Since moving to North Carolina from Naples, Florida, Communications Program Manager Natalie Morales, her husband, Matt, and son, Joshua, have made it a point to visit a handful of beaches along the East Coast.
“After spending 10 years in Florida, one of the things I miss most is being so close to the beach. I could spend all day there without headphones or a book because I’m always just so captivated by the peacefulness of it all,” she said.
Looking for, what Natalie described as, an “extremely relaxing” vacation, she and Matt decided to spend five days on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, which had been on their list of beaches they wanted to visit.
“Hilton Head is only about five hours from where we live,” Natalie said, “but with a toddler who was just recently potty-trained, the drive took us about seven and a half hours.”
Although Natalie and Matt typically rent Airbnbs when they travel, their goal was to make this trip as easy as possible.
“Between being six months pregnant and having a very active toddler, we decided to book a resort that had onsite restaurants and activities for kids,” she said.
In addition to nine pools on the resort property, including two toddler pools and a lazy river, the resort they chose offered plenty of places to relax along the beach. With temperatures in the mid-70s every day, Natalie and her family spent most of their vacation outside – enjoying the live music by the pool and playing in the sand.
Venturing beyond the resort to explore Hilton Head, Natalie and her family visited Lawton Stables in the Sea Pines resort, where Joshua was able to feed llamas, goats and donkeys and take a pony ride. They also spent one morning at Lowcountry Celebration Park, which has a pirate ship playground surrounded by a boardwalk overlooking waterways occupied by turtles and crocodiles.
“Joshua loved feeding the animals so much that we wound up buying multiple cups of food, and he loved the crocodiles so much, we went to the pet store when we got home to buy a fish he could name Crocodile.”
They also discovered a French bakery that quickly became their favorite breakfast spot. And they were big fans of the ice cream shop simply named The Ice Cream Cone, where the cones were the size of Joshua’s head.
“Most days when Joshua woke up, he would ask to go to 'the pool and the beach, too,’” Natalie said. “He absolutely loved jumping into the pool – literally for hours. And when he’d get tired, if I wasn’t also taking advantage of a guilt-free nap, I’d order a virgin cocktail or some fish tacos and enjoy sitting in the sun.”
Wanting to document their final beach trip as a family of three, Natalie joined a Hilton Head Island mom’s Facebook group and asked for photographer recommendations.
“I only booked a 30-minute mini-session, but we had so much fun together that we went over our time.”
Their session ultimately ended with the photographer capturing a shot of Joshua seconds after he’d found a starfish, resulting in one of many perfect memories from their trip.
Natalie said she’d like to thank Arthrex for the Trip of a Lifetime benefit.
“With our budget changing in anticipation of a new baby, the Years of Service benefit definitely helped make this vacation happen.”
When thinking about where she might spend her 10-year Trip of a Lifetime, Natalie said she and Matt would love to go back to Hawaii, where they went for their honeymoon.
“By then,” she said, “both kids should be old enough to snorkel.”
For every five years of employment with Arthrex, employees are eligible for a company-paid Trip of a Lifetime to recognize their dedication. Look for more Trip of a Lifetime highlights on the Arthrex Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.