Disjointed Kitsch

Saturday, 02/18/2006

Completed necessary chores before going. Rick picked us up in the Suburban around 1:30 PM and we were off to Logan. Arrived in plenty of time to check in, have an early dinner, move through security and be at the gate 45 minutes before boarding. This was our first time flying AirTran so we didn’t quite know what to expect from them. Push-back was roughly “on-time”. The full flight to Baltimore was smooth and uneventful. We were not scheduled to change planes, but a “tail swap” by AirTran necessitated a change in schedule. Although we had no problems boarding the new flight to Charlotte, we were about 30 minutes delayed in leaving Baltimore. The full flight to Charlotte was uneventful, but we got in later than scheduled at 9:40 PM. Getting our bags took almost 30 minutes, so we didn’t clear the airport until about 10:15 PM

Dollar rent-a-car picked us up right away which was great since the weather in Charlotte was quite cool and breezy, although I’m sure it wasn’t a cold and windy as Keene at that hour. It took a while at the rental counter since the Jeep Grand Cherokee wasn’t ready when we got there. We had our doubts about getting our 5 bags plus golf club bag in the back, but we made it fit. Left the parking lot around 11 PM with a 4-5 hour drive ahead of us to Hilton Head Island.

After a few minutes of trying to find an open fast food joint in Charlotte, we gave up and hit 77 South. We eventually found a Wendy’s with an open drive-through at around 11:30 PM. 77 South dumped us onto 26 East in Columbia and we followed that until is intersected with 95 South. Stayed on 95 South until exit 8, where we picked up US Route 278 East into Hilton Head. Got turned around a few times on the island looking for the Marietta “Welcome Center”, but we did find it. Checked in about 3:45 AM and were in our room around 4 AM. We quickly hit the bed. Quite a long day.

Sunday, 02/19/2006

Slept until about 10:30 AM. Organized our belonging and checked out the villa. It’s quite a large complex and the villas are equally spacious. Large entry area with the smaller of the two bedrooms just off the entryway to the left. Washer and dryer in a utility room on the right. Also on the left is an entrance to the smaller of the two bathrooms - shower, sink, etc. Down the hall and the villa opens up in to a spacious kitchen, with a bar eating area and a 6 person table beyond. The living room area is just beyond that. Deck area is off the living room. To the right off the living room is the master bedroom with a Jacuzzi style bath tub, double sinks, and a shower stall. The “bathroom area take up more than half of the master bedroom room area.

The villa we are in is well appointed. Furnishings are well maintained, with a few exceptions - 1 chair in living room sits odd, a few of the drawers in the dresser stick and the master bedroom closet sticks. There appears to be some rather serious water damage in the master bath area around the lower part of the door frame that leads to the toilet area. However, when that door is open, the damage is not noticeable. The kitchen is fully equipped with a stove, microwave, refrigerator, dish-washer, double-well sink, utensils, dishes, etc.. A blender, toaster and coffee maker round it all out.

Each bedroom has a television in addition to the TV in the living room area. The living room TV has a DVD player hook up. Grant was able to hook up his PS2 to the television in the room he and Hannah are staying in. There is also wireless internet access!

As a trade-off for the washer and dryer in the unit, there is no housekeeping service. We’re responsible for washing towels, making beds and taking out trash. Different levels of housekeeping services can be purchased for a nominal “daily” charge, ranging from $9/day for trash removal and fresh towels, to $40/day for the “works”. I think I can keep up with the trash, towels, and cleaning for a week. This is in contrast to our stays in Cancun and Hawaii where housekeeping was included with the resort visit.

Kids were up by 11 AM and Hannah and I went off exploring the resort around 12:30 PM. We walked the resort sidewalks and visited ever pool and hot tub in the complex (4 outdoor pools, 1 heated; 1 heated indoor pool and hot tub; 5 heated outdoor hot tubs). There are a number of gas grills available for use, a fitness room, bike rentals, a putting green, beach access, and out door dining and drinking spots, although the outdoor refreshment areas were closed in February.

Not having stocked the kitchen yet, we opted to visit the “on site” store, which includes a Pizza Hut. We opted to get a couple of pizzas for our 2 PM lunch. Yvette, Hannah and I took off for Walmart and Publix, returning at 4:30 PM with our supply for the week.

We all “crashed” when we got back. Hannah and I went to the putting green around 5:30 PM but didn’t stay too long. The cold wind and cool temperatures were a bit bracing for being out. The day was actually in the mid-50’s for most of the day, but the chilly wind made a light jacket a “must have”.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2006 at 8:09 pm and is filed under Travel/Vacation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.