Hilton Head and Hunting Island

Our third day wasn't spent so much in Savannah as on islands close to Savannah.  Getting off to a late start (as usual, although anyone who's tried to move a family of four around on anything approaching a schedule, especially on vacation, will understand the challenges associated with an early start), we made our way towards Hilton Head.  The goal of the day was to see a few lighthouses.

Hilton Head is home to a picturesque lighthouse, that, as far as I can tell, is not actually a lighthouse except in name.  I have to admit that the story isn't entirely clear, but there's now a lighthouse there apparently because someone simply decided that a lighthouse would be just the thing for Hilton Head, and what do you know?  They were right.  The lighthouse is surrounded by an upscale shopping area, which, although we didn't explore it too much, struck me as the same sort of stores you might find in any upscale beach shopping area.  The lighthouse fees here were much more reasonable than Tybee - a mere $16 for the family, so we climbed to the top of the lighthouse and looked out across the marina.

Hilton Head Lighthouse

After visiting the lighthouse, it was already time for lunch, and we headed to The Salty Dog Cafe, which got the final vote of our party for best place to eat.  The margarita was the perfect beach margarita, eminently drinkable, and the Salty Dog Amber was quite tasty.  Although we stuck with sandwiches, the sandwiches were first rate, and much better than I had expected.  The hushpuppies were different than any I have had before, with a sweetness, and texture similar to a heavy doughnut.  Once buttered, it was hard to stop eating them, although running out leaves you with few options.  I went to the shop and got one of their t-shirts, and then we struck out for the Stoney-Bayard ruins.

The ruins are literally just that, ruins, and there's not much left to what was once a plantation home and a couple of other buildings, including slave quarters, and a kitchen.  The most interesting part from my perspective was the construction, which was tabby.  Tabby is a mixture of oyster shells, sand and water to make a sort of concrete, which formed the plantation walls.  While interesting, I don't recommend going out of your way to see them, although if you're in the area, it's worth a short visit.

Hopping back into the car, we headed north towards Hunting Island.  Hunting Island struck me as the sort of place that beaches used to be probably 50 plus years ago.  There's a few restaurants, but they are really little more than shacks, and the lighthouse that we were hunting was in a state park.  Because of the drive, we didn't make it in time to see the interior of the lighthouse (full disclosure: the lighhouse also charges an additional fee over and above the fee charged by the park, which I thought a little ridiculous).  Nonetheless, we wandered the grounds, ogled the lighthouse, and then walked the beach for a bit.  The whole area seemed somewhat surreal to me, like we had inadvertently transported ourselves into a tropical forest that just happened to be located on the coast of South Carolina.  The kids joked that we were in Jurassic Park.

Yes, this is South Carolina.

The drive back to Savannah took a while, and so we opted for a little Mexican joint in the strip mall next to the hotel.  All finally concurred that it was the food lowlight of the journey, so I won't spill further ink  on it here.  With that, we headed back in to rest up for our final day in Savannah.