Schommer.Life

Wilmington, NC:

North Carolina is our destination. Wilmington to be precise. My sister, her daughter, my youngest daughter, and I rented an Airbnb for Spring Break and decided to make it a road trip. Our thoughts… let’s break the drive up into two days, and do as we please when we get there. No plans and go with the flow. 

Wilmington, NC is located on the east coast between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River and is known for its Hollywood-like locations. Wilmington has been the set for many famous films and TV shows including One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, and Outer Banks. One of my favorite films, Safe Haven, was filmed in Wilmington and Southport. Production was underway for the BET film, Strawberry Fields, while we were there.

Wilmington is known for more than its shows and films. Wilmington goes back to the American Revolutionary War. * Established in 1739, Wilmington was the home of General Charles Cornwallis. 

You can visit the historic World War II landmark, The Battleship (USS) North Carolina while on the Riverwalk downtown Wilmington. There’s a boat taxi to take you across the river if you don’t want to drive all the way around. This historic landmark is a must-see and is open every day of the year, including holidays. 

If you have a chance to visit Wilmington, make it a road trip. The best surprises were during our drive. The country between the Midwest and the East Coast is magnificent. Be sure to check out some of our favorite stops in West Virginia, Wilmington, and Washington DC.  

Day 1 – The Road Trip 

We woke up to a driveway full of snow. The Midwest is known for its unusual weather and mood changes, and we knew this was coming which only increased our incredible need to escape and head south. 

Despite waking up early, we didn’t hit the road until 10:45 am due to the snow, shoveling, picking up our rental car, and making a quick stop at Cranky Al’s where I stepped in a puddle of slush, but got a yummy breakfast. The goal was to drive as far as we could on day one, get a hotel for a quick recharge, and have a shorter drive on day two. The drive went by quickly (for me), and my niece found this amazing bridge in West Virginia, so we decided to stay in Fayetteville and check it out the next morning (This was my favorite surprise on our trip).

Day 2 – New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

Day two was amazing. I have only been to the mountains in Tennessee, and this was a different experience. (I know, I need to see the mountains on the West Coast…everything takes time). The drive through the mountains the night before was crazy, and I could hardly contain my excitement to see this in the daylight. 

West Virginia is beautiful, and the National Park is incredible. We spent the morning exploring the gorge. We drove down into the gorge on one side of the mountain, and back up and out on the other side. It was a foggy, rainy day which made everything even more peaceful and beautiful. We drove over the New River Gorge Bridge on Hwy 19 which is 876 feet tall and 1,700 feet long. To give you a better idea of the height of this monstrous bridge, it’s taller than the Seattle Space Needle, and just shy of the Eiffel Tower. I can’t wait to go back and spend a few days exploring more. After doing more reading on this National Park, I think I’d like to go back for some primitive camping. New River Gorge is officially my first National Park.  This is a definite recommendation, and I can’t wait to see more.  

We hit the road again around 1:30 pm and made it to our Airbnb around 9:00 pm where we were welcomed with an easy self-check-in and a home filled with essentials. From toys and board games to bathroom and kitchen fundamentals, the three-bedroom, two-living room home fit our needs and gifted us with an original piece of art made by one of the owners (my cousin Liz). The Airbnb offered us a 15-minute car ride to the Riverwalk downtown or Wrightsville beach and was tucked away in a local neighborhood instead of a busy hotel. The owners were responsive, and have a local property manager to assist with urgent needs. I wish I would have taken pictures or a live tour, but check out the link here: Wilmington Airbnb

Day 3 – One Tree Hill 

Our third day of vacation was our first day experiencing Wilmington. I was excited to explore the One Tree Hillsights (BIG Tree Hill fan here). Wilmington is much bigger than we expected. I’ve heard so much about its small-town atmosphere, that I expected everybody to know your name feeling.  I think that feeling is what you get downtown on the boardwalk, but Wilmington is more than that. 

We started the day having brunch at Blueberry’s Grill on Eastwood, and their blueberry hushpuppies won my heart. We ordered the Cinnamon Roll French Toast, Chicken and Waffles, Classic Benedict, and the Monte Cristo deep fried and served with their triple berry compote on the side. It was delicious. 

We spent the rest of the day downtown on the Riverwalk taking in the sights, getting the gossip from locals, picking up our Tree Hill gear, and hitting up Kilwins for fudge and ice cream. After a stop back at the house, we went to the Oceanic for dinner. Known for its ocean-view seating and fabulous food, they did not disappoint. I went with my instinct and had their catch of the day grouper entrée which ended up being my favorite dinner that week. My daughter ordered the shrimp tacos and said they were fabulous. Oceanic is my number one recommended restaurant on Wrightsville Beach. 

Day 4 – Indochine 

We had breakfast at home, my favorite avocado toast with egg made to order. Day four was a little lowkey, but fun. We went down to the Carolina boardwalk and checked out the open stores. The store owners were friendly and welcoming; however, since it was off-season, many of the stores and attractions were closed. This is a summer beach and boardwalk to check out. If you’re there during the open season and have kids, I would add this to the to-do list. 

We went to Indochine, a Thai and Vietnamese Asian restaurant, for dinner. It was a little chilly, so the outdoor patio was closed, but they let everyone walk around the patio to get the feel of the ambiance outside. They have a beautiful patio, with a lotus pond filled with koi fish. The food was impressive, the service was wonderful, and the cute souvenir hut was the perfect touch. This was my favorite place based on the environment.  Indochine is a remarkable place, and its outdoor garden won my vote. Check out my reel on Instagram and Facebook.  

Day 5 – Massages, Southport, and Treats

I think day five was my daughter’s favorite day. We went to Massage Envy and had our first massages. What was I thinking waiting until I was 45 to get a massage? We chose Massage Envy because my sister is a member in Wisconsin, and we were fortunate with the service we received. The staff was welcoming, energetic, and professional. I was impressed! We went to the Monkey Junction location on Carolina Beach Road and were greeted by the concierge, Deljah, who was undoubtedly the sweetest person we met while on vacation. We mentioned that we were in town on vacation and when we finished our sessions, she had a list of must-hit destinations including Southport where Safe Haven was filmed. I spoke with her on the phone after we returned home, and she permitted me to include her in my article. She was just as sweet on the phone as she was when we met her in person. Massage Envy, you’re lucky to have Deljah providing such wonderful customer service. 

After our massages, we went to Playa Bowls for smoothies and acai bowls. I got the Nutella bowl, OH MY YUM. Then we took the ferry out to Southport and explored the locations from Safe Haven. Southport is beautiful, and I love the small-town atmosphere. It truly gives you that storybook feeling. We had appetizers at one of the local dockside restaurants and saw the house where Alex lived and the restaurant where Katie worked in the film. After catching the last ferry back, we headed to the house for a little R&R before dinner. We never made it to dinner. We were all exhausted, rested, and then had snacks and played games that evening. Once we got our second wind, we headed over to the Crazy Mason for ice cream. The Crazy Mason has some eccentric sundaes served in a mason jar. We had the Short & Sweet, Mint to Be, Crazy Cookie Dreams, and a Root beer Float. This was another winner, and might have been one of my favorite days too. 

Day 6 – Beaches, Boats, and Seafood 

Breakfast was at the house on day 6. This is the benefit of staying in an Airbnb. Our Wilmington Airbnb, supplied all of the necessities to cook all of our meals at the house. They even had a grill on a private backyard patio. We prefer to go out for dinner while on vacation but stopped for groceries when we arrived to cook some of our meals at the house. After breakfast, we headed over to Wrightsville Beach. The weather while we were in Wilmington was on the chilly side, and we unfortunately, didn’t get any successful beach days, but we did find a captain to take us on the water for a tour. While researching tours, we found a company that we were interested in, but they didn’t have any tours that would fit into our plans. Something I’ve learned is to always reach out anyway. If they’re available, they’ll call you back. Sure enough, we received a call back by lunch and had a private tour set for 6:00 pm. The tour guided us through the inlets between Wrightsville Beach and the Atlantic Ocean while offering some history and interesting facts about the area. After the tour, we watched the sunset on the most southern point of Wrightsville beach and collected some beautiful seashells. Lunch was at Bluewater Grill where I realized how amazing shrimp and grits are, and a Seafood boil for dinner where we all learned crawfish isn’t something we need to try again. Day 6 ended up being pretty great despite the chilly weather.  

Day 7 – A Perfect Day for a Salt Cave

Day 7 was our last full day in Wilmington, and it was raining, so we treated ourselves to brunch at Brunches before heading over to Prana Salt Cave to try Halotherapy. I recently read Meditation and Its Practice by Swami Rama, and I believe in the power of the mind, gratitude, visualization, and prayer, so Halotherapy was intriguing. Prana Salt Cave was a peaceful and inviting experience. My sister and I both agreed we would enjoy visiting a salt cave regularly. Prana Salt Cave had a collection of different homemade aroma therapy items and I treated myself to bath salt, a tranquility eye pillow, and an essential oil muscle comforts roll-on. 

After our Halotherapy we ventured back down to the Riverwalk to pick up a few more One Tree Hill souvenirs and to check out a couple more set locations. We saw Peyton’s house, the iconic bridge, and tried to see Haley’s house, but filming was in progress for the film Strawberry Fields on what we believed to be that block and we weren’t able to get through. It was pretty cool to see the light crew up in the air above the houses. I wonder what it’s like to be the neighbors.

We headed over to Dockside for dinner which was recommended by our captain as the place where all the locals hang out. When we arrived, someone outside recommended to sit upstairs, which did have a beautiful view, but it was awkwardly quiet, and we’re Schommer’s, so…you know how that went. We headed home to pack and get ready for the last part of our adventure. 

Day 8 – The Semi Tier. More importantly, DC 

We headed toward home on day 8 and decided to take a detour to Washington DC. I had never been to DC, so this was another exciting surprise. The drive to DC, let’s just say could have been better. The trip was going well until a semi’s retreaded tire blew and our rental car took the hit. The car had some damage, but it was only cosmetic. Once we were on the road again the traffic was horrible. Our bathroom break took us about an hour to get off and back on the freeway, and we ended up arriving at our hotel about three hours later than expected. It was nothing more than a little annoying. We took an Uber from our hotel in Virginia to downtown DC. Our Uber driver gave us more information than we anticipated getting in our quick 12-hour stop in DC, but he was as nice as they come. 

We walked around the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which was amazing, and got a $75 dinner from their cafeteria (nope not worth it even if you’re famished). Yes, we saw the cherry blossom trees. They were beautiful! We booked a night tour of DC, and this made the pit stop worth every minute. Seeing DC lit up at night is beautiful, and our tour guides were awesome. After the tour, we did some late-night shopping at the metro shop and the owner was so happy we kept our promise to return, he gave us all free merch to go along with what we purchased. Seriously, nicest guy in DC! We took an Uber back to our hotel, door dashed a late-night pizza, and rested up for the trip home on Saturday. I loved seeing DC, but there were SO MANY PEOPLE. 

Day 9 – Here We Go

The road trip home never goes as fast as the trip there, but we weren’t ready to kill each other, and we were still laughing. We started our day with one more acai bowl from Playa Bowls (so good, we need Playa blows in the Midwest). With a full tank of gas, we headed back to Wisconsin. We took turns napping, played games, stopped for food and snacks, and made it home by 9:00 pm. The trip was a success, and we didn’t miss anything except the hot sun. I enjoyed seeing this part of the country and hope to head back during the summer. New River National Park and Preserve, Wilmington, and DC treated us well and are all recommended. 

Citations

* Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. ACHP. (n.d.). https://www.achp.gov/preserve-america/community/wilmington-north-carolina#:~:text=Founded%20in%201739%2C%20Wilmington%2C%20North,Carolina’s%20governor%20at%20the%20time