The 90-foot, red-and-white striped tower of the Harbour Town Lighthouse on Hilton Head Island is the visual centerpiece of the popular Sea Pines, located in Hilton Head South Carolina

Hilton Head offers about 14 miles of beach. Most of it is along the Atlantic Ocean coast, some is along the Calibogue Sound, some on the Port Royal Sound at Port Royal plantation and Hilton Head plantation has a small beach next to Dolphin Head, also on Port Royal sound. The newly opened Fish Haul Creek Park offers a little known beach access to a beach on the Port Royal Sound. The beach there is quite private (no, not that private) but with little wave action.

Hilton Head Island is the second largest barrier island on the east coast and is protected by an offshore sandbar. This protection makes for a small gently rolling surf. Additionally, there is a tidal difference of eight feet which at low tide gives the more than 12 miles of Hilton Head Island beach a width greater than 600 feet. With such a broad beach there is plenty of room for sunning, sculpturing, shelling, strolling, running, fishing, biking, and swimming.

Located on the 5,000-acre barrier Hunting Island off the Atlantic coast, the Park combines a natural setting with year-round recreational opportunities and numerous outdoor activities. Outdoor activities offered at Hunting Island State Park include swimming, boating, kayaking and fishing. A 1,120-foot fishing pier is located at the southern end of the island. Hunting Island State Park is also home to an eight-mile hiking and mountain biking trail as well as three nature trails, ranging from a third of a mile to one mile in length (one-way).

The Coastal Discovery Museum offers programs, activities, and exhibits year-round to make learning about Hilton Head and other sea islands an enjoyable experience for island visitors and residents alike.

With indoor and outdoor exhibits, activity centers in the Sea Island Classroom, the History Time-line Exhibit, and Museum Store on-site, plus 11 different tours and cruises around the island, the Museum is a fantastic way to become familiar with the island's unique history and ecology.

The remains of Fort Walker are a reminder of Hilton Head Island's role during the American Civil War. Built at the entrance to Port Royal Sound in 1861, Fort Walker was designed to protect the South Carolina coast in the event of a Union attack. On November 7, 1861, Fort Walker and another Confederate fortress, the nearby Fort Beauregard, fell into Union hands during the Battle of Port Royal. With 13,000 Union troops under the command of Gen. Thomas W. Sherman storming the area, the Battle of Port Royal proved to be America's largest amphibious assault until the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy more than 80 years later.

Dr. Georgene Mortimer is a professional winemaker and has been making award - winning wines for years