But I digress.

In an effort to share our joy of mid-winter beach days on Hilton Head, we’d like to lure you in with an early spring incentive to really yank your boss’ tail and take off a whole week, just for kicks!  How about $100 off any of our weekly vacation rentals? Not good enough?  Okay, how about $100 PER BEDROOM OFF  from February 25th through May 17th, 2012*?  Is that better? 

Thought so.

13 Man O'War, Patio View... Perfect for a Mid-winter Happy Dance.

Now here’s the kicker, call a Guardian Angel today for details: 855.845.7018, and you might get lucky enough to snag an OCEANFRONT WINNER LIKE THIS ONE AT 13 MAN O’WAR  IN PALMETTO DUNES.  Make sure to bring all your electronic gizmos to take pictures and send back to your colleagues immediately - in real time -  just to stir up the pot a little further at the office.  Your kids will love you, your husband/wife will love you, and your boss will probably stew a bit, but who cares?  He’s there, you’re here.  You can even do a happy dance singing nah… nah… nah-nah… nah, right on your back patio in front of the beachfront infinity pool, in your birthday suit, and he won’t even see you.  Of course, the residents here might see you, and your kids, and the landscaper guy, and then, well you’d have to spend the rest of your vacation in the Beaufort clink where you only get clumpy grits and water day in/ day out, and not even with cheese or butter or salt even if you ask nicely… not that I would know.  Might as well forget the whole thing and stay home for a latte daiquiri eye-opener and bar-rista’s phone number on the way to work…    Just kidding. 

But seriously, wouldn’t you rather have that daiquiri down here with us? 

BOOK NOW.

*This offer is not valid with any other discount and excludes Easter and Heritage Weeks

View from SeaCrest PH 5

For more pictures and description, click here and be wowed! Or, call a Vacation Company Guardian Angel for more information: 800.845.7018.

Restaurant Week, HHI, SC, 1/21 - 1/27/2012

Welcome to a week of savory fun at participating Hilton Head restaurants! 

A group of our famous restaurants will be offering prix fixe dinners at discounted menu prices from January 21 – January 27, 2012 to celebrate and inspire great island cusine, while galvanizing the public to get out of their winter caves and try places they haven’t been.

This year a contest has been added for restaurant-goers to vote for their favorite Restaurant Week establishment.  Everyone who votes will also be included in a random drawing for dinner for two at one of the participating restaurants.  Also new this year is a partnership with Foodspotting, an online picture gallery of dishes from foodies’ favorite places.  The website invites diners to upload pictures of the dishes they are about to eat, and then also send in a review for others to evaluate before they head out to a Restaurant Week business and make their own choices.

The whole celebration is much more interactive this year, engaging customers and restaurants in website activities to keep everyone informed and bring word-of-mouth advertising to our popular local restaurants. For more information, lists of restaurants and menus, go to the Chamber of Commerce Restaurant Week web page.

From all of your friends and Guardian Angels at The Vacation Company, Bon Appetit!

New property in Sea Pines, 7 Wood Ibis

         While you were out during the holidays, the Guardian Angels, elves, property managers, and candlestick makers were busy at The Vacation Company writing, editing, tweaking, chipping, uploading, transferring, and putting everything into place so that you would barely notice, upon returning from your holiday joyride, that there is a subtle, new shade of fun behind the girls at http://www.vacationcompany.com.  In fact, 2012 brings in a whole lot of new at 42 New Orleans Road.  You’ll notice two new faces in the Guardian Angel line-up on our home page, and you’ll want to check out some of our new properties on our BRAND NEW WEBSITE! (I’m starting to sound like a game show host).   So, come on in and have a look around. Give us a call at 800.845.7018 or tell us what you think on Facebook and Twitter.  We’d love to hear from you, and we look forward to helping you plan your 2012 Hilton Head Island vacation.

Excellent question.  Tillandsia usneoides, or Spanish Moss as is commonly known, is the gauzy-looking veil that drapes from the branches of southern Live Oaks, Cypress, and even some pines.  Often, at The Vacation Company, we are asked about several wildlife curiousities, the first being “do alligators really roam the golf courses free?” And the second one being, “so just what is Spanish Moss, anyway?”  The following is my attempt to address this odd, yet nostalgic plant ubiquitous to this region.

The only references to it being ‘Spanish’ were in the form of legends.  I found three different tales on the Internet alone.  Two had to do with a Spaniard who dies in a Live Oak tree because of his undying forbidden love of a young Native American woman.  For some reason or other, his beard continues growing until it spreads and populates the other trees, showing that his love truly lived on even after he was gone.  The third tale was about Cherokees who attacked a Spanish couple planning to develop a plantation in Charleston in the 1700′s.  As a warning to any other Europeans to not continue invading their land, the Cherokees cut off the long hair of the wife and threw it into the trees, where it shriveled into gray strands and spread as a way of warning other settlers.

Spanish Moss on Live Oaks at Honey Horn Plantation on Hilton Head Island, SC

Through the years, this plant has supplied both function and art to civilization.  It has been used for pillow stuffing, upholstery filling, and more recently in arts and crafts (Note: it does provide a home for critters like snakes and beetles, so it would be wise to select carefully).  Aesthetically, the romantic and haunting characteristics of Spanish Moss dripping over a swamp, or hanging cobweb-like in a humid forest have also come to represent the genre southern gothic, in novels and movies.

Personally, I can’t imagine looking across a Hilton Head Island marsh sunset, or bike riding through the Forest Preserve without seeing it waving slowly in the breeze.  It has come to signify home for me, lace curtains decorating the scenery as I drive towards the island from any point north.

This ends this week’s science topic.  There will be a pop-quiz on Facebook.

What a pleasure it is to enjoy Harbour Town in the off-season, especially during the Christmas season off-season.  And while the lighting of the tree was the focal point, it certainly wasn’t the only attraction this past Friday night.

Harbour Town, Sea Pines, Lighted Displays

Truly impressive were all the light displays dotting the Harbour Town campus around the tree and in front of the Crazy Crab.

Gregg Russell Entertains, 11/25/11

Even better?  Gregg Russell entertaining under the Liberty Oak again.  A Harbour Town Holiday kick-off couldn’t get any better.
And where can you get the best luxury vacation rentals marina side?  Call a Guardian Angel for more information, 800-845-7018, or view our selection online.

Lonely Beach, Hilton Head Island, SC

Hilton Head is awfully quiet this time of year.  We miss our seasonal friends and decided this year to sweeten the vacation rental pot with a 20% discount on weekly rentals made between today and Monday, 11/28/2011 for arrivals between 01/02 – 05/19/2012 (excluding the weeks of Easter and the RBC Heritage Golf Classic).  This offer is good on primo addresses* and all through gorgeous spring months.  Call a Vacation Angel for details, 800-845-7018.

*some properties may be excluded from this offer.

One of several wall murals  by Wyatt Ramsey

One thing to mention about both the pool room and the restaurant, are the stunning murals painted by Isaac McCaslin, a senior at SCAD, and his friend, Wyatt Ramsey, two bright talents whom we will most definitely be hearing more about down the road.

When we returned to the restaurant, our waiter, Brendan, made all the right menu suggestions and we didn’t go wrong in any of our choices. We were pleasantly delighted with everything from the artisan bread made exclusively for Trattoria by a Sicilian baker working from a recipe that had been in the family 1000 years (now, I understand the phrase, Old World), to my entree of Orecchiette Gamberetti E Broccoli (homemade pasta tossed with spicy black shrimp, prosciutto, broccoli, Tuscan white beans, mixed in a white wine/zest of lemon sauce, to the molten chocolate cake with vanilla gelato.  Johnny started his dinner with a generous portion of tuna tartare, with slices of fresh tomato and chopped, chunky and ripe avacodo, was probably the best appetizer we’ve had in many a moon.  Then he moved on to an angel hair pasta dish with large seared scallops, black tiger shrimp, tossed in a light, zesty tomato sauce with freshly chopped tomatoes.

Salmon Scallop Chef’s Special

My husband ordered directly off the a la carte dinner menu, while I had the two-course 5-6:15 pm menu for $16.95.  The price was right however you order and with wine appetizers, three glasses of wine and large bottle of sparkling water, the check was still just under $100.00.  All the staff were very attentive, checking on us frequently, keeping our drinks and bread basket full.  Very professional and also friendly; not an easy combination to achieve so fluidly.

Morning Walk View - HHI, SC - November 2011

Great discounts on prime luxury vacation rentals with The Vacation Company!  This is the best time of year to enjoy Hilton Head, South Carolina; just ask anyone who lives here year-round (like me!).  Everyday, I run on the beach or the golf course, ride bikes with my husband, sit on the patio in the afternoon (still have to wear sun-block and a hat), and hear the soothing sounds of tennis and golf balls getting smacked perfectly on the sweet-spot.

Food and art festivals take up our weekends, and there’s always a game on in Reilley’s Triangle, Frankie-Bones, Wise Guys, or the Boathouse.  Some days we’re still wearing shorts in the afternoons, while on others, you might see us riding around with the ragtop down, checking out the marsh and sound views, looking for a good oyster roast, beer festival, and generally feeling pretty lucky about our respective places in the world.If you’re back in the rat-race, and think you can pull out one more week of I-really-deserve-the-good-life before next summer, then fear not!  The new Vacation Angels are here to help you (Remember, Charlie only had 3 Angels, we have 7!).  Check out these exceptional values…

A Winter’s View from 1873 Beachside Tennis.

2 Sea Spray, North Forest Beach – Great Family Fun

Or, you might want to bring the family down for a one-week’s stay and get $400 OFF the rental (valid November 26 – March 30, 2012) at 2 Sea Spray, North Forest Beach.  4 BR, 3.5 BA, great fun, and conveniently located to everything you need.

Have a great day, and thanks again for checking out HiltonHeadsUp.com!

Back Deck View, 103 Oceanwood Trace, N. Forest Beach

103 OCEANWOOD TRACE, North Forest Beach. 3 BR, 2 BA, $1800 – $3400/wk. Lo- cated in a quiet enclave at the north end of the road, this home is just right for the family that wants to be near it all, but not in it all.  A gorgeous and direct overview of the community swimming pool and ocean beyond is yours, as well as shaded cabanas, pathway to the beach, sun deck with gas grill, 4 tv’s, dvd player & stereo system.  Recently redecorated in plush blues and cream tones, this house will make you forget all your real life worries. Sleeps 8.

Living Room at 7 Wood Ibis, Sea Pines

     And if that isn’t enough to entice you to book a reservation, check out our other premium new homes, or just call an Angel at 800-845-7418.