From Salty Dog T-shirts to traffic circle troubles: A dozen signs it’s tourist season on Hilton Head Island

There’s a time every spring on Hilton Head when suddenly you look around and realize your “me time” as a local is at an end.

Residents love the offseason. The island is our little playground. We get to soak up the sun on those nice 70 degree “winter” days on nearly empty beaches and eat at the best restaurants with no wait.

At the same time, we also know we need tourists, and despite some traffic headaches they might or might not cause (but usually get the blame for), we have to admit tourists can be wildly entertaining, and tourism season has its perqs. I especially love talking to vacationing 20-somethings whose minds are blown when you say you live here.

“What? How? And you have a real job?!”

It makes me smile every time.

Personally, I take pride in our side of paradise, and I love the look on people’s faces when they see the sunsets, beaches and wildlife locals take for granted. Tourists remind us of how great we have it here. And for that we thank them.

With that, here are 12 signs tourist season has begun on Hilton Head Island:

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 3:13 PM with the headline "From Salty Dog T-shirts to traffic circle troubles: A dozen signs it’s tourist season on Hilton Head Island."