Vacation Company

What Makes Spanish Moss Spanish?

December 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A strand of Spanish Moss

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

 

     The air-plant is not really in the family of moss, as it sounds, but is considered a flowering plant (although the flowers are miniscule) that spreads by seeds and by birds who use it to build nests.  While not exactly a parasite, it does depend on the nutrients of its host trees for certain minerals – like calcium and magnesium -while also needing sun and moisture; which is why it grows well in humid regions like the southeastern United States all the way down to Argentina.  Trees generally don’t benefit from being covered in Spanish Moss, as it makes it hard for the tree to breathe and bend in the wind.

 

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.

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Happy Sunny Labor Day! RISK-FREE Reservations. What Else Do You Need? A Discount?

September 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

     Wow.  This is a tough crowd.  Hilton Head Island has the best seasonal weather - despite the most dire of forecasts, I might add – the least crowded and longest stretches of beaches, the tallest of pines, the oldest of live oaks, the cutest of dolphins (YES, we do), the coolest of mascots (gators), the best golf courses, the most tennis courts, the funniest of big, long-legged swooping birds, the most recognizeable lighthouse, the most fabulous, incredible, vacation rentals and more hard-earned superlatives than any other island resort I can think of.  And you still need a push to book your fall getaway…

Okay, here goes:

1423 SOUTH BEACH VILLA – 4 BR, 3 BA –
15% OFF SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

1423 South Beach Villa, Sea Pines

 

 

An open living space gives out to a wooded view and pathway to the beach.  So close, forget the trail of breadcrumbs to find your way back… just count sips from your mojito.

 

 

 

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
130 DUNE LANE – 6 BR, 5 BA –
15% OFF SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

From the chef’s kitchen,                                                                                                                                                                to the gi-normouse pool deck,

130 Dune Lane, Forest Beach
130 Dune Lane, Hilton Head
 

 

You can’t go wrong. BOOK NOW.

 
 
 
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Patio View at 101 Dune
 
5 BR, 4 BA
15% OFF SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER
The only thing not included is the waitress.

 

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1870 BEACHSIDE TENNIS – 2 BR, 2 BA
15% OFF SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

View of Daufuskie from 1870 Beachside Tennis Villa

 

 

How about a million dollar South Beach view?
BOOK NOW
Any questions?  Call a Vacation CompanyAngel at 800-845-7018 for details about our FALL RISK-FREE RESERVATIONS POLICY.

Gosh, I want to wake up to this.

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Congratulations to Justin Oldt – Winner, HiltonHeadsUp Picture Poll & Truffles Cafe Gift Card!

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Justin Oldt’s photo of mile marker 33

Last week’s picture poll winner is Justin Oldt, who not only knew that the picture of my dog Sam was taken at mile marker 33 in Sea Pines, but also had a picture of it himself taken before mine.  Justin wins a gift card at Truffles Cafe for being the first to answer correctly. 

Do you have an interesting angle on a familiar Hilton Head scene?  We at The Vacation Company would love to see it and if it’s really unique, I’ll post it here and on our Facebook and Twitter accounts for the next picture poll contest.  And if it’s an interesting Hilton Head video, we’ll add it to our YouTube account as well.

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Over-the-Top Vacation Fun, Off the Beaten Path!

May 9, 2011 By 1 Comment
Guided kayak tours through The Sea Pines Resort

     At the beginning of every season we, at The Vacation Company, try to come up with all new and exciting lists of things to do on Hilton Head for our guests – NOT that there is a dearth of ideas for outdoor fun, but repeat guests who have baked every day on the beach, played all the golf courses, run the lighthouse stairs, watched the sunset from the Quarterdeck, and listened to Gregg Russell under the Liberty Oak, year in, year out, sometimes on occasion ask if there is something else to do around here – NOT THAT THE AFOREMENTIONED AREN’T FUN ENOUGH – it’s just that the kids eventually grow into teenagers and don’t want to sing outside every summer night and you’re watching an even better sunset this year nightly from your OCEANFRONT BEACH HOME RENTAL FROM THE VACATION COMPANY! And nobody makes better mojitos than you while enjoying that view, right?…  wait… where was I….

Up Close And Personal on a Guided Sea Pines Resort Eco Tour

       Okay, NEW outdoor activities on Hilton Head Island; almost every year, new activities are added to the roster and it can be daunting trying to figure out which ones to make time for.  This week, I’m giving you the contact information and highlights of an under-the-radar one-stop-shop for outdoor fun that I only stumbled across while Googling for extreme activities on Hilton Head.
     Within Sea Pines Resort, is the Recreation Department, which is highly organized and with-it in the area of blazing outdoor trails and know how best to show off the island’s supreme natural beauty under the guise of entertaining activities.  After all, they do understand that you can’t tell your kids that these tours are educational while on vacation because that would sound BOORRRING, so parents can relax and fall in line without too much preparation.   The only gear suggested by the recreation coordinator that I spoke to was to wear, secured shoes; ie no flip-flops or sandals. You don’t want a creepy crawler nipping an exposed toe while trekking through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Other than that, all you have to do is show up on time at the designated location and the tour guide will take it from there. 

     Below are a selection of springtime Eco Tours, designed to enlighten while entertaining; these are great for the whole family.  Click here for a pdf version of the full 2011 Spring Resort Guide of tours and events.  For more information and a list of activities, call 843.842.1979, listen to the menu of activities and let them talk you through.

Alligator Boat Tours: a perfect way to see these incredible reptiles while getting a safely guided tour from  a knowledgeable professional. 843.686.5323
Kayaking Tours: a clinic is included, so experience is not mandatory for this remarkable tour through Calibogue Sound where you may see manatees, dolphins, otters, and minks.  843.671.4386
Stoney/Baynard Ruins Tour: Fascinating, informative tour of the ruins of a Hilton Head plantation home.
Sea Pines Forest Preserve walking Tour: Explore a 4,000 year old Indian trail and grounds where relics have been preserved, over boardwalked paths that take you through ancient woods.
Forest Preserve Hayride: Relax and listen to the experienced guide take you through the Forest Preserve
Beach Discovery: Stroll Sea Pines shoreline while a local guide identifies starfish, shells, and sand dollars.

     Hilton Head is home to an incredible wildlife dynamic, at once jarring and extreme with alligators, snakes, egrets, coyotes, and deer commingling, seemingly nonchalant in their meanderings over fairways, sand dunes, residential roads, and back porches, while hosting a delicate ecosystem that needs constant care and diligent preservation so that the frogs, turtles, bats, mosquitoes, and lizards can help keep it all balanced.  We often forget how fortunate we are that this lowcountry habitat thrives while undergoing constant development and traffic. Wildlife tours such as these and others – some of which have already been journaled  about in Hilton Heads Up – are numerous on Hilton Head and fun.  Take a day to learn about this amazing island while you are here.  You will be so glad you did.

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The Birds of Hilton Head

May 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

After soaking up an awesome multi-colored sunset your first night, complete with cocktails and singing frogs, don’t expect to sleep in too late on your first full day of island fun. The birds of coastal South Carolina will not allow it. It is quite the symphony of reeds and blasts, some of which could use a tuning. Hilton Head is home to numerous regional and migratory bird species; some as colorful as the Painted Bunting one would expect to see in the tropics and some delightfully oversized, almost prehistoric-looking, like the Great Blue Heron. These latter graceful creatures pose like sentinels on the lagoon banks watching and waiting, unafraid of the alligators – they almost seem like peers. And these birds don’t just nest… no, these birds roost. The Sea Pines Forest Preserve is a haven for ospreys and egrets, among many other exceptional fishing birds that require privacy and space to nest. Check with one of The Vacation Company’s knowledgeable reservationists about villas located near the Forest Preserve.

Hilton Head is well known to birdwatchers and environmentalists for its many trails and parks specially preserved to nourish and encourage our education about lowcountry wildlife while giving nature a chance to flourish safely away from human noise and interference. Wandering one of these, like the Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge is a great way to spend a day soaking up the best of what nature allows on this coast. And finding information on any kind of bird species or trail you might be interested in is as easy as going to Wild Birds Unlimited in the Festival Centre where they can help you learn the terrain. You can also get a checklist of birds published by The Hilton Head Audubon Society that will help you identify the noisy, colorful squawkers along the way. And if you’re visiting us during the upcoming weeks, take advantage of a special tour on May 25, 2010 led by an experienced bird watcher at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn.

For the rest of us, seeing White Pelicans dive-bomb the ocean for fish is enough of a spectator sport, while Herring Gulls swoop for the remains of our sandwiches. The great thing about Hilton Head is that the entertainment doesn’t stop when you roll up your towel, the show continues throughout the day if you remember to keep watching no matter where you are; beside a lagoon, walking through the dunes, riding the golf course, or sitting on your own back deck with a sunset and cocktail.

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Dad, There’s An Alligator!

May 30, 2009 By 1 Comment

     While those of us who live on the island are used to seeing creatures (who have been around for about 200 million years) sun themselves on the banks of lagoons, alligators are a definite cause for fascination among visitors. There is an unconfirmed rumor that Verizon and AT&T make hundreds of thousands of dollars in cell phone charges every weekend when visitors arrive on the island, snap a ‘gator with their cell phone camera, and send it to all their family and friends.

500 – pound alligator suns himself on Hilton Head Island

     A note of caution. The alligators are real. They’re shy, but can get nasty if they feel threatened. Take pictures from afar, or follow our suggestion, below.
Hilton Head Island is not only the perfect place for vacations, it’s also the perfect spot for alligators. Their habitat consists of wetlands, lagoons and marshes. And there’s plenty of food (fish, insects, snails, worms, an occasional bird and small mammals). What more could they ask?
One of the best ways to learn about and see alligators in their natural habitat is the Alligator Boat Tour, an eco tour offered by Sea Pines Resort. This is a gem within a gem. The tour takes pace in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, which we wrote about, on the preserve’s lakes. You get to go out in a safari-like boat (not quite the African Queen) and the guide fills you in on all the flora and fauna – and alligator lore – of the Lowcountry, and the preserve’s ecosystem in particular.
You don’t have to be a resort guest to take the tour, but the schedule varies, so call ahead (843-842-1979 ). Or we can help you schedule one. This one is good for kids of all ages. The perfect family outing.
The guides are very knowledgeable and the sights are extraordinary. We can promise that you’ll be totally amazed. And Verizon and AT&T will be very pleased you decided to go.

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Hilton Head Island in Bloom!

April 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Granted, everyone thinks of the beautiful azaleas at The Masters this time of year. We, of course, think of The Masters as simply a warm up for The Verizon Heritage.

Hilton Head Island “blooms” from April through June, with spring flowers peaking from the end of April to mid-May. There is no better place to see the “bloom” of wild flowers than in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. The 600-acre preserve is also a testament and tribute to what has made our island special in the eyes of Mother Nature.

OUR azaleas are out right now (just like in Augusta), but – and we mean no offense to our neighbors in Georgia – the Lowcountry flora almost gets carried away when spring rolls around. Ligustrum, Indian Hawthorne, roses, red tips, angel trumpets and, a little later, witches’ fingers and wax myrtles, take over the scene.

Apart from our flora, there is also our fauna. On the banks of the lagoons in Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes and Shipyard, turtles and alligators sun themselves. If you want to photograph them (everybody does), park in a safe area, out of the way of normal traffic. Locals get a little miffed if you’re blocking their driveway.

Note on alligators: they are truly fascinating, but it’s a good idea to have a body of water between you and the ‘gator when you take pictures!

You must also check out the Audubon-Newhall preserve just off Palmetto Bay Road. An amazing, quiet, wonderful spot. Sort of like our own Walden Pond.

Come visit us this spring. It’s the Lowcountry in bloom — big time.

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