Surf City & Topsail Beach – NC
Okay let’s be honest, when you return from vacation do you immediately start thinking about how you could totally see yourself settled into a new life in that fancy new zip code? I do! 100%! And after a week in Topsail Beach, NC I’m still not sure I’ve convinced my husband I won’t be repacking our suitcases and heading back down South.
This week is our first full one back to reality after an amazing time away visiting my sister in NC and we had an absolute blast! We searched for a few recommendations of kid friendly things to do, but to be honest the beautiful beaches alone are worth the trip! It’s an easy (nonstop) flight to Wilmington, NC which was perfect for us since it was my daughters first time on a plane and my sons first since he was about a year and a half old! We weren’t sure how we’d all fare but they were total rock stars!
I picked up a few tips for the plane when traveling with a toddler and a 4 year old, hopefully if you have a trip coming up they’ll come in handy for you too! I usually raid the dollar store before we travel a good distance in the car, so I headed there for this trip too, I snagged a few new coloring books, a box of crayons for each kid, a little toy that could stow away in our carry on and a few story books we could read on the plane. Since we’d be flying through lunch I also grabbed a bento box for each kid from Target and filled it with a regular balanced-ish lunch so they wouldn’t be snacking on chips & chocolate the whole trip! I don’t know about you but my travel day usually consists of a bunch of food we pick up from the Hudson Market at the airport which is never healthy and more importantly 10x the normal price! By packing their lunch, I knew they’d have at least one real meal before we landed and all snack-hell broke lose. We also picked up a few bags of gummy bears and some lollipops for when their ears popped, which according to my son and his 100 gummy bears his ears couldn’t hear the whole 2 hour flight…It’s super helpful to plan a few screen less activities for the plane, but don’t get me wrong, when all else failed, I most certainly broke out my phone to keep the two of them busy playing games until we were wheels down in NC.
–> Toddler traveling side note, we bought a lightweight car seat for my daughter before we headed out and it was totally a game changer, I can’t image how I could have possibly kept her still if she wasn’t strapped in. We already had the car seat backpack from a pervious trip but her car seat is obnoxiously heavy so the thought of lugging it through the airport was making our back hurts before we even left. By having her belted in her seat traveling with her was a breeze, unlike my 4 year old who was up and down, looking out the window and wiggling all over the place for 1/2 the plane ride.
Once we landed we picked up the rental car and off we went! From Wilmington to the shore it’s a pretty quick drive (about 40ish minutes) although if you’ve ever been in the South you know there’s a really good chance you’ll get stuck behind some sort of farming vehicle that may prolong the drive :o)
Throughout our weeklong visit we ate out a bunch, cooked a bit, and enjoyed a tad more than normal amount of adult beverages but the food at one restaurant I could have eaten for every meal and been totally satisfied, Shaka Taco (insert drooling face here) it was unbelievably good, I’m not even exaggerating when I say they had the *best* fish taco I’ve ever eaten, if you’re ever in the area you can knock off at least 3 or 4 lunches and/or dinners right here! Another great place we ate was the Beach Shop & Grill, it was right in that very seat where I was presented with a way to eat brussels sprouts that never crossed my mind, raw! and mmhmm where they delicious, accompanied by some restaurant-grade moonshine (a little more sophisticated than we drank in college at Clemson football tailgates) and it was a perfect vacation style lunch. We also ate at Mac Daddy’s on the water, where the views were pretty and Coastal Wing & Spirits where a majority of their menu items can be made vegetarian. As a coffee lover I was presently surprised by the abundance of coffee shops in the area, the Daily Grind, which I think my dad may be trying to figure out how to purchase and live in, was really good and Daybreak Donuts were a hand dipped donut experience all by themselves. We also visited unWined, a hip wine bar with a giant patio, conveniently attached to the Daily Grind coffee which means you’re doing your morning coffee and wine night drinking at almost the same place.
We did a lot during our time away but the number one thing I would definitely recommend, outside of a few trips to the beaches, is the The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. It was SO cool, and such an incredible organization who works on rehabilitating and re-releasing as many sea turtles as they can back into the Ocean. We booked a tour a few days before we wanted to go and the slots book up FAST so if you’re planning a trip make sure you secure tickets here in advance, and arrive on time because they are starting the tour with or without you! The whole facility is quiet amazing, although our kids were not the most patient listeners on the tour they did perk up when we enter the pool room in the Sea Turtle Hospital which has about 20-30 pools for all the various turtles to spend their time gaining their strength and preparing for life back in the ocean. The largest turtle there is Snooki who unfortunately is non-releasable due to her head and neck fractures, but weighing in at over 300 pounds she is a beautiful sea creature that is sure to amaze! Take a look at their website Sea Turtle Hospital for more information on tours, the turtles or even making a donation to help these sea turtles get back on their fins living their best lives.
Another cool place we spent a few hours at was the Salty Turtle Brewery, which coincidentally is on the same road as the Karen Beasley Rehabilitation Center. It has a great selection of drinks, a cool outside area and the times we drove by a yummy looking food truck to grab a bite. It’s also across the street from an Ice Cream shop and mini golf so you literally can spend the whole night in one little block, which is precisely what we did!
Of course the number one thing we did while visiting North Carolina, other than snuggling my sweet little squishy nephew, was head to the beach! The beaches there are nothing short of spectacular, and if you’re coming from the South Shore of Massachusetts like we did you may have the same reaction my son did when we walked on the sand oasis “What! Where are the rocks?!” We spent two full days at the beach and they were perfect. We made sand castles, we kicked the soccer ball, we hunted for treasure and we even watched a fisherman catch a giant skate 10 feet in front of us, which then lead me to do nothing more than stick only my toes in the water, but it was exactly the type of relaxing vacation we needed.
We did have one less than ideal weather day which wasn’t the worst thing because we spent it exploring the Airlie Gardens and water front area in Wilmington. The Airlie Gardens date back to the 1880’s when the land was purchased and turned into a 67-ache garden. It has some of the biggest live-oaks I’ve ever seen and magnolia trees everywhere you turn. If you’re interested in visiting you can take a look at their website Airlie Gardens and see what’s in bloom before you go. After we finished at the Gardens we visited the Riverwalk in downtown Wilmington, and I use that phrase gingerly because there isn’t really a “city” in Wilmington like there is in Charlotte. There are however about 20 breweries in the area so if you’re a beer drinker you really have your choice of where you want to go!
Surf City and Topsail beach are most definitely worth a trip, we’ll be headed back whether everyone knows it or not, before too long because I loved every inch of it! It’s hard to beat a trip packed full of family and the beach but this really exceeded all our expectations! My sister was an amazing host (and put up with us for 5 days so she’s also a saint) and helped us see the best there was in the area. THANK YOU!
Oh wait….surprise! I bet you though NC rounded out our trip, BUT we actually decided to surprise the kids with a few nights in Myrtle Beach before we headed back home. Only about an hour and 40 minutes from Wilmington, Myrtle Beach is a vacation destination all by itself. It’s been years since I’ve visited there but we enjoyed our surprise vacation as much as anything! We played at an incredible mini golf place there browsed at Boardwalk by the beach but one of the TOP things was absolutely the aquarium. It was a must visit, there are so many cool exhibits including getting up close and personal with some penguins and a shark tunnel that was quite the sight! Mostly though, we spent the remaining two vacay days lounging by the pool and floated around the lazy river at our hotel for 2 days before closing out amazing week away! 🙂
Until next time NC!!