Isle of Palms Recap

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Today, I’m sharing a little vacay recap about our time in Isle of Palms, SC last week.

We’ve been to IOP a few times through the years, but the last time we were here was summer of 2021. The Charleston area is a pretty easy drive from Lexington, and I do think Isle of Palms is such a pretty area.

Hadley left for Charleston on Saturday of break, and she had a couple of fun days with friends before we arrived.

Travis had the “all clear” to go out of town a couple of days after his surgery. He was just under strict orders – no hot tub, pool or ocean. I did drive most of the nine hour drive, and we arrived at our condo around 5:00. It was so cute!

…and had a great view!

It was pretty blustery on Monday, so we had some time to unpack and get the lay of the land.

That evening, our friends brought Hadley to us, and we hung out for a bit before heading to dinner at Acme Low Country Kitchen. It was a great seafood meal!

Our friends headed back to Charleston, and we went back to the condo and watched the NCAA Championship basketball game before going to bed.

Tuesday morning, I woke up to this view:

And…I’d slept solidly for over eight hours. I really didn’t realize how exhausted I was. From being worried about Trav’s surgery to being up early on Saturday to get Hadley going to driving most of the nine hours on Monday, I was thankful for some solid sleep! I slept great all four nights we were there!

Anyway, I spotted Trav outside and we had breakfast.

Coffee with this view was something I won’t take for granted.

I really wanted to make sure I got my steps in while on vacay, so Trav and I went for a walk, and then I went a bit further and closer to the water.

Then, it was a beach day! In my family, I’m the one who likes the beach the most. That being said, I love the view…and am fine not getting in the water.

When we decided on this trip, we knew we’d be rolling the dice a bit in regards the air temp. The week before we were there, IOP was in the 80’s, but for the three days were were there, it was 70 degrees. There was also more of a wind than I was expecting, but Tuesday and Thursday were great!

Hadley joined me on the beach for a bit, and then our friends who were staying in Charleston made a beach afternoon of the day.

Hayden’s never been the biggest fan of the beach, and this trip confirmed it for us. I had to convince him to come down and hang with us…he brought a golf club and some golf balls and chipped around the beach.

Again, another reason we chose this location was we knew we had friends nearby, Hayden could golf, and we could all kind of do whatever we preferred during the day. And, with the condo’s great location, even sitting on the balcony or in the living room and seeing the water provided a different view for a few days.

My friend and I had a 5:00 marg!

…and the sun started to set a bit.

On fall break, it’s dark by 6, so it was nice to have more daylight for longer on this trip. That being said, sunsets over the Atlantic aren’t the same as sunsets over the Gulf…but I’m not complaining!

We met friends for dinner at Islander 71. We’d never been there, but the food was great and the restaurant had wonderful views of the water. My kids have known these kids since they were five, and while they go to different schools, they live in our neighborhood…and it only took us going on vacay to have dinner with them twice! haha

Wednesday morning started with coffee and breakfast and then another walk.

It was pretty windy this day, so I walked on the beach for a bit before finishing my walk inland looking at all the pretty houses. Maybe one day I’ll hit the jackpot!

This pink flamingo house understood the assignment!

Trav took Hayden golfing, so it was just Hadley and me for breakfast. I’d spotted the Sea Biscuit Cafe, and texted Hadley to see if she wanted to got there for breakfast. I walked back to our condo as she was getting up, and we headed that way.

As we walked in, I realized it was cash only…and thought I had to go back to the condo for money. Well, I turned around to see an ATM in their parking lot. haha How convenient…I bet that gets used a lot.

We had a great breakfast…

…and then explored a few shops before our friends arrived at the condo.

The friends staying in Charleston had planned on going home on Wednesday, but the girls convinced the adults that they should stay an extra day. We had space, so they checked out of their hotel and headed our way.

Trav said Hayden played well on a tough course. He almost made his first eagle.

With such a windy day, we actually didn’t do too much in the afternoon. We hung out for a bit, sat outside, and then we walked around for a bit.

Then, it was dinner time, so we headed to Mt. Pleasant for pizza followed by ice cream on Sullivan’s Island.

After that, we came back and played a couple of rounds of Play Nine.

Thursday morning, the other family headed out early…so early and so quietly, that I didn’t hear them leave!

Like the other mornings, we just eased into the day.

Trav took the kids for a workout at a nearby track while I went for my walk.

Then, Hayden settled in for the day to watch the Masters golf tournament. He’s really into golf lately.

Meanwhile, I headed to the beach. We walk past the pool to go to the beach, and I realized the pool was heated!

I always pick up a couple of seashells when we go on a beach vacay, and I have a glass jar in our sun room where I keep them as a nice memento of our beach trips.

Trav had ordered me an umbrella for the day. Our condo came with a credit, so we had four beach chairs (not the fancy ones…just normal fold out ones) for our stay as well as two bikes. I needed the umbrella because I’d gotten a little bit too much sun on Tuesday…and I knew I wanted to stay out there as much as possible on our last full day.

On spring break, I finished reading a book, got about halfway through another book, and even finished listening to a book! That’s my kind of relaxation!

I got up every once in a while to walk by the water…truly, one of my favorite things to do!

Hadley and Trav joined me on the beach, and Hadley snapped a couple of pics.

I stayed at the beach from 11-5 or so, and then came back to the condo to shower and hang out for a bit before heading out to dinner.

The kids let me snap a pic…

…and thanks to Hadely’s selfie skills, we got a great family photo with a pretty backdrop!

I was thankful we got a few family pics when convenient as I don’t think my kids will fully understand how much I treasure capturing those moments.

Then, we headed to Sullivan’s Island to go to the highly recommended Mex 1 for dinner with our friends from night 2!

The tacos and pineapple marg hit the spot!

Love this sign!

We did go get ice cream before saying bye to our friends for the evening. We’ll see them back at home soon, I’m sure. Once we were back at the condo, we took about thirty minutes to tidy up and pack up. Then, “forced family fun” with a game of Play Nine. So many of our friends love and play this game. It’s a good one if you need an Easter basket idea! We also love Racko.

Then, it was bedtime!

Friday morning, we set our alarms for seven. Trav was ready to roll, and I told him to slow his roll! I wanted one more cup of coffee on the balcony enjoying the sunrise.

We packed up and headed out around 8:15.

Until next time…

We had a pretty easy drive home. Another perk of Lex to IOP is that it’s around a nine hour drive (stops, included). So, we were home by 6, and I was mostly unpacked and settled by 8.

Tomorrow, I plan on sharing what I wore on vacay, and have now added another sweatshirt to my stack! I couldn’t resist this “Charleston” one even though I wish it said “Isle of Palms.”

Like most trips we’ve taken, this is just what we needed. If Trav hadn’t had surgery, this probably would have been a Sunday to Friday trip, but having the weekends on either end of our spring break is my preference, and provides us with a good mix of downtime and productivity. Also, I think I’ve done a good job “managing my expectations” through the years…and now that the kids are older, I kind of let them do whatever their preferences are, but with that, I get my down time with my toes in the sand and an ocean view.

If we had one more day, we would have made it to Charleston. This is the first time we’ve gone to SC and not going to Charleston for shopping or dinner. That’s ok; I know we’ll be back!