Trip Report Devoting Full Time to Floating: A July 2013 Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort Trip Report!

Hellooooooo humans!

That's me (Shannon, 29) and my husband Will (28). Last week we returned home from a much-needed vacation that included three destinations, five racing presidents, one try at paddle boarding (verdict: LOVE), two cupcakes, one favorite new movie, at least ten (!) bug bites (on only one of us...guess who the lucky one was? ) and one beyooooootiful golden retriever.

The main feature of this trip, though, was relaxation. Our last vacation was traveling to Disney for Marathon Weekend in January, but let's be honest: as much as I love them, those race weekends are hardly vacations. They are WORK. And speaking of work, my job has been pretty demanding lately. It's good because I like being busy and challenging myself, but before this trip I'd been coming off of one of those periods where things are just a little TOO busy and a little TOO challenging. Know what I mean?

Will had his own stress to deal with early in the summer. He's a teacher, meaning that he's on glorious summer vacation right now. However, this summer was also his first semester of graduate school. We're talking a semester's worth of two upper-level math classes crammed into one 5-week session. So in addition to the classes themselves he had hours of homework/projects/papers each evening. To say he needed a break - and a reward - after surviving that is an understatement.

We started talking about this trip in April, and initially Hilton Head wasn't a part of it. Will's two aunts had been asking us to visit for years (seriously, YEARS...I'm embarrassed it took us so long ) so we finally decided to make that happen. After roughly mapping the days out we ended up adding on the Hilton Head portion at the end since we'd already be in SC visiting aunt #2 anyway. I'd read a report on Disney's DVC resort in Hilton Head on another board just a few weeks prior, so that's where we ended up.

Here's how the schedule shook out:

July 22: Drop the monster-pup off at doggy camp

(obligatory monster photo that has nothing to do with anything I just like him.)

July 22-24: Visit aunt #1 in the DC area
July 24-26: Visit aunt #2 in South Carolina (Columbia-ish area)
July 26-30: Head to Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort!

My favorite part of this itinerary was how little planning I needed to do. I mean, we worked stuff out with flights (my biggest triumph was scoring $59 tickets from Baltimore to Charleston...Southwest rocks!) and a rental car, and I made a few reservations for the Hilton Head portion of the trip...but compared to my normal OCD trip planning tendencies this was nothing. The aunts had stuff planned out for us and for once I was more than happy to just go where I was told, minimal thinking required. That's sort of what inspired the title of this report...in the days leading up to the trip I just sort of imagined us floating along effortlessly, completely relaxed, not a care in the world. AHHHHH......

 

[Ariel484]

I won't bore you with long recaps of our days leading up to the Hilton Head portion of our trip, but because it's my trip report and I do what I want I'll throw in some pictures with a bit of commentary on what we did do during the first half of our trip. It sort of adds in some context as to where we were mentally and physically (!!) when we arrived in Hilton Head.

July 22-24: DC portion

On 7/22 we arrived and went to the Nats game!

This is a terrible picture, but for some reason the presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Taft) raced pierogies because it was a Nationals vs. Pirates game...I guess?? Why does the green pierogie have a handbag?

Apparently Lincoln wins a LOT.

Pirates won 6-5...fun game but it was SO hot out.

On 7/23 Will's cousin took the day off of work to be our DC tour guide and we saw the monuments. Really fun day but VERY hot.

This quote was being removed from the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial:

This was a couple of days before the vandalism happened...

I love the "Quiet, Respect Please" sign!

WWII memorial and Washington Monument:

FDR memorial:

In the afternoon we went to the Newseum, which showcases the history of news and journalism. Only had a couple of hours here but it was really interesting.

Some of the tiles on the walls of the bathroom has erroneous quotes from newspapers...this one was one of my favorites:

The terrace on the top floor of the Newseum had incredible views. As you can see we were right next to the Canadian Embassy:

We had dinner out on aunt #1's deck and by the time the meal was over I had 5 swollen bug bites on my legs...UGH!

So to sum up the first few days of the trip...very fun, but very hot and tiring. And in my case, itchy!

 

[Ariel484]

July 24-26: SC portion

On 7/24 we flew form Baltimore to Charleston where we rented a car. Then we drove to aunt #2's house. She lives on a lake, and these next couple of days were soooo relaxing but still soooooo hot.

Tried paddle boarding for the first time and loved it!

The afternoon of the paddle boarding we went on a boat ride and I got MAJORLY sunburned. My shins and quads were in pain...not sun poisoning or anything but it was a bonehead move on my part not to be better with the sunscreen.

Later that evening we were back out on the boat...

The morning of 7/26 we packed up and got ready for the drive to Disney...ish.

So to sum up the first half of the trip...really fun, but so hot and exhausting.

 

[Ariel484]

Day 1: Friday, July 26, 2013

We left aunt #2's house at about 11 and were making our way across the bridge from mainland SC to Hilton Head Island by 4ish. I remembered this bridge taking FOREVER from trips to Hilton Head when I was younger, and this was definitely the slowest part of our drive. Traffic wasn't too heavy, but there was lots of construction to slow us down.

And finally...Welcome Home!!

We parked outside of the lobby and went to check in. I think we were both tired from the heat, the DC days, the drive...who knows, but check-in was slightly overwhelming. I think it was weird for me to be at a Disney resort that I was so unfamiliar with. Also, we were given First Visit buttons...but they were WDW first visit buttons just like you'd get in the parks. Thanks? Honestly, I thought that was a little lame.

We're not DVC members and we'd booked too late to be able to rent points for a studio, so we were actually booked on cash. @Disneyfalcon was able to get a small discount for us...but I was reminded when paying off the balance at check-in how pricey our room was. I really wish the point rental had worked out, but at least we got daily mousekeeping this way.

Anyway...our room was very close to the lobby. Like, two doors over. Initially we were both disappointed by this because we were right by the entrance to the resort, but it ended up being a great location. It was very quiet and being close to the lobby was nice because we could take advantage of the complimentary coffee (Joffrey's!) they had out each morning. A tip from me to any of you that are thinking of staying at this resort: DO NOT accept a room by the pool. The pool was so loud...we would have asked for a room change if they'd put us near it.

So here's our room. Not sure why some of them had doorbells and some didn't...thankfully no one ever rung ours. Apparently the fancy RFID door locks have not made their way to HH quite yet.

As you can see the doors open right up to the outside walkways...and there are windows in the rooms that look right out onto those walkways. Make sure to close the blinds!

Walking in...

Looking back at our door. Oddly big entryway with one of the aforementioned windows to the outside.

The kitchenette (fridge, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, etc.):

Main living area. Again, we were in a studio.

Octo-towel!
ETA: Wait, that's not an octopus, he only has 6 legs...?? I'm stumped.

The bathroom...notice anything missing?

No tub. I'm slow, so it took me a bit to realize that this was because we were in a handicapped room. I was not impressed by the lack of counter space in the bathroom and ended up "storing" lots of my primping supplies in the kitchenette area.

Nice big porch:

And a beautiful view of the fishing dock:

Initially I was not too impressed with this room. The lack of bathroom counter space really annoyed me (who knows if it's better in a non-handicapped studio), the room was INCREDIBLY dark, there was no free Wi-fi (not that I NEED free Wi-fi, but seriously Disney, get with it already), and the stopper on our sink got stuck almost instantly. (Maintenance was super quick to fix it though.)

As dumb as it sounds, I was kind of disappointed and overwhelmed and wasn't sure why. Will hit it on the head right away though - we had to accept that even though this was a Disney resort, we weren't in Disney World. I realized then that I'd expected to get that *feeling* I get when I arrive at WDW, and well, we weren't there. Yes, I know how stupid this sounds. This was definitely going to be a different kind of vacation.

 

[Ariel484]

Our first task after finding our room was to find the laundry area. Big fun, right? After being in the heat in DC and SC, though, we really needed to get some laundry done. The laundry room was pretty close to our room - in between where we were and where the lobby was located - so that was nice. But we needed detergent and fabric softener, so it was off to the on-property store (come on, it's Disney...you knew they'd have one).

This is a map of the resort...it's actually pretty big. We were in building 12 one room down from the "L" for laundry. Live Oak Lodge is where the lobby is located:

(source)

When we were shown this map at check-in, I got incredibly intimidated about the size of the place, but it was only a 5-minute walk to the pool/store from our room.

Disney details! This sign pretty well sums up the main area of the resort:

This little boardwalk was right outside of our building:

Throughout the resort there were lots of little areas like this one with hammocks. Tons of trees for shade...it was really very pretty:

This is the resort pool. It seemed pretty packed almost every time we passed it...and like I said, it was LOUD. I would not have wanted one of those rooms overlooking it:

Across from the pool is the building where a lot of the action happens. Here, there's the store, the exercise room, the one place to get food on property (more on that later) and the area for rentals and excursion sign-ups.

The exercise room is on the upper level...I had big plans for this place. Would I stick to them? (Spoiler alert: No. )

I was impressed that they had a decent set of free weights.

Broad Creek Merchantile is right next to Bend and Stretch. I don't have any pictures of the store itself, but it has some generic Disney merch, some DVC merch, snacks, toiletries, etc. Just like the resort stores at WDW but smaller. They played Disney music here, so over the course of the trip we heard, among other things, "It's a Small World," "Grim Grinning Ghosts," and the score to Soarin'.

In addition to the other merch I mentioned, they also have resort-specific stuff! I got a t-shirt, coffee mug and a resort pin. They also had hats, tote bags, magnets, etc. The one thing that they did not have that I really wanted was a Christmas ornament. I get an ornament on each Disney trip that we take, so this was disappointing.

Mediocre picture of the coffee mug (the shirt was the same thing in red):

Mediocre picture of the pin:

The dog on the pin is Shadow...she's the resort's "mascot" and sort of lives there. We were looking forward to meeting her later in the week!

On the other side of Broad Creek Merchantile is the one quick-service location on property, Tide Me Over. It's only open from 8-5...so they serve breakfast and lunch only. I thought it was really odd and surprising that there was nowhere on property to get dinner.

 

[Ariel484]

After getting the goods in the store (along with some Tide and Bounce sheets) we headed downstairs.

Thanks for photo-bombing me, lady.

Down here guests can rent things and sign up for excursions...

...or go out to the fishing dock.

I was pretty much obsessed with this sign.

After looking around a bit we headed back to throw our one load of laundry in (and here discovered that we could have bought detergent right in the laundry room itself, DUH). The machines were free to use, which was nice.

At some point between then and going out to dinner we headed back to Broad Creek Merchantile twice...once was definitely to try to rent bikes (except that we got there after the rental place had closed at 5 and were out of luck). I forget why we went the second time, but I have a strong feeling it was to get calamine lotion for itchy me.

While the laundry was going we peeked around the lobby a bit.

Shadow's house! But no Shadow.

The front of Live Oak Lodge, aka the lobby. There was parking underneath:

Lobby doors:

Big Muggie's Den is attached to the lobby...comfy chairs, TV and pool here.

Heading out the doors behind the pool table would take us right to the laundry room, then to our room. That's how close we were to the lobby.

 

[Ariel484]

Eventually we decided to head out to dinner. This is one of the few areas of the trip where I did do a little research/planning since I knew there was nowhere on property to get dinner. In my mind, the goal was to not eat anywhere that we could go to at home.

When we checked in to the resort we were given a list of nearby restaurants that, if we showed them our Key to the World (did I mention our room key was a Key to the World? Exactly like you'd get at WDW? I thought that was kind of lame) we'd get a small discount. Two of the restaurants we were planning to go to were on that list, which was cool.

One of them was the one I'd planned for on our first night...Giuseppi's. There's one on the island and one in mainland SC...the one on the island is about a mile from Disney's resort.

They didn't take reservations, so we were looking at a 45-minute wait. Ouch. We spent the wait browsing the neighboring TJ Maxx (where Will bought a new pair of flip flops and a tie, of all things - I thought it was hilarious that one of his souvenirs from our beach vacation was a tie) and taking so-so pictures during the Golden Hour.

Spanish moss! It was everywhere. Not always so blurry though.

Sunburns on my arrrrrrms

These pink flowers were everywhere too. I never figured out what they were but they were pretty.

We were called in at about 8PM to be seated and immediately noticed that there was Pittsburgh paraphernalia everywhere. We asked our server about it and he said that the group that owns the restaurants (one of them being his dad) met in Pittsburgh during college, hence the decor.

We were extra surprised to see this guy in here. One of the regulars is a Clevelander (represent!!) and begged for a Browns flag over his regular table.

We were seated in a quiet corner of the restaurant and were pretty hungry after the wait, so we grabbed an appetizer. Will also ordered a Fat Tire while I got a Coke and water.

Our appetizer was the parmesan dippers...fried pizza dough covered in parmesan served with marinara and garlic sauces.

This was soooooo good. I could bathe in that garlic sauce. Perfect start.

We ended up splitting a large pizza...half pepperoni (for me), half Giuseppi's special for Will (pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, onion, green pepper and black olive).

Amazing! Probably the best pizza either of us have had for awhile. From what I remember the crust was really good.

We got the leftovers boxed up (2 pieces of each variety) and got the KTTW discount added to the bill. I think after discount and tip it came out to $30. Not bad! We'd absolutely come back to this place. Great first night meal.

 

[Ariel484]

We headed back to the room and could see the outdoor movie going on! I think the trees are orange due to the timer on my camera...

Disney's resort is located in Shelter Cove, which is a group of shops, restaurants, hotels, residences, etc. It was surprising to have Disney located right in the middle of all this non-Disney stuff. We decided we wanted to watch the movie but grab some dessert first, so we wandered around some of the Shelter Cove area. Broad Creek goes right through the middle...Disney is on one side and some other hotels and shops are on the other. So across Broad Creek we found some ice cream. I think it was called Frosty's?

Peanut butter with peanut butter cups...nom!

Will got watermelon Italian Ice.

Heading back to the resort...

This is the bus stop to catch the shuttle to Disney's private beach house. You can take the shuttle, drive your own car or ride a bike. It's a little over a mile from the resort.

Movie time! Pretty sure I got more bug bites here, but we really enjoyed watching a movie under the stars.

We ended the night by walking around the resort a bit more.

And then back to the room for sleep! Had to rest up for our first planned activity the next day.

 

[LindsayLoves]

Shannon! Woohoo another one of your great trip reports to read while on my lunch break (ugh yes working this weekend ). Just wanted to say you look great and can't wait to see what else Hilton Head has in store for you two.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Great TR so far! I've often wondered about this property. Too bad about the bug bites and the sunburn, but it could always be worse. The DC pics are great too...we're looking at a trip up there in the next couple of years. Can't wait to read more!

 

[LivFreeorDisney]

Great trip report! Very exciting to see a different report that has nothing to do with the parks. I've been asking my wife to go here for a couple of years but no go so far...maybe next year.

Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip.

 

[Nero the dog]

These pink flowers were everywhere too. I never figured out what they were but they were pretty.

The pink flowers look like a variety of rhododendron.

 

[tare]

Wow what a great report so far!!! Sounds wonderful.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Love the TR so far, Shannon!

 

[tiaragirl]

This is so cool, Shannon! Looking forward to more relaxation!

Jealous that you only have 10 bug bites.. It might seem like a lot, but we had a campfire tonight down by the lake and I got at least 5! That's the price of beautiful surroundings, I guess.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh I like this! So fun to see some variety going down!

SUP'ing is so much fun, isn't it?! It's great core exercise camouflaged well as fun. That's my favorite part!

Watch out for that Spanish moss. Always kills me to see people collecting bits of it to take home. It's ~loaded~ with chigger bugs. Talk about itchy little boogers! Ugh!

The Italian dinner looks well worth the wait. Yummyyyyyy!!!!

Oh my! And ice cream with peanut butter cups. I'm drooling now!

So definitely making a mental note that if I ever go to the Hilton Head resort to remember my Skin So Soft.

Can't wait for more!

 

[Ariel484]

Shannon! Woohoo another one of your great trip reports to read while on my lunch break (ugh yes working this weekend ). Just wanted to say you look great and can't wait to see what else Hilton Head has in store for you two.

Thanks Lindsay! I'm sorry you had to work this weekend, yuck! Hope you find some time to have some fun.

Great TR so far! I've often wondered about this property. Too bad about the bug bites and the sunburn, but it could always be worse. The DC pics are great too...we're looking at a trip up there in the next couple of years. Can't wait to read more!

Thanks Sandy! I feel like I am extra prone to bug bites...I came home with a ton and Will didn't get any! There were tons of activities for younger kids at the HH property, I bet the girls would love it. I wish we'd had more time in DC to see some museums (the spy museum, air and space, etc.). It really is a cool place.

Great trip report! Very exciting to see a different report that has nothing to do with the parks. I've been asking my wife to go here for a couple of years but no go so far...maybe next year.

Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip.

Thank you! Sorry it's been a no-go for you so far. Maybe she'll break down someday.

The pink flowers look like a variety of rhododendron.

Thank you! Love your avatar.

Wow what a great report so far!!! Sounds wonderful.

Thank you!!

Love the TR so far, Shannon!

Thanks Darolyn! I'm looking forward to reading about your race soon (hint hint...)

This is so cool, Shannon! Looking forward to more relaxation!

Jealous that you only have 10 bug bites.. It might seem like a lot, but we had a campfire tonight down by the lake and I got at least 5! That's the price of beautiful surroundings, I guess.

Thanks Kenzie! Oh noooo, I'm sorry about your bites. That is the worst!

Oh I like this! So fun to see some variety going down!

SUP'ing is so much fun, isn't it?! It's great core exercise camouflaged well as fun. That's my favorite part!

Watch out for that Spanish moss. Always kills me to see people collecting bits of it to take home. It's ~loaded~ with chigger bugs. Talk about itchy little boogers! Ugh!

The Italian dinner looks well worth the wait. Yummyyyyyy!!!!

Oh my! And ice cream with peanut butter cups. I'm drooling now!

So definitely making a mental note that if I ever go to the Hilton Head resort to remember my Skin So Soft.

Can't wait for more!

Definitely! Between this and the cruise I am getting a little Disney variety this year...if only I could have worked in a trip to Disneyland...

The SUP we used was, like, the ultra-beginner version so it was pretty much impossible to fall off. As a result I don't think we got much core work in. I'd like to try it again someday for sure!

EUUUUW! We never touched the Spanish moss, thankfully!

Oh yes, loooove ice cream. A little too much. I should have kept the upcoming cruise in mind a bit more during this trip

 

[Ariel484]

Day 2: Saturday, July 27, 2013

This was the one day of the trip that I got up early to head to Bend & Stretch. When I arrived I was surprised to find that both treadmills were taken, so I had a bit of a wait in front of me. I hate just sitting there waiting and staring at people running...but that's what I did.

Eventually I got my treadmill and that little room was so hot...OMG. No ventilation whatsoever. I finished a shorter-than-planned run and headed over to Tide Me Over to get some breakfast.

Phone panorama of the menu:

One nice thing about the counter service places here is that we could tell that they cooked everything right when we ordered it, which makes sense - they aren't nearly as busy as the places in the parks, so there's no need to have lots of food sitting out ready to feed the masses. As a result we agreed that, for the most part, the quick service food here is definitely a step up from what you'd find in the parks.

While I waited the CM gave me a cup for water. They have re-fillable mugs here too, with one station at Tide Me Over and another at Signals (the beach house QS location). Lots of people were using their mugs...made me wonder if they were leftovers from older trips. Scandal!

The CMs put plastic lids on my plates and gave me the stuff to go in a bag, and I took it back to the room. Before eating breakfast we both grabbed coffee from the lobby.

Disney Parks?!

The front desk CM confirmed that this was Joffrey's, the stuff that'll be available in the parks. So much better than that mud water that used to be there.

After weeks of dreaming of Mickey Waffles, I had a moment of insanity and went with the french toast.

When I saw it described as "banana bread french toast" I was all "OMG IT'S LIKE TONGA TOAST." It is not. It was okay, not great.

Will went with the Mickey Waffles and sausage:

Can't go wrong there.

We also got an order of hash browns to split. You can see Will's off in the corner ready to pounce. This was the only morning we got these...they weren't that good.

At some point we called the off-site kayaking company we were using that day to set up an appointment...they penciled us in for 11:30.

I took a shower and we headed over to Broad Creek Merchantile to finally rent our bikes. We went with the length-of-stay rental ($20 daily vs. $35 for length-of-stay...seemed like a no-brainer). We also booked a dolphin tour for 11:00AM the next day. The CM cautioned us that since no one else was signed up for the tour, and each boat needed a minimum of 3 people to be able to go, that we'd need to pay for that phantom third person. While the prospect of getting a private tour was nice, paying an extra $40 was going to hurt. But we'd been looking forward to that particular excursion for months, so we signed up anyway. Goodbye money!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Liking report so far. Unfortunately Hilton Head tends to be treated like a step child, so that's why they don't have resort-specific keys or buttons. Also because they simply don't get enough traffic to warrant it. There's only 100 or so rooms on property. Glad you had fun, though.

I spent a good bit of time on that recumbent bike in the workout room last December.

 

[Ariel484]

We headed back to the room, sun screened up and left for the kayak tour a little after 11. Before this trip I read about someone getting a kayak tour through Groupon. I mentioned this to Will off-hand, thinking he wouldn't go for it - he doesn't like swimming or water stuff really at all, but he surprised me by agreeing to check it out. When we'd kayaked and paddle boarded at aunt #2's house a few days earlier he'd said multiple times, in a surprised tone, that he "loved it." I don't even know this guy anymore!

Anyway, when searching Groupon I found 2 kayak tours - one cost $55 for 2 hours, the other cost $54 for 2 hours. We ended up picking the one we did because it was a shorter drive from the resort (15 vs. 30 minutes) and it was actually on the island (where the other was on mainland SC in Bluffton).

Plus, the place we went with was called Sea Monkeys. A cute name - and logo - go a long way with us.

As the smaller sign says, Sea Monkeys was actually located in an RV park.
(Note...almost all pictures from this day are from my phone in a waterproof case, so they aren't the best. I wasn't about to take my good camera kayaking. I'd looked into a waterproof camera before we left, but for the same cost of one of those both Will and I could get a Lifeproof case for our phones. That worked out pretty well.)

We checked in for our tour on time. There was another couple with us as well as a family with 3 kids.

There were 2 guides. One took us into the grassy area and showed us the paddling motion. That was the extent of our "training." We were told that kids under 12 had to wear life jackets...the rest of us could either wear them or just have them in the kayak with us. I chose to wear mine for extra sun protection.

And then it was kayak time! We were split into groups...and it turns out that whatever Will and I had signed up for was not what everyone else was doing. So we had a guide all to ourselves!

We were allowed to chose whether we wanted one tandem kayak or two singles (we chose the singles), and then we were off!

Here's a description of our tour:
"On included rental kayaks or paddleboards, patrons will follow a guide out along Skull Creek towards nearby Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. On the way, they may spot dolphins, birds, and manatees, and the guide will discuss the history of the region. Paddleboards give one a loftier vantage point, and kayaks balance easily, keeping riders close to the water's surface as they speed along."

We tried not to get our hopes up, but I'd be lying if I said we weren't really looking forward to possibly seeing manatees...

Wheeee!

In the above picture you can see the bridge connecting the island to the mainland. We paddled all the way out to the bridge because according to our guide (whose name was Jackson Browne...LOL!), that was our best chance to see dolphins.

This is how most of the tour went...I lagged behind Will and JB taking pictures. I kind of regret this because by appointing myself as picture-taker I missed a lot of what JB was saying.

Dolphin spotting!

"I love this!"

At this point we'd seen lots of cool birds, dolphins and these small, white, crazy fish that leap 3-4 feet out of the water. I forget what they're called and never got a picture (I wish I'd gotten a video, those things could really jump), but JB said that on a tour once one of them actually LEAPT INTO A WOMAN'S KAYAK. She freaked out and her husband was laughing so hard that he almost tipped his boat over. LOL!

So in the picture above we're trying to go through this passageway toward the area where the manatees hang out! Unfortunately we didn't make it through. You can see the grass above...it was low tide and JB was afraid we'd get stuck, so we explored the island a bit instead.

Snails hang out on this grass and eat the mud...nom!

While hanging out here a small crab scuttled up! It was hilarious to watch him move...he would quickly move from side to side in front of us. JB reached down to pick him up and got snapped on the finger. The crab "ran" away (ran away? Crabs don't run. I dunno?) and JB said THE QUOTE of the trip...something about how the crabs like to start little fights and that he'd be back. "These guys are little buttholes." So naturally Will and I have been referring to things/people/objects (things and objects...haha)/whatever as "little buttholes" ever since. The crab did come back, by the way - he nipped JB's toe, JB tried to pick him up again and got snapped again.

Here he is! This is an awful picture...I should have taken a video. I was too busy trying not to step on him or get clawed in the foot.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back.

I think we were done by 1:30. Will and I agreed that this up there as one of our favorite things we did during the whole trip - DC and lake house portions included. We highly recommend Sea Monkeys!