Wilmington, North Carolina is more than a beach. It is a top-notch vacation spot with something for everyone. It encompasses such a large area including Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach. There are sandy beaches with plenty of surf for families and couples. Golf courses and tournaments are available for the golf enthusiasts. The downtown district offers some of the greatest shopping for home furnishings, decorations, and antiques for the avid shopper. The city is one of the most beautiful along the North Carolina coast, which makes it the perfect area for the Hollywood Studio as well as being home to several movie stars, directors, and producers in the movie and television business. Wilmington is home to the decommissioned USS North Carolina Battleship, various museums, aquariums, and water parks, which makes it a popular area for schoolchildren to visit on field trips throughout the school year. The cuisine in the Wilmington area is as diverse as the area itself with offerings of family restaurants, fine bistro dining, and 5-star restaurants as well as cafes. In addition to the fine dining, there are some of the best coffee houses available too. The city contains some of the most well researched historical information and attractions in the state.
First-time visitors can feel a bit overwhelmed when coming to Wilmington due to the expansive activities and attractions. There is far too much to take in when visiting for only a few days or even a full week. One could return to Wilmington a dozen times yet still never fully take in all the extraordinary attractions available. The city is perfect for vacationing families, couples, and singles since there truly is something for everyone.
Those wishing to spend time on the beach with a loved one or children can visit Carolina Beach where the sand is clean, litter free, and the city provides lifeguards up and down the beach. Even over the Fourth of July, the crowds at the beach are not overwhelming. Parking costs only five dollars for an entire day. There is a wooden walkway from the parking lot to the beach itself. While it is perfect for families, Carolina Beach itself does not offer wheelchair accessibility to the beach area. It does offer a level of safety not available on all beaches. Coolers, beach umbrellas, sandcastle building supplies, surfboards, and short boards can be brought to the beach although alcohol is not acceptable and for good reason. It is a bad mixture between the heat and humidity of North Carolina’s beaches in the summer, it is dangerous when swimming or sunning, and it is not appropriate for a family oriented beach such as Carolina Beach. Parts of Kure and Wrightsville Beaches are available for dune buggies, horseback riding in the surf, and offer other areas more private for couples wishing to distance themselves from the crowds of children.
Carolina Beach is a postcard perfect scene with families playing together in the surf and sand. Children and couples walk the waterline in search of the perfect seashells. Children gather to build sandcastles or run in and out of the surf at the water’s edge. Older children and adults take boogie boards and surfboards further out into the water to ride the waves as lifeguards take special care to watch over everyone to ensure a safe day at the beach. Occasionally, one will find a photographer taking various pictures or a journalist sitting beneath an umbrella with pen and pad or notebook computer taking in the sights and sounds of the area. Sunbathers covered in suntan oil lie on beach towels catching the powerful rays that keep many North Carolina residents tan throughout the year with hot summers and mild winters.
This part of Carolina Beach comes complete with shower area to rinse off sand and salt water in addition to restrooms with bathrooms and sinks. The amenities make life easier for parents trying to change children out of wet sand-filled bathing suits and into dry clothes before piling back into the vehicle at the end of the day. The wait time to gain access to the restroom areas and showers are usually short. Residents and visitors alike are polite and feel a lot like family. Crime is not terribly high in Wilmington yet it is always a good idea to remain mindful of the surroundings and others.
After a day spent at the beach, it is nice to have a nice meal at one of the many varieties of ethnic restaurants in the area. While Wilmington is a port city, restaurants serve much more than seafood, unlike many other beachfront areas. Some of the foods available are Chinese, Mexican, Greek, Indian, Thai, French, and many bistros are available options. An example of the variety within each restaurant is The China Buffet. The buffet bar offers several rows of bars filled with any Chinese dish one could wish for including a full sushi bar and dessert bar. Special rates are available for children. Beverages include various sodas, iced tea, Chinese beer, Sake, and a wide variety of wines. Many restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner although most of the hotels in the area offer complimentary continental breakfasts.
Wilmington is home to a famous New York Bistro, various cafes with sandwiches or full meals. The downtown district offers one of the best Italian restaurants. This writer’s favorite restaurant in Wilmington has to be The Caffe Phoenix. It is located at 9 South Front Street in the downtown district and provides 5-star dining including a children’s menu. The menu offers a variety of options although my recommendation is the skewered grilled shrimp, basil rice, and grilled zucchini or the Penne Pasta. Most children opt for the single pizza though Caffe Phoenix offers more of a gourmet pizza. It is not a Pizza Inn or Pizza Hut. This is a nice size pizza perfect for an adult or a child’s meal. Beverage choices range from sodas, iced tea, various mixed drinks, and vintage and various fine wines. There is no need to be shy about asking the host for recommendations of wines to compliment your meal; hosts are extremely knowledgeable about these things. Not everyone had a wine aficionado as a parent as this writer did; however, I did skip the glass of wine for one of the specialty drinks, the Moni Lassi, during our visit.
The restaurants often have fine art on display by local artists. Often, the pieces are available for purchase such as the one I am contemplating, which was hanging in the Caffe Phoenix. It is a beautiful painting of one of the rivers flowing into the ocean near the downtown area. The businesses are extremely considerate and supportive of local talent from the area. In fact, the reason I hoped to visit the café was to find a building used within the movie Empire Records and was the basis of a nightclub written into my first novel. It sits next door to the Caffe Phoenix. In fact, the café was in the movie Empire Records as well. Liv Tyler and Renee Zellweger had lunch at one of the outside tables in the film. Film stars often visit the restaurant when working on films on the set in Wilmington; it is easy to understand why after visiting the restaurant. The food is wonderful, the staff members are courteous, and the ambiance of the restaurant is amazing.
Shoppers will fall in love with Wilmington after visiting the markets and antique shops. It is impossible to choose between pieces when visiting the shops in the city. The choices are so broad with such variety. It is a bit pricey but there are deals available and it is possible to do a bit of dickering on prices at many shops. The art galleries are excellent places to shop for that perfect painting or sculpture that will look divine in one’s home. It is nice to bring home a bit of Wilmington’s culture to enjoy when the time comes to leave.
Beachcombers do not despair. Wilmington, Carolina Beach, and Wrightsville Beaches all have the chain store Wings available to locate beach items such as bathing suits, beach towels, chairs, umbrellas, knick-knacks, keepsakes, and collectables. The stores carry items from the ocean such as little glass bottles of sand with miniature shells, separate and necklaces with shark teeth, shell necklaces, shell bracelets, and shell anklets. The stores even carry a supply of healthy hermit crabs, miniature lizards, and African Dwarf Frogs. We could not leave Wings without my 10-year-old coming home with one of the small aquariums with two Dwarf frogs complete with a stalk of growing lucky bamboo and a snail. My friend’s 6-year-old picked out a few hermit crabs to bring home as friends for the two they already have at home. The dwarf frogs are now a member of our family zoo, which includes a guide dog, domestic shorthair cat, our somewhat manic but aging Quaker Parrot, and the little one’s two dwarf hamsters. The little frogs live in water and have pellet food available at Wings with a card containing the name, phone number, and web address of where to order more food once returning home. The bamboo will grow although this is not a bad thing since all one has to do is snap the tops off as it grows and root it in a cup of water until it is large enough to place in a nice Asian vase for display in the home. I received a vase of lucky bamboo as a gift so I already have sprouts awaiting enough growth to place in a vase with small rocks and water.
Fishermen can visit various areas around Carolina Beach, Kure, and Wrightsville Beach for surf fishing, charter boat fishing, and pier fishing. Even with the damage from the hurricanes that came through a few years ago, the area built back in record time considering the extent of the damage.
There are many attractions to visit while in Wilmington. The Hollywood Studio offers a tour of famous locations in the area although be sure to call ahead to reserve a spot on the tour. Also, wear comfortable shoes and cool clothing since the tour requires a fair amount of walking. In addition, there is a tour of haunted areas around Wilmington too. Being a port city, Wilmington seen its share of pirates, wartime, and accidents along the coast and within the studios. The most famous accident occurred on the set while making the original film The Crow starring Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee. This is but one of the stories told while touring the haunted areas of Wilmington. Again, be sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes, as this tour is a walking tour too.
Children and adults alike will enjoy touring the USS North Carolina Battleship. The battleship does have a gift shop to purchase post cards, books about the battleship, and other items relating to the tour.
Those in love with theater will find a few theater houses where plays, musicals, and films are available for viewing at various times throughout the year. It is important to remember Wilmington is not very far from Roanoke, which features the re-enactment of The Lost Colony, which is the longest running musical in America and tells the factual story of the first colonists from England to the Americas. It is the tale of the mysterious disappearance of an entire colony including the first English child born in the Americas long before Jamestown and Plymouth. The fate of the colonists are as much a mystery today as it was more than 200 years ago when Governor White returned after returning to England for supplies only to become waylaid due to the war with Spain. The only clue as to the existence of the colonists was an etching scratching out the words, “CROATOAN.”
Back in Wilmington, the Hollywood Studio is responsible for filming hundreds of movies and television series. Some series, such as Dawson’s Creek continue filming in the area today along with One Tree Hill, and others. Movies filmed in Wilmington include A Walk to Remember, The Butcher’s Wife, Black Dog, The Jackal, Empire Records, Forgiven, Betsy’s Wedding, To Gillian on her 37th Birthday, and Firestarter. Firestarter was the movie that began the career for Drew Barrymoore. George Burns filmed Radioland Murders in Wilmington, which was his final movie. Many actors loved the area so much they purchased homes and take up residence in Wilmington. Actors such as Kim Basinger, James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek), Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill), and Dennis Hopper all have residences in the area. The website information proclaims Andy Griffith as living in Wilmington but his home is actually in Manteo, which is not far from Wilmington. He filmed the Mayberry Reunion in Wilmington as well as Matlock. Andy Griffith got his start on stage performing in The Lost Colony at the theater in Roanoke before leaving to make his long-standing career in film and television and returned to his home as he reached retirement while remaining within the industry.
Wilmington is a contradiction in terms. It contains the art, dining, and nightlife of places such as big cities like New York. It has the Hollywood Studio like Tinsel Town in California. It offers beautiful beaches much like those found in exotic places far away. Although, even with the attractions, movies, television series, famous actors in and out of town, the nightlife, and art this beautiful beach town manages to hold onto small-town values with residents who never met a stranger and are always welcoming and courteous to whoever comes to visit. This city is so full of life and business though the people never forget how to slow down and enjoy life. The diversity and culture enhances Wilmington instead of destroying it. This is the reason Wilmington, North Carolina should receive the vote for America’s top beach.
