Spending a Year of My Life at Hilton Head

As a writer and an artist, I spend a lot of my time thinking and dreaming about settings and possible settings for books and for art. Over the years, Hilton Head Island, SC has become one of my favorite setting destinations. Since 1980, we have spent at least one week and often two weeks a year playing tennis at resorts located on Hilton Head. When you do the math, you'll realize that's at least one year of my life spent at Hilton Head.

A lot has changed since our first visit. At that time, there was only one grocery store on the island and much less traffic on the one road--highway 278. Over the years and many stores later, much of the land on the island has been developed. The once vacant property along the beautiful beach between Island Club and Port Royal now features a hotel and large timeshare property.

Favorite restaurants have come and gone, including a Cracker Barrel, often a crowded spot elsewhere, that no longer exists. Most of our time has been spent at Island Club which has a outstanding tennis program. A restaurant was located at Island Club when we first purchased a timeshare there. Although the facility in the rotunda building was a great convenience, that restaurant closed in a couple of years.

For several years, we looked forward to the Boathouse 2 champagne brunch on Sunday morning with a build your own omelet that included crab meat as one of the choices. This year, the restaurant was under new ownership and is now the Skull Creek Boathouse. Even though the omelet bar is gone, the menu is excellent, and the facility now features walls of televisions creating a sports bar setting for major league baseball games and NFL football.

Over the years, the wide, scenic beach at Island Club has provided many photo opportunities for me. I've created art cards from my photographs and have made pastel drawings and painted large acrylic canvasses using photos from the Hilton Head waterfront. A photo of a sunset on the Island Club beach became the cover of my mystery suspense novel, Secrets by the Sea.

One of my favorite images is that of the ducks swimming in the lagoon by the deck of our condo. Several years ago, an alligator moved into the lagoon and killed off nearly all of the ducks. This year, the alligator was not around, but the ducks were. I was happy to see them back.

Hilton Head Beach - MMSikes

I've spent more than a year at Hilton Head. Although things change and new facilities take the place of old, I still look forward to visiting the island every year. I look forward to seeing a fresh look and discovering what new element I can add to a story because of that change.

Mary Montague Sikes