Soul Rest | St. George Island, Florida

Why do I feel like I can breath better here? Why is it when we start driving away that I feel this insane pull to be placed right back on that sand? Why does every sunrise take my breath away and instinctually make me praise the Lord?

How can I breath better and my breath be taken away all at the same time???

When those answers appear to me I will let you know, too!

This has been a vacation that my soul needed. Our entire family needed! My only responsibilities were making food for my family and making sure we all had sunscreen on - that was it! My brain needed a breather and my body needed the rest - my soul was there praising the Lord and soaking it all in to prepare for this next and final quarter of 2022. It’s been an incredible and exhausting year so far. But, more on that in another blog post!

Let’s talk sunsets, sand and adventures!

Every morning I woke up between 6:00am and 6:30am. I would first make coffee, then open all the curtains, sit at the table and read, peering over the pages of my Bible waiting on the orange glow to start creeping up over the edge of the earth. I almost posted a photo from every single sunrise I witnessed! They were all just spectacular and completely different.

Our first few days were chilly but the water was perfectly clear and the waves were so gentle. The kids didn’t seem to mind the temperature of the water at all! While standing on the beach RyAnne looked into the sky to find a pair of Bald Eagles! They were stunning just gliding through the air in their domain enjoying the views just like us.

After enjoying the sand and surf a few days, we decided to head to Eastpoint, Fl to go to the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve and Nature Center. It’s just over the bridge from St. George Island. There we enjoyed the exhibits and nature trails. The kids loved how hands on they could be at the Nature Center. They explored the tanks filled with life, put their hands on loads of dead things in jars, held 600 year old pottery from the islands, learned about sea life and peered through microscopes. We all somehow grew hungry after this and made our way to downtown Aplalachicola to The Owl Cafe that overlooks the beautiful bay. Olivia grabbed my camera off the table and took a few snaps of me.

Another gorgeous sunrise and we headed back to the beach to find our beach neighbors fishing lines bent over with a massive fish tugging their line. If my research is correct, say hello to the bull shark (or a blacktip or maybe it was a lemon - I dunno!) that we were all swimming with! They pulled in several that day and the day before along with an eight foot long hammer head shark too! I’ve never seen a shark this large let along it be on the beach in front of me. What an awesome sight it was! It was fascinating to watch this family. They would hop in their kayak with a baited hook, paddle just over the sand bar and drop the line in the water, paddle back and wait. It didn’t take too long before all six of their young boys and some help from one of their momma’s, were cranking in the sharks!

That night we headed to The Blue Parrot for our fair share of seafood: Snow Crab Legs that needed NO butter and popped right out of their hard shells, crab cakes, hush puppies, cheese grits, Gulf shrimps. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The views are also spectacular. We watched the dolphins frolic while we indulged and yet there was another gorgeous, show stopping sunset for us. Delish dinner and entertainment, I give it 5 Stars!

The only photo I have all of the kids together are of them getting Rocco ready to jump in the pool without his floaty. Our big boy decided he wanted to learn to swim! Now that he’s tall enough to stand in the shallow end he has enough courage to take off the floats. With the help and encouragement of his big sisters, he lifted his feet off the ground and dove under the water. He did so good!! He even attempted to swim in the deep end too!!!

We ended up extending our stay on St. Georgia Island by five extra days in a different house and that still wasn’t enough. Two days before our trip came to an end, Olivia said, “I’m sad to leave this place but I miss my friends. Can we just put our house and our friends here?” It has become our favorite place to make memories in the sand! And, yes, it’s very hard to leave but I agree with Olivia, I miss my people too!

Robbins' Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Spring Break

Trey and I have been coming to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina every year for over eight years now. We absolutely love it. We love the beaches, scenery, food and the shopping too. This trip we decided to try out a few new restaurants. Some were so good we went right back the very next day. Some were so bad I was grossed out. Eew.

On the way to SC we stopped off in Savannah at Paula Dean's restaurant, The Lady & Son's. Man-O-Man was it good! You can order from the menu or pick up a plate and head to the buffet. That's what we did! The buffet was loaded with fried chicken, pot roast, mashed potatoes, collard greens, cabbage, black eyed peas, mac and cheese, and corn casserole. While we were eating a server was walking around offering everyone a biscuit on a pancake. Weird, but good. Although we were stuffed beyond belief, we couldn't pass up dessert. Our buffet meal came with dessert. We ordered the gooy butter cake, banana pudding and peach cobbler. They were all fabulous.

For breakfast the next morning we ate at The Hilton Head Diner. I had the Western Omlet. Yumm-O!

For dinner that night we decided to try out a new place, The Hickory Tavern. We were so disappointed. The restaurant was very attractive but the food was just gross and the service was blah.

Thankfully a friend of mine responded to my Facebook plea asking for recommendations for good food! Thank you Rebecca for helping a hungry girl out!!! We headed over to Amigos Cafe Y Cantina. It's in a shopping center and looks a bit like a hole in the wall but the food and service were top notch! We started off with their Cheese Dip, Salsa and Chips. The cheese dip was a very large portion. I lurvvve me some cheese and this was good! For my meal I ordered their famous BBQ Chicken Salad. So many fresh textures and flavors! The salad has cole slaw, fresh crunchy corn, crispy lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, all topped with cut up BBQ chicken served in a fried taco shell. We all left with very happy bellies!

Trey and I love pizza. We eat pizza sometimes twice a week. When we were on the island I knew I had to try out a pizza joint! I looked it up and according to a local magazine New York City Pizza was voted the island's best pizza restaurant. We headed there for lunch one day. The location was super cool with outdoor dining - my fave! The service was great but the food was flavorless. I was upset. We ordered the fried chicken BBQ pizza that came with bacon on it. We added banana peppers for a 1.00 charge. I could see the toppings but I couldn't taste them. I'm guessing I couldn't taste them because they weren't fresh. Total bummerrrrr!

One of our fave spots for breakfast/brunch was The French Bakery & Cafe. The atmosphere is very pretty and the smell is intoxicating! While reading their menu you will find out how to drink a cup of coffee correctly. lol I left feeling like a coffee conasurè! I ordered a Cafe Mocha. It was hands down the best mocha I have ever had in my life! The first morning I had the French toast on Brioche. It came with thick cut bacon that they served on the same plate as my French toast and everything was covered in syrup. I also ordered a side of cheese eggs. Everything was so so good!!! Trey ordered Brioche French toast with cherry topping, whip cream and a cream cheese drizzle. My mouth is watering just thinking about the goodness of that meal! While paying for our meal at the counter there are cases of bakery goodies that they make daily. The macaroons caught our eye. They offer several flavors. We picked the strawberry, coffee, orange and chocolate. I had not ever had a macaroon before. It was incredible. Light, fluffy with a crispy outer layer.

The very next morning we headed back to the French Bakery for another dose of deliciousness! This time I ordered the Eggs Benedict on a Croissant. It came out looking like it belonged in a food magazine. The Croissant was flaky fabulous with perfectly pouched eggs, asparagus, cooked spinach, thick cut bacon and covered in Hollandaise sauce. It was served with a small cup of fresh fruit.

Poseidon was another restaurant we tried out. When we sat down to eat we noticed they didn't have crab legs on the menu. We thought this was strange considering it's a sea food place. We asked our waitress if they offered crab legs and she said yes but they were on their dinner menu. Thankfully she said we could order from the dinner menu - RyAnne is a crab leg-aholic!!! Trey and I both ordered salads. They were okay. Nothing special and not very fresh. The crab legs were good but we kept finding empty legs. lol We would work so hard to crack those suckers open only to find nada in them. Although, when we did get meat it was good. Poseidon is located in a new shopping center. Which was fabulous. Also, it's right on the coast! There is a beautiful play ground and park that my girls had a blast at. We walked down the sidewalk overlooking the water during sunset.

Trey was feeling the need for some speed (even though the speed limit was 25-45 on every. single. road! :( lol I found a car rental shop and got us the most beautiful red convertible. This little car was so much fun!!! Totally not practical for a stroller carrying family of four BUT we crammed ourselves in (stroller and all) put the top down and jammed out!!!

Our girls had a blast in the frigid kiddy pool. And on the beach they made new friends, built sand castles and tossed around a beach ball while Trey and I chilled (literally) in our beach chairs. lol It was pretty chilly during our Spring Break trip.

I'm so thankful to have had this little break from reality. Our schedules have been quite full the past few weeks and we really needed this time to just "be"!