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Shipyard...the Best on Hilton Head?? Evian...the Best in Shipyard?? Let me explain my claim. When my wife and I looked for a vacation property and an eventual retirement location, we looked carefully along the eastern seaboard.
Hilton Head, with its planned communities, preservation of natural beauty, and restrictions on uncontrolled and ugly sprawl was the clear winner. (Wal-Mart is hard to find - it is hidden in the woods - planned that way. McDonald’s Golden Arches are only five feet high and unlighted, a requirement. No billboards, period.)
On the Island, we looked for space, quiet, a fine beach, and access to recreation, shopping and restaurants.
Sea Pines is the largest development (called plantations here) and beautiful, but too big, too far from grocery stores, shops, and restaurants. We decided that for us, biggest was not always best.
We chose Shipyard because it is also beautiful and natural – and it is small and closest to the shops, stores, and restaurants which are centered along Pope Avenue and Highway 278. We can easily bicycle to these places along the many bike paths inside and outside Shipyard.
The beach frontage is not long, maybe one-quarter mile, but it is deep and clean with fine white sand and has all the room one could ask for.
Inside Shipyard, at the very center, we found Evian, the premier condominium of Shipyard. Consider this: at 40 acres and 200 villas, it is the lowest density condominium development on the entire island.
It is a collection of 28 very separate buildings with a maximum of seven villas each. We have space, and quiet, and trees, and water, and plantings, and room to walk, play, and just enjoy our surroundings. Parking, lots of it!
We chose an end unit – windows on all four sides, just like home. On the ground floor - because we don’t want to climb stairs. The only common wall we share with the next villa is one wall of the master bedroom.
Big windows, cross ventilation, light – lots of it. We added screen doors, front and rear, for those who like ventilation on the cooler days. The villa above us is empty in the summer – retired couple winters there - no footsteps on our ceiling.
You can learn more about Evian by Googling Evian Villas - but note, there are some in France too, just like ours.
We have a large pool, one-half block away, with deck space in the shade or in the sun. (I prefer the shade, she sunbathes.) It has changing rooms, restrooms, vending machine, lots of deck space and many lounge chairs.
Adjacent to the pool is a four acre lake – that’s BIG! It has fish, frogs, turtles, white ibis, blue heron, and Big Al – about nine feet of lazy alligator. You may watch all these from the safety and comfort of a large gazebo which is built out over the water. You can walk or bike all the way around the lake on paved paths.
And, right next to the pool and lake, are the six tennis courts, four of them lighted for night play. No charge for pool or tennis – they come with your rental.
It is seven blocks to our beach, a nice walk, but we ride our bikes. Takes less than ten minutes. You can drive there, too, and have priority parking as a renter. There is a turn-around/unloading circle right at the beach, so you can unload kids and all your beach stuff and then go park. Really nice arrangement.
Speaking of bikes, call our friend Sean at Pedals Inc. He delivers and picks up for you – about $27 per week. We also provide beach umbrella and two chairs, two Boogie boards, some fishing gear, and tools for sand castles.
On rainy days or when we want to stay inside, the house is comfy, light and equipped just like home. It is professionally decorated in Laura Ashley style with a light yellow and blue color scheme.
Three places to eat - the formal dining room, the kitchen, or the outdoor awning covered patio - give us room not only for ourselves but for guests, not to mention a convenient spot to spread out a puzzle or game board.
We keep Parcheesi, Monopoly, Mancala, Scrabble, puzzles and classic kids’ videos on hand for the little ones as well as a small library of paperbacks and coffee table books for the grown-ups.
We enjoy watching movies while we’re at the villa so there’s a DVD player in the living room, VCR and DVD in the kids’ bedroom, and VCR in the master bedroom. Cable is provided in the living room and the master bedroom. No cable TV in the kid's room. We prefer it that way.
Speaking of bedrooms, the master suite has a king size bed, sitting area, TV in spacious armoir, door onto the patio, private full bath, and walk-in closet – all separated by a door from the rest of the unit.
The second bedroom we call the kids’ room. It has two double beds for up to four youngsters. (our daughter always brings guests) There is a second full bath for them.
The dining room (seating for 6) also has a door onto the patio. It overlooks a quiet lagoon beyond which is a golf course fairway. Nice quiet and restful view. Wading birds, squirrels, and occasionally, deer in the evening.
Hilton Head is known for its quality and variety of restaurants, over 300 of them, but we like to cook. The kitchen is fully equipped with all you’ll need. Three cookbooks are provided for our guests as well as many extras for meal preparation - Belgian waffle maker, griddle, blender, bagel toaster, electric mixer, big pots and pans, etc. Kitchen eat-in area has table for 4.
So, consider us. We would love to have you as our guest. And we hope you will enjoy our villa as much as we do.
You may write: or call:
Shannie Van Ostrand 317-585-1936
4510 Cranbrook Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46250
No smoking, no pets, please. |
