both located off of Pope Executive Drive - not within walking distance of the resort, but not a far drive away. We usually go across the bridge into Shelter Cove once during our stay there - we like San Miquels in Shelter Cove.
Don't leave your fishing poles at home. The ones they have at the resort rent for $5/day. We don't have heavy duty fishing poles and use them to fish off the pier at the resort. For the most part, we're not pulling out heavy fish, we did have something big last week snap a line. It's always an experience as to what we've caught, it seems like more times than not, it's not something we've caught before. In all the years, we've caught turtles, flounder, sharks, stingrays, croaker fish, whiting fish and last week I caught a catfish. These were all caught either in the crab net or with the light fishing pole we've brought with us. Here's a couple of pictures:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...eadTrip266.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...eadTrip413.jpg
Ironically, there was an alligator swimming off the pier one morning. They said it's unusual to see them in the salt water. The only reason I knew it was a gator was because my son was fishing down near the kayak area and as the gator swam closer to him, a man yelled out from one of the balconies across the way that it was a gator headed towards him. :eek: Here's a picture of it:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...eadTrip396.jpg
I hope you have a fantastic time. My kids, 8 & 13, prefer going to Hilton Head over a trip to Disney World. It's a wonderful vacation. I hope you enjoy it as much.
Cindy
Thanks for all of your wonderful tips, advice and awesome pictures! My kids are the same age as yours...DS 13 and DD 8. Too cool. Great...we will definitely bring our fishing poles....what about a license?Quote:
Originally Posted by piglet-for-me
No one has ever told us we needed a license to fish from the pier at Disney. I don't know what the situation or regulations are if you try to fish off Disney property or down by the beach (where we have seen small sharks and stingrays caught).Quote:
Originally Posted by Anna
I hope you have an awesome trip!