Oak Island and Southport, NC: June 19-22, 2025 - We Should All Be Doing This

Ohh, a beach trip.  I do love a beach trip.

Mary and I headed out toward Oak Island, which we had chosen simply because of AirBnB availability, late morning on Thursday.  The drive was smooth and easy, and pretty soon we were in town walking the aisles of the Publix to stock up on necessities - mainly bottled water - for the weekend getaway.

We made it to the AirBnB and got in - the setup here was really great for an AirBnB if you think about it.  The door had a deadbolt with a keypad, and at check-in time they simply send you the code to grant you access for the weekend.  Not only is that a clean and simple way to permit entry, and to change access between stays, but also it meant that as long as we could remember the code, we weren't required to take things with us if we went out, which is absolutely perfect for a beach weekend.

See, this is gonna be one of those "pontification" entries in which I philosophize about the world around me, with little to no expertise in the matter might I add!  But listen.  A beach trip is one of those things you've gotta do exactly right.  A year ago, at the annual July 4th trip to the lake, I posed a question to the chat (my family, sitting in the living room) about which water-based activity is best: beach, lake, pool, or creek/river?  And beach was the most divisive.  It was either a top favorite or a bottom-of-the-list, absolutely-never-again option.  But I think that's all down to how you execute.

When you go to the actual beach on your beach vacation, you've gotta be as unencumbered as possible.  No wallet, phone, or keys, for starters.  Swim suit, flip flops or water shoes, maybe a cover-up, sunscreen, and a small bag to put it in.  That's it!  No umbrellas, or tents, or chairs, or even towels.  Half of the negative association people have with the beach is the vivid memory of sandy towels!  So just ditch 'em.

But the trick is, you've gotta be staying somewhere close enough that you can quickly jaunt to the beach on foot, just as Mary and I did that Thursday afternoon after we'd put our stuff down in the AirBnB.  If you are far enough away that you have to get in the car and drive, you're already behind the eight-ball.  Off to a bad start.

But anyway.  The late afternoon dip was wonderful and much-enjoyed.  After that, it was time for a barbecue dinner, which was also in walking distance at BBQ House.  We got a sampler plate full of meats and sides, and it was delicious.

Another beach visit followed, this time just to walk it, and then lastly, a tasty treat at the scoop shop:

A successful first day.  We set no alarms for Friday morning, heading out to Fixins for breakfast at a mid-morning hour.

Mary said it was the best gluten-free cinnamon roll she'd ever had.

Nearby there was the remains of an old ship, so we went and saw that:

...and neither of us could figure out how they knew this pile of lumber was the remains of any ship, much less which specific one.

We popped into the library while we were on that side of town too, then got in the car again to drive to the pier and coffee shop:

That was all for the morning frivolities.  From that point, we didn't use the car again the rest of the day.  Another sign of a beach trip done well - you're able to just wander.

Now late morning, it was time for another dip in the ocean, probably our longest one of the trip.  Relaxing at the AirBnB followed that, and then a lunch at Kai Joe Taco, which was also in walking distance, but had no indoor seating...so a take out order it was!

More relaxing after lunch, then back to the beach again.  Being on the water or in walking distance introduces another important component to the Beach Trip: duration and frequency.  If you're a far drive from the water, you have to do one or maybe two excursions to the beach itself, and stay for a long time.  If you're close, you can go repeatedly for short durations, limiting fatigue and sun exposure.

For dinner, we decided to wait until the cooler part of the day (so, you know, maybe sub-90) and walk a bit farther than normal to go to a seafood restaurant.  Sadly, they were booked up with a very long wait, and we had actually wanted to go to a concert that was happening in the park near our AirBnB - the one and only truly scheduled thing in our weekend - so that was not going to work.  Instead, we took a detour by some stick statues in the dunes, then made our way to Paul's sports bar:

weird little gremlins.

We made it to the concert successfully to see just the last few songs before they wrapped up:

...before enjoying the sunset on the beach:

We stopped into the same scoop shop as the previous night for more ice cream, then hit the hay.  Mary and I had agreed to awaken very early the next morning to watch the sunrise, in honor of the Summer Solstice.  A twinge of regret accompanied that decision the next morning at 5:30 when the alarms went off, but we were quite happy in the end to witness the first light of the morning:

Several hours later, after a brief snooze, we headed out to the donut shop: 

it was a very "Duck Donuts" kind of place.

Our final full day included another late morning session in the water, then a journey into town to get a coffee and do the only bit of shopping we did the whole trip.  We strolled through Seaside Mermaid, By the Beach, and the Hope Chest thrift store, with some limited success.  Then, when it got closer to dinner time, we ventured further out to Doodle's (which apparently has the lock on the best Oak Island Loggerheads baseball merch), and Crossroads, which had a lovely by-the-swamp view:

Finally, the journey into Southport, where we had our seafood dinner at last at Fishy Fishy Cafe:

After dinner, we idled by the seaside, taking in one last evening in this hallowed place.

See, my evangelism about a beach trip stems from the fact that when done right, it is incredibly revitalizing.  The sun and sand and saltwater can refresh, but not if your experience is driving 20 minutes, fighting for a parking spot, burning to a crisp from hours in the sun, then tracking sand back into your vehicle and house right before collapsing from exhaustion.  If you're close to the water, take short but frequent dips, and spend the rest of the time relaxed indoors, you come away better for it.  It's what we should all be doing!  It's the purest concentration of summer fun there is.

Back in town, Mary and I stopped for a sweet treat at Sweetreat, once again ending our day with ice cream.  Then, just because we hadn't done this yet, we took an evening trip into the water, as sunset shone all around.

The next morning had just one last item on the itinerary, after cleaning up the AirBnB and loading up the car.  We stopped in at the Oak Island lighthouse:

Though with the heat as brutal as it was, we declined to go all the way to the top.

Salisbury, NC: April 18, 2025 - A Daytrip

Mary and I were going to visit the NC Transportation Museum, but Easter Weekend had other ideas.

On our way up for our daytrip, we called ahead and found that the museum was hosting special events for Easter, and while they were open, they would be more expensive, and would be inundated with something called "children".  So we pivoted.

Instead, we just took an afternoon in downtown Salisbury, which was really quite nice!

Started at the Rowan County Museum, where a nice lady talked us through the various rooms they had available:

And got to go out on the upstairs balcony:

to see the view of the megalopolis that is Salisbury.

I did enjoy the museum; it was just right for a county museum, a smattering of history, a couple neat displays:

We then ventured around town, seeing a church:

and then a park with a part of what used to be a church:

and a tunnel:

then crossed through the main street area, where there are wall murals!

we were hoping to stop in at an art gallery recommended to us by the museum lady, but it was closed for Good Friday.  So pretty soon we turned around and headed back.

Brevard, NC: March 21-24, 2025 - In Brev

Brevard is an important place in Mary's life, so she wanted to show me around for a weekend at the end of March.

We took some PTO to make the most of the weekend, and so set out on Friday morning, stopping at a Waffle House on the way out of town.  Through part of the western NC drive, we noticed smoke, a sign of the still-spreading wildfires happening throughout that area.  Truly feel bad for western NC, they've been hit so repeatedly as of late.

Speaking of feeling bad, as we rolled into town, we went by Looking Glass Falls with the intention of seeing it first to kick off the weekend, since Mary said the view would be a great introduction to the area.  Two days later, I'd see that she was right:

...but on that day, the whole area was roped off with Police caution tape, and it seemed like there was a search underway.  We never got clear on what was happening, but it meant a slight pivot in our plans.

On our way back from attempting to see the falls, we stopped in at the Pisgah Visitor Center before heading into the town of Brevard proper:

We had lunch and a milkshake at Rocky's, then took a stroll around town, seeing a few shops, including a book store where I made a purchase and supported my local something something whatever.  Then it was time to check into the hotel and prep for the evening, which that night was brewery hopping:

In the midst of this, I texted my sister to ask her if she'd ever heard of a quadruple IPA (per the first brewery, Ecusta), and in the ensuing conversation she realized that a) we were in Brevard, b) she is very close to that town and c) she had no plans the following day.  So Mary & I agreed to move a few things around in our schedule to meet up with her the next afternoon!  This turned out to be a great idea, since the place we ended up going was one of the highlights of the whole trip.

In the meantime, we returned to the hotel and went to bed, arising the next morning and making a breakfast stop at Cup and Saucer, where the biscuits are delicious.  Then another short stroll around town, including Probart street, a hip area of town:

Now.  Why is there a painting of Beethoven in sunglasses on Probart street?  Well.

The reason Brevard is special to Mary is because she used to work at the Brevard Music Center, which is a kind of summer camp/retreat for classical music, where instrumentalists, singers, composers, and others come to hone their craft.  It's actually a pretty well-respected program, and garners some very high-skill musicians from all over.  There are big concerts in their outdoor pavilion all summer, and as we drove through the campus later that morning, Mary and I made plans to return to see one of them later this year.

But the attendees also like to paint Beethoven in sunglasses on the public property.

After that walk, it was time for the farmer's market, which in March was still in the off-season, so there wasn't too much activity around:

Then O.P. Taylor's, the must-see toy store at the corner of Broad and Main:

Then the aforementioned drive through the Music Center, then a trip to the lumberyard, which is a quasi-district that contains a very eclectic antique mall/thrift store:

Didn't get anything, but saw a Washington Post print newspaper from the date of the Nixon resignation!

We headed out of Brev for a bit after that, to go to a pottery place Mary knew about called Mud Dabber's:

Lunch followed at a place called Corky's Dawg House, where we ate a couple Dawgs outside on the back lawn and soaked up the sunshine.  This was much needed.  It was juuuust becoming the time of year when it's warm and sunny enough to be comfortable outside, and we had utterly perfect weather the whole weekend to enjoy it.  Each morning you'd feel a blast of the cool mountain air, and each afternoon it was mid sixties in pure sunshine.  A dream.

Speaking of the sunshine, our next activity really allowed us to soak it up, and meet up with my sister!  She had sent some recommendations by text, and we picked Sideways Farm and Brewery, which is technically in Etowah, NC.  

We sat outside the main building on a big lawn and sipped our beverages of choice, whiling away the hours and, much like plants, absorbing sunlight to convert to food by the process of photosynthesis.

Back in town, we took a bit of a respite at the hotel before heading out for dinner at The Blind Mule, our one fancy meal of the trip:

 
We both agreed the Caprese salad was among the best flavors we'd tasted.  That fresh mozzarella - can't be beat.

We also stopped at Ingles just for fun on the way back to the hotel, where we turned in for the evening.  The next day was the big hiking day, and we grabbed a hearty breakfast at Quotations Coffee, after striking out at a place called the Morning Social, and this random Airstream trailer:

The hikes began with the aforementioned Looking Glass Falls, then Moore Cove where we saw another, sprinkly-er waterfall:

A quick stop at a coffee truck to get coffee and the most delicious mini-donuts I've ever had, then on to the bigger hikes in the DuPont Forest.  First, though, we went to Food Matters Market for a small picnic lunch:

which we ate in this little amphitheater:

There were two more falls to see on these hikes; first: High Falls:

 

which we viewed from a distance on an upper trail.  Then, Hooker Falls:

where we watched a group of friends wade out into the water and then promptly fall in and yell that it was cold.

These lovely hikes filled our afternoon, and combined with another respite at the hotel, took us to the early evening, when we ventured north to the Bold Rock cidery to enjoy a few flights of their hard cider varietals:

a half game of Scrabble accompanied the food & drinks, but the place closed down before we could finish it.  

This was really the grand finale of the trip - our Monday morning included breakfast and Cup & Saucer again, and then a stop for gas on our way out of the mountains.  Our one other stop was a brief, furtive drive through Kanuga in Hendersonville - a preview of things to come??  Perhaps!  Stay tuned to find out!!