My Mother-in-law will be visiting us for two weeks in late September/early October and I would like to take her on a couple of day trips somewhere at the coast. She is in her eighties but likes to swim and have lunch. Any good suggestions?
Just because it's the easiest route traffic wise(70mph speed limit), I have to go with the Wilmington/Carolina Beach or Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach area. There is no traffic on I-40 East at all until you get to College Rd in Wilmington and they have plenty of restaurants.
Fort Fisher aquarium (sp?) is nice and it is by Kure beach I think. I went with my son on a field trip a few years ago and since I drove I signed him out there and we stopped on the way back and played in water for a little while before we headed back home. Didn't take long to get there either.
Not so sure how warm the water will be in September/October...and Fort Fisher is a nice area..good aquarium... My preference is Morehead City/Atlantic Beach... Regardless, thanks for supporting NC beach businesses. SC beaches get entirely too much NC tourist money as it is.
Topsail...overall very quiet, non-crowded beach with gentler waves. Several restaurants in Surf City.
I'd likewise go with Wilmington. Its a fairly boring drive down I-40, but its a straight, four-lane interstate and non-stop at 70 mph as already mentioned. You've got several beaches, fishing piers, historic downtown, many places to eat, places to shop, etc.
I love the Outer Banks, but just too far to drive for a day or two. My husband and I are thinking about going to the beach for our anniversary and a friend of our has a house and I think he said it is around Morehead City. Any recommendations as to where to eat/things to do?
For great seafood, try AJ's at 2806 Arendell Street.. For food your cardiologist or diabetes educator would make you cry over, try EL's Drive In in Morehead City, at the base of the Hospital. Still have car hops that come out to the car and take your order. Highly recommend a shrimpburger and a Supercheeseburger, all the way with slaw and chili, and onion rings. They're at 3706 Arendell Street. Be wary of your speed going through downtown Morehead as the speed limit drops to 20, and I'd rather you enjoy your stay and contribute to its economy willingly, rather than making an involuntary donation to the Morehead City PD. Also, the speed limit coming off the big bridge from Morehead to Atlantic Beach drops from 45 on the bridge to 35 once you're off the bridge, so be wary. The town of AB makes a LOT of revenue from this ticket writing heaven. Fort Macon is neat. Pine Knoll Shores has the NC Aquarium. Cape Lookout, which is "Down East" to Harker's Island (that’s right, I said "to" not at or in) is the gateway to the Cape Lookout National seashore with a cool lighthouse and Shackleford Banks ponies- wild horses descended from Spanish shipwrecked survivors from the 1600s. IF you go "Down East", you may overhear the vestiges of our accented speech, which traces its root to Middle English of Chaucer's time. Beaufort (Pronounced BOW fert, not Byu fert as in SC) is NC's 3rd oldest incorporated town, and celebrates it TRIcentenial in 2009. Blackbeard actually visited Beaufort often, and at Hammock House, off Anne Street and Front Street, one of his wives was hanged from an oak tree. Across the channel from Beaufort is Carrot Island and Bird Shoals. Local ferries will take you to these places where you can walk along the shoals, shell pick, and actually get close to the horses there. Do not attempt to feed or touch these horses as they are protected by federal law. The Rachel Carson wildlife preserve takes up most, if not all, of Carrot Island. "To" Beaufort, again, not "at or in" Beaufort, there are several restaurants from which to choose. The Maritime Museum has great exhibits and artifacts from the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard's ship, recently discovered about 3 miles NE of Beaufort, off Bogue Banks. There is a historic Olde Burying Ground with interesting grave sites, including one of a British military man who requested that he not be buried lying down on American soil, so he was buried standing up, a gravesite of an infant who died making the treacherous sea crossing, and was interred in a cask of rum and then buried on arrival. This just off the top of my head, as there is so much to see and do. Enjoy!!
To each his or her on, but I was at Morehead/Atlantic Beach just last month and wasn't impressed. I guess as a kid it seemed so much better but now.......it's just way blahhhhh. It's all about Morehead City opening up more shoppng outlets and less about maintaining what everyone loved about Atlantic Beach. They've tore down the "Circle", a lot of the old mom and pop motels are going or are gone. They're trying to "condo" it up way to much so that the common person can't afford to go to the beach anymore. If I wanted a insanely overpriced beach experience in NC I'd go to the Outer Banks. Again that's just my opinion. On the up side the Hooters in Morehead City is one of the better ones in NC. That Best Buy is like a Best Buy Jr compared to our Best Buy stores here in the Triangle. It is so small.....lol.
Thank you for all the great information. I'm going to try a couple of your great suggestions. I've only lived in NC not even two years and still have not been to the coast. Appreciate the assistance.
Hatt 6, Thanks for all of the great ideas. I have about a 1000 pictures of Hatteras, Bodie and Currituck lighthouses, but haven't gotten out to Lookout yet for pictures so that will be a great opportunity for us. I also love the idea of the horses. My husband will love the ideas for seafood as I don't eat it so he doesn't get it often. I can't wait to go now!!!
Don't feel bad, we lived here for about 6 or 7 years before we made it to the coast, now we try to go as often as we can, unfortunately that isn't often.
I second this one. And right across the street is a Civil War museum/battlefield, with original earthen mounds.
Fort Fisher is my favorite spot. There's a massive sand bar there which the waves break over. That makes the body surfing or boogeyboarding great! The perfect thing for your octogenerian MIL! LOL Salter Path / Pine knoll shores has some nice places too, Hey, you're at the beach. you can't lose.
