It was going to be a sunny, but chilly day. A perfect day for a car ride. I looked at the map trying to decide where to go – a place where I’ve never been before.
I drove along the coast and in Southport, stopped to walk around & have lunch. As I was driving into town, we drove past several failed subdivisions – a sign of the expectation this area would boom a bit more than it did.
Southport was a great spot to walk around in & I spent a few hours wandering around. I ate at The Cape Fear Restaurant and Lounge which had a dog-friendly patio & soaked in the sunshine.
Then, a little later than expected, I started the drive to Wilmington. Before crossing the bridge to the city, I stopped for an outside view of the USS Carolina.
As I drove through town towards the Riverwalk, nothing seemed to look familiar. We parked and started walking the few blocks to the river and when we turned the corner the conversation went something like this:
Daughter: We’ve been here before.
I: Really? I don’t think so – it hasn’t rung a bell since we decided to drive up.
Daughter: No, really we’ve been here before – in fact, we ate at this restaurant.
I: I don’t think…wait. That’s where we saw the alligator. You’re right – how the hell…
We spent the next few hours walking up & down the entire length of the Riverwalk.
I: Did we stop on our way down to visit your hometown of Beaufort?
Daughter: No, we had a father with us, so it had to have been in the last 10-11 years.
Thank goodness for digital photography complete with time stamps. I did visit Wilmington before, as well as Kure beach in 2009. The pictures seemed to indicate we liked it then & I liked it again this time.
It’s a big reason why I blog – it’s not really to sell anyone on visiting a place – rather it’s a brain dump journal of sorts that I can search on later. Because it’s quite obviously something I need.