[Note: I forgot to post this months ago, so think back to December and appreciate how nice the weather is now as you read it]
It is winter here in North Carolina. Jesse and I have settled into our new home state and our first weekend trip was to the Atlantic coastal city of Wilmington. December is not the best time to visit, as it is windy and a bit cold, but that also means a lot less people. We stayed on the Cape Fear River, near the Promenade and Front Street. We walked along the river on a brisk, cloudy morning, with the Battleship North Carolina in the distance:
Our first night we started at Pour Taproom Wilmington, which had 80 or so self-service taps, and while we tried a variety of beers we had a nice conversation with a retired couple from Charleston, South Carolina (one of the next placed we will visit, based on their and others recommendation). For dinner we ate excellent seafood at Seabird, located on Front Street.
The next day was sunny, and we headed to the beach. Wrightsville Beach is not far from Wilmington, to the east. The sky was clear, the water was blue-green and the sand was soft. Though windy, the sun’s rays more than kept us warm enough to walk up and down the beach.
Wrightsville Beach reminded us of Newport Beach in California; where there are homes right on the beach (though no sidewalk in front of them). We could imagine in the summertime that it would be very busy here; on the main street there were hundreds of kids bikes, for rent or sale, we could not determine which. After our beach walk (and they have a charge to walk out onto the pier; on this windy day, that did not seem worth it). We left and made the two-hour drive back to Southern Pines, our new home.
Here a few other fun things we’ve gotten to experience in in our short time living in North Carolina. Nearby where we live is Reservoir Park; we’ve taken the lake walk and explored the wooded areas surrounding it often during our short time here.
Jesse and I also happened to visit the Vincent Van Gogh experience in Raleigh, when we were flying through, back in November.
The immersion room is very cool; we stayed for at least a half hour, maybe longer. It was relaxing and visually stimulating at the same time.
The virtual reality experience was well worth the $5 fee too. The exhibit is in multiple cities, so if it is near you, while a little pricey, it was worth it if you like Van Gogh.
Lastly, here are some Spring Flowers from around our neighborhood (and the top one is in our backyard and the bottom one is hanging on our porch!)
More tales from North Carolina travel to come!
Phil's WayPastCool 