Our Trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina {part 1}

Hello friends! 

My husband and I recently took a little trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. Something you may not know about me, if we've never had the pleasure of meeting, is that my husband Phil is the COO of a company called Laugh Your Way America, an organization created by his father Mark Gungor, and one that endeavors to help strengthen marriages and families by teaching and inspiring couples with truth and humor. In 2016, we discovered that there was a huge need for these marriage events that was even beyond what Phil's dad could meet, as his Laugh Your Way conferences were all booked out for years already. It was at this point that Phil began traveling and doing these marriage events as well and our first event was last February in Geneva, Switzerland (see the post HERE and HERE). We've since been to Montana, New Jersey, and Philadelphia to work with all these incredible couples and it's been an awesome experience for us. We've just launched his Facebook page which shares all of his speaking engagements and pictures from our travels. We'd love to have you follow there too!

So this trip to South Carolina had him speaking at two Valentine's dinner events in two different cities, and it also allowed for 2 days off to relax and enjoy the beautiful island of Hilton Head, where we had the pleasure of staying. 

The days were mid-60's to 70's and that alone was a major gift to us, coming out of our 30-someting temps in Wisconsin. This area is just breathtakingly beautiful and those of you who know it will agree that the Spanish moss is just absolutely dreamy. Every tree is covered in the eery moss that gives it a creaky gothic feeling, as if it's been decorated for a movie set. It's quite unreal and really cool. The island is known for picturesque beaches and our hotel offered bicycles for riding around the island, eventually leading us to the beach where the sand was packed tightly enough for you to take the bike out on the beach, riding right alongside the water.

We also spent an afternoon on the Harbor Town golf course because my husband spoke of nothing else for 2 weeks leading up to our time away (it's famous, apparently ;). It was a gorgeous day and I was happy to ride alongside him in the golf cart and enjoy the spectacular views of the ocean ... and the alligators. Yes really, right there on the golf course, sunning themselves next to the ponds. Scary!

So here are some pictures from our first couple of days there. Enjoy!

 Part 2 coming soon!

#KandDrockNYC - Day 2

Day 2 began bright and early with a trip back to Chelsea. On our walk there we passed a Pret A Manger coffee shop and grabbed lattes, which were delish. We also tried to take the more scenic streets, those with picturesque fire escapes, cute front doors and steps perfect for sitting (a la Sarah Jessica Parker), not as easy as you might think. But I suppose it depends on the area. You quickly discover that NYC is a crazy mish mosh of sights and smells. It's horribly stinky and not all that pretty. And then you turn a corner and see a great restaurant and a designer store and you're .... sort of confused. Everything's a bit of a jumble. We walked by a Goodwill that I wish I had gone into. Bet it was awesome. First up on our arrival in Chelsea, Artists and Fleas. Afterwards we went for a walk on the High Line which was a picturesque view of the city from above. Let's stop there ....

After we left the High Line we stopped at Bubby's for brunch. I'd heard many good things about this little spot and was not disappointed. After breakfast we hurried back to the hotel to change into something more "fashionable" for Helen Yarmak's spring/summer show. ;)

The show was pretty incredible, with lots of stylists, buyers, photographers, and all around fancy/important/other-worldly characters. We were packed in like sardines to watch the show and once we'd seen the girls go through their looks a couple of times, we took a breath outside on the rooftop terrace. This was where the conversations became very interesting. Daena and I ducked out after about 30 minutes of people watching, though our friends stayed behind to mingle some more. Their stories were great entertainment with lots of oohs and ahhs from the 2 of us. My favorite one was their chat with Luke Destin, Oprah's stylist, who invited them to a party to end fashion week, somewhere truly fantastical, where they were assured they'd see lots of celebs. It started at 11:30pm! What?! No celeb is worth staying up that late for. ;)

After the show we wanted to head to Rockefeller Center and see what that looked like. We found  Magnolia Bakery and grabbed a banana pudding which was insanely good! And while we munched we checked out Radio City Music Hall and Saturday Night Live and then went to the Today Show area at Rockefeller Center and tried to reconcile the fact that in real life it was infinitely smaller than it appears on TV. And we had to hit up the Free People as well! 

After walking a few miles in our heels we decided to go back to our friend's hotel, The Wellington, and change back into something comfy. Their digs were a block from Times Square so obviously our next stop needed to include a jaunt around that world famous spot. Being in Times Square was a cool experience but one I have no interest in doing again. Well, unless it's to see a Broadway show. When I was 18, the dance company I toured with performed in an off-broadway theater right there. From what I remember of that trip, this area has changed dramatically. It's inundated with giant screens and lights, as you can tell by those shots on TV, and it's really impressive. But it's also filled with strange characters trying to shock everyone with their in-your-face messages and that part was truly disturbing. Definitely not a family friendly area, which surprised me. We ate dinner at Shake Shack that evening, seriously yummy and seriously busy! 

Day 2, DONE!