04/21/21 – One Full Day on Hilton Head Island, SC

Posted on by Kristin

Day 223

On Wednesday morning, the weather was glorious with bright sunshine and perfect temperatures – just a bit on the blustery side, which meant NO BUGS! 🙂 Since Skull Island Marina is out from the other attractions on Hilton Head, we took an Uber to Harbour Town, on another part of the island, which we’d read online was a good place to spend an afternoon. As usual, we had to wait awhile for our Uber driver to arrive, but it was all good. Our driver turned out to be very personable and driving a high-end SUV, so we rode in style that morning!

Scenes from in and around Harbour Town, on Hilton Head Island, SC.
I loved these condos and felt I could be right at home living here…
The Independence cruise ship we’d seen leaving Fernandina Beach a few weeks earlier. (We decided they were following us.)
A tasteful mix of Elf sunflowers, begonia, dianthus, penta, wandering jew, marigold, and foxtail fern. These planters were everywhere in Harbour Town, and always caught my eye.
Flagship of Harbour Town, Mystique is a luxury 42-foot yacht made almost entirely of mahogany and teak. She is a replica of harbor launch vessels, reminiscent of those which were used to transport the ultra-wealthy of the Eastern Seaboard in the 1930s.

Since it was lunchtime, we headed for The Crazy Crab for our midday meal. Our table inside the restaurant was surrounded by older, northeastern-accented guests who were discussing their various retirement situations. Steve chides me because I’m bad to eavesdrop on other tables, but I am very discreet at it, and I end up learning a lot of information! 😉 One thing we picked-up on rather quickly is that Hilton Head Island is very golf-oriented, so if you’re not a golfer, it might not be the top place to visit. We concluded that it is ideal for the golfer arriving by boat…

Where we ate lunch and learned about retirement plan options on 04/21/21.

After lunch, we walked all through Harbour Town, which is a conglomeration of shops, restaurants, and bars, positioned right on a gorgeous marina, The Harbour Town Yacht Basin, and surrounded by condominiums and luxurious vacation rentals. A truly beautiful place! Steve had tried to reserve a transient slip for Legacy in Harbour Town Yacht Basin, but they were already full. The Lighthouse Museum is located right next to Harbour Town. We toured the museum and climbed all the way to the top for a lovely view of the surrounding area and beyond. We learned that Charles Elbert Fraser is the real estate developer responsible for envisioning, designing, and creating The Sea Pines Resort, back in the 1970s, which is where Harbour Town and the lighthouse are located. His visionary talents (not to mention his financial backing) helped transform South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island from a sparsely populated sea island into a world-class resort. There are many tributes to Charles and his family in the museum and elsewhere around the island.

Golfing roots from waaay back on Hilton Head Island…
Today’s Hilton Head Island creator, Charles Fraser and his wife, Mary.
Top of the lighthouse views of Harbour Town and beyond.
It appeared to me that the Yacht Basin had plenty of open slips, even though they SAID they were full. Oh, well…

Before catching our Uber back to Skull Creek, we stopped at Harborside for some frozen drinks, as the afternoon was heating up. While we sipped our refreshments, we noted that – ever since we left the state of FL – our heads had been constantly rained down upon by Live Oak pollen, which was pretty much everywhere. (I love to LOOK at Live Oak trees, but not necessarily to WEAR them…)

Position: N 32° 14.773, W 80° 44.859

Total marina nights: 200

Total nights at anchor: 22