We started yesterday but just drove 6 hours and spent the night in Kentucky. Today we drove 10 hours to Bluffton SC. 

Day 3, 8/1

We got to the beach around 9 and rented an umbrella and chairs from the lifeguard. We hung out in the surf and walked on the beach. We tried to buy lunch at a few places. The first wouldn’t do takeout on a Sunday and the second did takeout but only breakfast food. No lunch items on Sundays. So lucky we had cliff bars, fruit and snacks in the car. After lunch we swam and played in the ocean till about 4. Packed up and got local pizza for dinner.

Day 4, 8/2

We parked at the beach parking again and walked down to a bike rental place. We got the last 3 bikes they didn’t have reserved. We biked around the island, parked the bikes near the beach, got lunch, did some shopping and then biked some more in the neighborhood in front of the beach. We walked along the beach then returned the bikes and headed in for the night.

Day 5, 8/3

We drove to Savannah GA. That got Annika a new state. We spent the morning doing a walking tour of the city. Spent time in the pairs and squares. We came across a few Casimir Pulaski memorials. I’m sure mom knew he died here but we found it a nice memory of days off from school. We grabbed some lunch and headed to walk the Bonaventure cemetery. Then we headed to Tybee island and saw the lighthouse and fort. We then headed back to Hilton head and walked on the beach. Headed back to Bluffton for dinner.

Day 6, 8/4

After breakfast we headed to Pinckney island to see some birds…the GPS lost its mind and directed us to the wrong side of the island. We got back to the right place. Did a flat hike on a gravel road to ibes pond that was full of all kinds of birds. We then headed back to Hilton head and headed to the rice dike trial. There was a boardwalk with bogs and swamp. More birds. We finally saw some turtles and an alligator at fish lake. We got some lunch headed to the beach and walked along the water. Saw plenty of people and pelicans on the beach. 

Day 7, 8/5

Kayak in the morning. So we got up early and ate breakfast out of the car snacks. We got there at 7:30 so no issues there. The early tour is supposed to have the best shot at seeing wildlife. We got about an hour into the 2 hour tour and it just started raining steadily until we were done. We did see a manatee and a lot of birds. The trek through the oysters and sea grass was really nice. But it would have been nicer if it was a little dry. We still had the room so we went back, got on dry clothes and headed to Asheville. We got here around 4 and went to the arboretum. It is nice. We walked around for over an hour then headed into town to get dinner from a local family restaurant. Everyone had a good meal. Tomorrow we drive the 10+ hours home

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