We started our road trip to the beach on Saturday morning to downtown Wilmington. We stayed the night in Wilmington at Hotel Ballast and we spent the next day in Kure Beach. I will say that our first day was quite chilly and cold (which is why we were wearing sweaters in the pictures) and then the following day it was beautiful outside.

HOW TO GET THERE + TRANSPORTATION

Since Titi and I were only driving from Charlotte, our road trip took about 3 hours. But if you live further away, Wilmington does have a small airport where you can fly directly into town. I do recommend bringing or renting a car while you are here. The nearby cities are a must see and some of the activities are further away from the city such as Wrightsville Beach or the NC Aquarium.   

Hotel Ballast – the lobby and room by the river

SEE THE SIGHTS

Wilmington is the big city in the area, but Wrightsville Beach and Kure Beach are both unique little towns nearby. Here are a few must-see spots and activities:

• Riverwalk & Downtown Shopping: One of the main attractions, that is in the heart of the city, is the Riverwalk. If you get an hour or two, then head down to the river and walk along the Cape Fear River. The downtown area is filled with dozens of charming local business and restaurants that are too cute to miss. While we were out enjoying the town, I ended up finding a few gifts for friends and family that is sure to put a smile on their faces. The day that we were walking on the river it was super cold and chilly (in true Fall Season!).

• Arlie Gardens (Wrightsville Beach): We didn’t get a chance to make it to Arlie Gardens, but from what I’ve seen on social media, it’s a gorgeous place to watch around and enjoy nature at its finest. The gardens feature 67 acres of walking paths, formal gardens, and plenty of historic structures. While events look a little different this year, there is still plenty to do in Airlie Gardens!

• North Carolina Aquarium (Kure Beach): The NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher sits right along the Kure Beach, about 30 minutes south from Wilmington. While the aquarium is on the smaller side, it is filled with plenty of exhibits to get up close and personal with the animals. My favorite part was definitely the Aquarium’s two-story ocean exhibit filled with sharks and other animals. If you didn’t know, sharks are my favorite species. During COVID, the Aquarium is requiring tickets to purchased online and for you to make an appointment before stopping by.  

• Cruise Along the Cape Fear River: Between Titi and I, I think this was our favorite thing that we did during the weekend. Even though we took the cruise on a windy, chilly day, it was a ton of fun. On the cruise, you get to learn the history of the Cape Fear Rive, see some of the sites along the river, and soak up the sunshine (if it’s a sunny day that day). Pro tip: bring a jacket because it gets windy on the boat!

• Beaches Galore (Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach, Carolina Beach, etc): One of the main reasons why we stopped by Wilmington was to finally see the beach this year! As predicted, Wilmington beaches did not disappoint and there were plenty to choose from. I will say that Wrightsville beach gets pretty packed (which I’m sure is worst during the summer months). If you want a more peaceful beach, head to Kure Beach or Carolina Beach, which is further south from Wilmington.   

WHERE TO EAT

As you can expect, Wilmington has some amazing food and I’m excited to share where you can find some delicious Southern-inspired coastal cuisines.

• Cast Iron Kitchen: This casual breakfast spot came highly recommended on Yelp, and the food did not disappoint. As per usual, Titi and I ordered the chicken and waffles, since that’s our favorite breakfast meal. It’s currently doing outdoors dining to accommodate the current situation.

• Wake N Bake: On our second day in Wilmington, Titi and I were craving some fresh donuts and some warm drinks (since it was a classic fall morning). If you’re looking for a fluffy baked donut with plenty of icing, then definitely stop by Wake N Bake. Titi wanted to be fancy and get the King (premium donuts) that are icing filled, which ended up being too much donut for him to handle.

• Shark Bar and Kitchen: As I mentioned earlier, I’m obsessed with sharks and this restaurant’s décor did not disappoint. Whoever designed this place is a genius! The menu is perfectly curated and is also shark-themed. When we stopped by, it seems like they had changed their menu (which was a disappointment), but the food was pretty decent. I would recommend for you to stop by. It’s conveniently located right alongside Wrightsville Beach.

• Havana’s: Havana’s a truly a hidden gem! Titi and I stopped by this restaurant after having a rude experience at another down the street. We were so glad afterwards though because this place was truly the bomb! The food was divine, the staff was super sweet, and the drinks were strong.

If you’ve been to Wilmington, North Carolina, definitely share your recommendations in the comments below! I would love to come back during the summer months when you can actually lay out on the beach and get a tan. Maybe next time we can come for a little bit longer than we did this time around.

The post Wilmington, North Carolina Weekend Travel Guide appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

Day 1 (Thursday)

We left around 8 am from Columbia, South Carolina, heading towards Asheville, but we ended up stopping in Greenville for a quick bite to eat. We stopped at Stax Omega for a quick breakfast, and we were not disappointed. Titi got an huge omelet while I got my usual chocolate chip pancakes with a cold glass of milk. We then stopped at DuPont State Park to do some hiking to capture some waterfalls and get our steps in for the day.

We actually got lost on the trials😂😭. We eventually stopped another hiker for directions because we kept walking in circles for miles and couldn’t find our way back to the car. Listennnnn Ava was so over our little adventure and I was too by the end of it, but I’m very happy that we did the hike because we got some gorgeous views and it was relaxing to be in nature.

3 hours and 5 miles later, we checked into our AirBnB (this was our first time using AirBnb, crazy right?) in Swannanoa, NC which is about 20 minutes from downtown Asheville. The price was pretty cheap, and it allowed pets (which was hard to find in Asheville) so it worked perfectly for our trip. We then ended our night in downtown Asheville to grab dinner at Tupleo Honey, where we got the best fried chicken we’ve ever had! Literally the whole meal was delicious from drinks to the mac n cheese and mashed potatoes on the side! I highly recommend you stopping here for one of your meals in Asheville. You also get a ton of food so plan ahead for having left overs for the next day.

Day 2 (Friday)

Friday came a rainy morning so unfortunately, we weren’t able to go horseback riding like I had initially planned, but that’s alright because we still had a great day nonetheless. Our first stop was HOLE, which is a local homemade doughnut shop, that has the best doughnuts that I’ve ever had. It’s the cutest little shop, and I love that they do everything in plain view of the tables. You actually get to see them knead the dough, put the doughnuts into the hot oil, and season them based on the four flavors of the day. There’s no glass or anything between you and the employees cooking, which I love that so much! HOLE’s is definitely a place that you need to stop by for breakfast one day.

Next stop was downtown Asheville, the heart of the city, with amazing food options and adorable/unique stores to pop into. I knew that we had to stop by Three Dog Bakery to get Ava’s some doggy treats. The bakery is set up like a true bakery with a glass display with different dog treats; they also offer other things like shampoos, harnesses, dog blankets, and other things. So far Ava has gobbled everything that we bought her so unfortunately no pictures, but she was a happy camper! We then stopped by Bee Charmers to do a little honey tasting at their Honey Bar. You get to taste any of the honeys that are sold in Bee Charmers before you make a purchase, which is great. We ended up buying a jar of the Ghost Pepper honey for Titi, which has a little kick (aka heat) to it and has an actual pepper chilling in the honey.

After an hour of walking downtown, we later drove to the NC Arbetorum, but unfortunately it was still scattered rain so we decided to just go shopping at the outlets down the street instead. Then after walking around the Asheville Outlets, we headed to our chocolate history tour that I booked for us at 4 pm. We toured with the French Broad Chocolate Factory for their 30-minute tours that they do daily. It was a really neat tour and a great chance to see how they make their own chocolates in house.

After the Chocolate Tour, we headed back out to Highland Brewing Distillery for another tour at 5:45 pm. Originally, I had booked the chocolate tour for Thursday, but because we got lost in DuPont State Forest we actually arrived too late to go on the tour. Thankfully they let us reschedule for the following day. The Highland Brewery does a complimentary 45-minute tour that through the entire facility where you can learn about the process of making different alcoholic beverages. You also get to sample beers at the end of the tour. I’m not a beer drinker (Titi is haha), but I had a great time learning more about the process about making beer and the history about the company.

At the end of the tour, we headed back downtown to continue walking around and shopping. There’re so many great little shops that you can pop into and spend hours downtown that I wanted to go back! I eventually got hungry and didn’t have any more leftovers from Tupleo Honey so we stopped at Farm Burgers. I ended up ordering a chicken burger with cheddar cheese with sweet potato fries and a chocolate milkshake, which were delicious. Beware though that you will have to wait in line at Farm Burgers, sometimes up to 30 minutes, just to order!

Day 3 (Saturday)

It’s finally sunning in Asheville, so we booked our horseback riding trials at Sandy Bottom Trial Rides for 11 am. It’s about a 30-minute drive from Asheville, but well worth the distant because on the ride you get to some incredible views of the mountains. Since it had rained the day before, the skies were crystal clear and breathtaking to say the least. This was the coldest day of our trip but add a few layers on and wear a pair of gloves and you’ll be fine. If you’ve never ridden before, they do give you directions on how to navigate the horses, but honestly they were pretty chill.

I’ve actually taken a horseback riding class in my undergrad days in college so I do have experience riding and it was a very chill ride for all levels. My horse, George, didn’t like when any horses passed him, and I was so the most experiences (besides the tour guides) that we had to be in the back. He was a little spicy is all 😂. We only did the 1 hour since Titi has never gone riding before, but he loved it so much that we’ll definitely be back for the longer trial rides.

Our next stop on our road trip back home was Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park, which is a breathtaking monolith ledge that visitors can walk up to see the 75 mile panoramic views of Hickory Hut Gorge and Lake Lure. Listen, make sure you put the right clothes on and bring a water bottle with you because it’s a long way up full of stairs. They do have elevators for anyone who wants to use it, but dogs aren’t allowed on the elevator (only service animals are allowed on). This means for us we had to walk up to Chimney Rock with Ava in tow. It was quite windy when we climbed up, but the views were crystal clear and stunning. It’s well worth the trip up, and I would highly recommend doing one of the trials that are offered.

We were heading back to South Carolina and we were feeling a little sore from our morning horseback riding, so we opted to just head back on home instead.

Places I want to go to next time:

• NC Arbetorum (it’ll be stunning in the spring and summer!) 
• West Asheville Tailgate Market (it doesn’t start back up until April)
• Blue Ridge Parkway (voted one of the best scenic drives in the area)
• Asheville Salt Cave (seems perfect for a spa day!)
• OWL Bakery (this was recommended by an employee at HOLES)
• Pisgah National Forest (the waterfalls and trials look stunning!)

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