Gators, Rays, the Beach, Golf and Low-Country Food are all part of our week at Hilton Head Island. Cathy’s sister from Tennessee has joined us to add to the fun. We are staying in our timeshare at The Carolina Club in Shipyard Plantation. It is early May and the weather is sunny and the Atlantic Ocean is warm.
I am writing this on our deck while watching the parade of golfers hit down the 4th fairway of the Shipyards Golf Course. It’s hard to believe that just last week we enjoyed a totally different beach experience on the other side of the country at Mission Beach, San Diego. We are nearing the end of our Coast to Coast USA road trip. In a couple of days we start the final leg north back to Toronto.
Gators
We call this golf course gator Mulligan, and later eat one of Mulligan’s relatives at the Wreck of the Salty Dog Restaurant.
Rays
I come across this fisherman hauling in a big ray while riding my bike at a remote area of the beach. He tells me that it is the biggest he has ever caught. 
Beach
The beach at Hilton Head is wide, long and hard sand ideal for long bike rides beside the surf. Shipyard Plantation has its own private beach access. The public access is at Coligny Beach.
Golf
There are many excellent golf courses on the island. We play The Golden Bear at the reduced afternoon rates and enjoy a fast 4 hour round. 
Low Country Fare
We eat some excellent low country seafood at The Wreck of the Salty Dog and The Old Oyster Factory.
Barnacle Bill’s Seafood Market is our go-to place for fresh seafood to cook ourselves. We buy bulk shrimp and boil it in beer as taught to us years ago by a Southern Baptist lady who never touches alcohol. We also buy wreck-fish steaks. Bill tells us that the wreck-fish was caught on the Charleston Bump earlier in the day. Seared and sauteed, it cooks up flacky and tasty.
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is a historic port city about 1 hour drive to the south of Hilton Head. Cathy and I take the narrated riverboat tour that explains a lot about today’s Savannah and also it’s history as a port city and fortress.
