jhedrick

I will be in Wilmington NC for a wedding next March, and am looking for ideas of things to do in that area. We will have a rental car, so road trips are not out of the question. We already plan on going to the lighthouses in the area, but not sure of what else we can do. Thought about going into South Carolina, but not sure. Thanks in advance!

suthurn

Here's info on the lighthouses hosted at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/nc.htm The Raleigh newspaper ran a nice story this past Sunday. (Link may require registration. Be sure to check the addiitonal photos.)
http://www.newsobserver.com/438/story/465790.html
Fun fact: Volunteer lighthouse keepers get to live in the keepers' house on Cape Lookout.

I've spent only one weekend in Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach, and did absolutely nothing there and had a great time. Perhaps someone else can offer more suggestions.

Golf in Pinehurst/Southern Pines or in Myrtle Beach! Beaufort NC is a charming small old town with good B&B's & restaurants. Tryon Palace in New Bern was a good history lesson. Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point are nearby if you want to spend time on military bases. The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill Triangle is 2-3 hrs from Wilmington and goes insane for basketball in March - you have been warned.

edited to clarify that the volunteers don't get to live in the lighthouse

etch5895

NC in March shouldn't be too bad weather-wise. Generally warm days and cool nights at that time of year. If you or your party are history buffs, the Battleship USS North Carolina is a local attraction. There is also a good sized marine aquarium at nearby Fort Fisher. Wilmington also has a downtown district with all the usual bells and whistles of a small-medium southern town.

BamaVol

March might be a little soon for the beach, but Wilmington is an interesting city, a sort of mini-Charleston. If you like to eat, you can find fresh seafood. If you like to catch it first, that's possible too. If you like to play golf, there are good courses across the state. March will be Spring - there will be a profusion of flowers; azaleas, tulips, wisteria - there are gardens that can be visited. I'm pretty sure Wilmington has a tourist board whose website you can visit.

ContinentalFan

Welcome to FT! Have you visited the Asheville area? It is very beautiful.

VA747

I'm sorry BamaVol, Wilmington is an interesting city with great charm and great seafood, but not a mini-Charleston. I know Charleston well and there is SO much more there. North Carolina can be a little colder than "warm" in March....in early March 2004 we drove the whole length of the state with snow on the ground. But the weather can be very changeable. As it is in Virginia....some years we have snow flurries in April, others I have a tan by mid-May.Most of South Carolina is defiinitely warmer than NC in March. Back to the OP's question. Lots of things in NC and SC.... Raleigh-Durham, Winston Salem and the village there, Wilmington and then down into South Carolina. If you like golf go to Hilton Head, not Myrtle Beach, and Charleston, of course....such a delightful city.....history, plantations, restored houses, historic churches and wonderful but expensive shopping. Antiques abound, but are very pricey. New Bern is a perfectly charming city and Tryon Palce and the other restored houses well worth seeing.
Edited to add Kiawah in SC and second the suggestion for Asheville in the mountains....beautiful country.

robyng

March is spring in the south - beautiful flowers - but North Carolina is a bit too far north. South Carolina would be better. You might take a look at a side trip to Charleston (it can be iffy in March - the flowers can be beautiful - but you can get a hard freeze too - which makes flower viewing the next few days kind of dismal - unless you enjoy brown flowers ). Robyn

EWC-JMU

VA747, is this really necessary? Relax a bit. I read BamaVol's description of Wilmington as a "mini-Charleston" as saying nothing more than Wilmington shares some of the same qualities as Charleston, but not on the same scale.

For the record, as someone who is familiar with both cities, I agree with BamaVol. And I will put my fondness for Charleston up there with anyone's.

VA747

I apologize to you and BamaVol if I have offended in any way. My reason for the phrasing in the post was to make clear to someone not familiar with both cities that they would not experience anything like CHS in Wilmington.I stand by that statement with respect to fact not impression or fondness. We could make a list of things and debate this endlessly, but the topograpy and weather alone are immensely different. The Low Country of Charleston is unique to that location geographically. There are so many other differences as well. It is not a matter of scale only.

BamaVol

My feelings weren't badly hurt. I've been to both cities, but don't frequent either. I did not intend to sell Wilmington as a substitute for Charleston, but wanted to convey that it can be explored and enjoyed as opposed to looking for a roadtrip option if one is stuck there for a weekend.

Perhaps I should have characterized it as a mini-mini-shabbier Charleston with other differences as well.

TierFlyer

Gee, aren't we sensitive? I guess that we NC folk can stand a little comparison to those convicts down in Charleston.... :-)

There are many lovely coastal cities with small downtowns available to you for your trip, no need at all to drive 100 miles down two lane roads.

I can also suggest finding a nice B&B and spending a day drinking ice tea and reading a Clyde Edgerton book on the porch in the sun.

Warning: Mint Julieps are not as simple as they sound@

EWC-JMU

Good info so far. Let's keep it up!

jhedrick

Thanks for all the info. We just now need to find a deal on a car, etc. We will be coming from Michigan, so any where we go will be much warmer than where we are coming from.