Vacation Stories

Vacation Stories

Recently we drove from Washington, DC to Hilton Head Island; the trip was a means for us to see areas we would love to visit.  Over the next few posts I will give you a little more detail regarding these stops with comments on each place, what was worth returning to and will include a few photos and perhaps a video or two; for now it will be a quick synopsis of each stop.

We flew into Washington, DC on a sunny Thursday afternoon and quickly made our way to the Hilton Garden Inn where we stayed for two nights.  The hotel was located just a few blocks behind the White House which made access to the National Mall quick and easy.  They had a nice continental breakfast and our room was nice, the staff was excellent and personable.   Our vacation tour around DC included the Smithsonian Museums, Cherry Blossom Parade, Veterans Memorials, National Conservatory and National Zoo.

Wild Ponies of Chincoteague

From Washington DC we drove to Baltimore and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for a quick stop in Ocean City Maryland then on to Chincoteague Island.  Chincoteague Island is known for the wild ponies made famous by the book by Marguerite Henry titled Misty of Chincoteague.  We stayed at the Chincoteague Hilton, the hotel was excellent with large rooms and very clean; the continental breakfast was included.

Our drive continued over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel into Virginia Beach.  We again stayed at a Hilton Oceanfront Hotel, I was upgraded to the Empyrean Club Level; I didn’t feel the added cost was worth the value.  Empyrean Club had a private continental breakfast that consisted of coffee and pastries, a quick call to the desk directed me to the downstairs continental breakfast that was loaded with options, they also had a nice outside bistro bar available.

After Virginia Beach we drove out to Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills to see the Wright Brothers first flight museum; this was a nice stop; the drive out to the peninsula and back was long and uneventful.  We spent our evening in Wilmington, NC; the history and boardwalk made this a wonderful stop.  Again we stayed at the Hotel Ballast Wilmington, which has a Ruth Chris Steakhouse as an eatery, we will revisit this area.

After our morning riverwalk run we had breakfast on main street Wilmington then a carriage tour of the area.  We drove out towards Fort Fisher then took the ferry to Southport. We drove on through Myrtle Beach, a destination location for many but nothing that I would return to for a visit; we found this location to be to touristy.

As soon as we drove into Charleston, SC we fell in love with the charm and beauty of this historic town, wishing we had more time here.  Book a room in advance here, we were lucky to get an eleventh hour stay at the Andrew Pinckney Inn, which I would highly recommend, beautiful rooms and friendly staff.

We hated to leave Charleston, SC but enjoyed our carriage tour around the area.  We arrived at the home of friends in the Sea Pines area of Hilton Head Island and as we continued our vacation.  We relaxed, rode bikes along the shore and enjoyed our time here.