Atlanta to Hilton Head - March / April 2023
The Farris Family and Daraban Family explored Atlanta and Hilton Head
Day 1 - March 25 - The Westin SFO
Since we were leaving early in the morning the next day from SFO (San Francisco) to ATL (Atlanta), we parked and stayed at The Westin San Francisco Airport, which has a daily parking for travelers and a shuttle to and from the airport. Not to mention a pool. If you know my daughter, you know she likes anything to do with the water.
The Westin is convenient, nice, and as I mentioned offers overnight parking for travelers and a shuttle that leaves every 15 minutes. As of this blog post, it is our current go-to for parking and transportation to the airport.
Day 2 - March 26 - SFO to ATL and meeting up with the Darabans'
Today we headed out to the airport early in the morning (6am). We had a four-and-a-half hour flight to Atlanta, Georgia. We planned our flight to arrive around the same time as the Darabans' so we could all travel together in one car from the Atlanta International Airport to our AirBnB.
After the airplane ride, we arrived at Atlanta. It was about 2pm EST. If you have never been to the Atlanta International Airport, it is known for being one of the busiest airports in the world. They don't disappoint.
If you plan to transfer out of Atlanta make sure you give yourself ample time to get to your next flight. Especially if you land at one terminal and have to go to another. Even one terminal is very long. So plan ahead.
We headed to the main terminal. You have a choice of walking from terminal to terminal which is a long walk, or taking their tram. We decided to walk most of the way. It was worth it. Each terminal crossing has it's own theme.
After making our way to the main terminal and finding a spot to wait for the Darabans' they show up not too long after we arrived.
We made our way to the baggage claim, then off to the car rental, which was a long tram ride away from the airport.
The weather was pretty humid and overcast, but warm.
We got a large SUV so we could fit 7 people with luggage, then proceeded to "tetris" the luggage in the back until it was stacked to the ceiling, and headed to our AirBnB, which was near Downtown Atlanta.
And the kids made themselves right at home by building a fort!
Check out more photos of the trip
The Thunder Rolls!
As the sun was setting, the skies got darker, and the storm came in. It wouldn't be a "Faraban" (Farris and Daraban) vacation without some type of weather drama. It's ok, because I love the thunder storms. Kristi and I sat outside under the protection of the back porch cover and watched the storm.
I know the picture looks like it was light outside, but that was the moment lightening struck and lit up the sky. It was also down pouring. On top of that I received this on my phone, but I wasn't concerned because we were in a place that couldn't really flood because we were on a hill.
Thankfully we were not in an area that was effected, but we did see a lot of rain and lightening. The thunder cracked in the sky all night until early morning. It was a little hard to get to sleep that night.
Day 3 - March 27 - Georgia Aquarium
Today we went to the Georgia Aquarium. This is well worth the visit. It's an all day adventure because it is a huge aquarium, known for one of the only aquariums to have enough room to have a whale shark! The kids definitely had fun here (the adults did too). There was so much to do.
Quick side note about Atlanta
When we were driving to the AirBnB on the first day, we went through some neighborhoods that looked a little run down and some that looked well kept. I mention this because at first my thinking was we were in kind of bad neighborhoods. I was uncertain for the first day or two, but everyone around was nice and we never had troubles despite what I though it was going to be like. Downtown was clean and it felt safe there. Downtown was great actually. Good food. We ate dinner there I think every night.
On that note, after the aquarium, we ate dinner in Downtown Atlanta and headed back home to sleep.
Day 4 - March 28 - Great Wolf Lodge Georgia
Today we went to Great Wolf Lodge in LaGrange, Georgia. It was about an hour drive south west of Atlanta.
If you aren't familiar with Great Wolf Lodge, they are all over the country. They are known for their water parks, which has water slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and kids splash zones that are all indoors in a temperature controlled environment. Needless to say they are open all year. They also have food and other non-water related activities, like bowling, rock climbing walls and obstacle courses and more. They lastly have a hotel attached to it all. It's a really fun place to visit.
Here is the only picture I captured because we were in the water most of the day.
After the Great Wolf Lodge we headed back to the house to eat leftovers and start packing for our trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Day 5 - March 29 - Harry Potter, Driving, South Carolina!
Today we packed up and said goodbye to Atlanta, but we would be back! We packed up the SUV and headed out. Before we took our 4 hour trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina we stopped in Downtown Atlanta once more to see the Harry Potter Expedition that was in town. If you're a Harry Potter fan, this is definitely the immersive experience for you. You travel through rooms that are interactive and see items from the movies and of course buy stuff at the gift shop.
In the expedition there are talking pictures hanging on the walls, different rooms for each of the houses of Hogwarts. You can participate in pulling Mandrakes out and they will scream (a mandrake is a plant in Harry Potter), and so much more.
After our Harry Potter experience, we hopped in the "Beast" (a Cadillac Escalade) and headed east towards South Carolina.
It was a great road trip experience seeing a different part of Georgia and South Carolina. A lot of trees and forest with a lot of water under those trees. We thought it was likely from the storm that had come through on our first night in Atlanta that caused all the water. It was flooded off the side of the road for miles.
We made a few stops along the way and eventually crossed the border into South Carolina.
We finally made it, passing through Savannah and into South Carolina. Once we made it there it was about 30 minutes to our destination. Then we arrived at Disney's Hilton Head resort.
We stayed in a 2-bedroom suite so we can stretch out a little and have a common area the kids can hang out and we can chat. We definitely got a great view right along the water front where we can sit out on our balcony and watch the sunset. I could definitely make this a permanent thing.
While we watched and enjoyed the sunset the kids stretched out and watched TV and played on their tablets. At this point, Kristi and Cristian went to the store to get some groceries so we can have food to cook for breakfast and lunches. While they were gone, the kids really wanted to try out the Jacuzzi bathtub. Why not, we are on vacation, it's pretty much time for a bath anyway so here's to a good time!
It really is a private island
Here is the island that is part of the larger Hilton Head island that Disney owns just to kind of put it in perspective. (The red map pin is the building we stayed in that had the amazing sunset views. Building 31, see if you can request it!)
Day 6 - March 30 - Pirate's Island Adventure Golf and after, pool time
Today we went to Pirate's Island Adventure Golf so we could go check out Hilton Head Island a little.
The kids had a great time as did we. But we were more competitive I would say! We just didn't get the pirate hats and flags the kids got.
After golf we had lunch and headed back to the resort for some pool time!
Day 7 - March 31 - Horseback and Pirate ships
View all the photos from this trip
Today we took the kids to Lawton Stables on the Hilton Head Island. They rode ponies and fed farm animals. It was a good way to occupy the kids and enjoy the stables also.
After the stables, we headed to the south part of the island to the Harbor town area to turn the kids into pirates, go out on a pirate ship, and fight off pirates. The boat had about 20 water cannons around the boat that would shoot water. The kids loved that! Even more so when a pirate came up to the boat with his smaller boat and they had to shoot him with the cannons.
Day 8 - April 1 - Disney's Beach House
Today we hung out at the beach house, which is about a mile away from the resort. You can walk or take a shuttle from the resort. The beach house is a private area for Disney Hilton Head resort guests only. They have food to order, some table games, like ping-pong, billiards, and a pool. Of course, it's a beach house, so it's on the beach, which you can access through a keyed gate.
We (Kati, Mia, and I) also got our rental car today we were using to drive back to Atlanta tomorrow.
Day 9 - April 2 - The final day
Today was are final day at the resort. We made the decision to drive back to Atlanta International Airport instead of flying out of Savannah or nearby airports because it was cheaper.
Before we had to leave, we said goodbye to the Daraban family as they were making the same drive back to Atlanta to catch a plane, but their flight left earlier than ours. We spent the rest of the time with Julie, who arrived from West Virginia the night before on her long drive to Hilton Head before heading on the road on the four hour drive back to Atlanta.
On the plane, Mia was able to be the pilot and fly us home :)
