daycation

Summertime and the living is easy..especially if you have a coastal city/beach destination within road trip reach! Our family headed up 40 east and in 2 hours we were at our destination: Wilmington, NC & Beaches

With our little girl in tow, we planned a ‘Sunday Funday’ that included a city tour, a fun children’s museum to explore, good eats galore and playtime by the shore! This was our first visit to this charming Southern city but definitely will not be our last. They have a variety of activities suitable for everyone ! Discover below just how fun our Daycation in Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach was.

Where to Go/What to Eat: Wilmington
Before you get started in any city, I think it is travel savvy to get visitor information. Located at the foot of Market Street, the RiverFront Visitor Information Booth was our first stop. They are open daily..how convenient! The welcoming staff gave us great tourist tools for our visit and even snapped a family photo to celebrate the start of our Wilmington adventure!

Before exploring the historic streets of Downtown Wilmington, voted the #1 “Best Al Fresco Dining Neighborhood” by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, we decided to grab a bite. And since it was Sunday, I said, “Let’s do Brunch” ! The Pilot House, a waterfront restaurant with scenic views of Cape Fear River, is known for its steak/seafood selections and for having the only bar that faces the river. Our daughter enjoyed the kids menu choice of grilled shrimp and fresh fruit , while the seafood lover in me had to have the chargrilled oysters topped with lump crab meat! It was amazing! I also had a half sized ceasar salad with shrimp. My husband enjoyed the French Toast from the a la carte Sunday Brunch menu.If you are foodies like us you must try a dining experience at The Pilot House.

Next we went sightseeing in Wilmingron’s National Register Historic District via a Horse-Drawn Trolley Tour. Dan, our costumed driver, was a funny yet informative tour guide who took us on an unique adventure. We learned some of the rich history of the city and got to take in its beauty and Southern charm. We saw classic architecture, specialty shops, moss-draped live oaks, Wilmington’s historic houses, mansions and more! It’s also nice to know the horses are rescued horses and if you like, you have the option of taking a picture with the horses at the end of the tour.

Having fun while learning is something our #outandaboutAva loves to do. So when we discovered that The Children’s Museum of Wilmington was located in downtown, we walked over for a family play date! There were lots of hands-on exhibits and plenty of opportunities to stimulate our soon to be 5 year old imagination. Her favorite area was the Magnetic Minds Science Center, where she could explore and experiment.I had fun too letting my inner child run wild!

Where to Go/What to Eat: Wrightsville Beach
The beach is always recognized as the ultimate family vacation destination and Wilmington,NC has 31 miles of Island Beaches to choose from making it the #1 reason to visit! We took the easy 20 minute drive from Wilmington across the scenic Intracoastal Waterway to visit Wrightsville Beach.

Spacious and clean, this beach with it’s crystal blue waters was the backdrop for some relaxation and family fun in the sun! Our little one enjoyed collecting shells and playing with her new Wilmington beach ball.We just happened to find parking near public access to the beach close to the newly renovated Crystal Pier. Here are few pics of memories made on the sandy shores of Wrightsville Beach !

A sunset dinner at Bluewater Waterfront Grill was the perfect way to end our day in this beautiful beach town. It is popular on Sundays as they have Live Music on their large patio, so we made sure to get there early. They have an outdoor bar and seating available or you can enjoy dining inside. This restaurant had quite a vibrant dining scene and good food to go with it! Whether you are going for sips and sites or having lunch/ dinner (I highly recommend the coconut shrimp and the filet mignon entree), make sure to get to Bluewater Waterfront Grill.

It was National Tequila Day, so I made sure to order a margarita or two… on the rocks, no salt please !

Cheers to a wonderful daycation in Wilmington, NC! I look forward to future visits and I’m already gathering a list for next time. And with Wrightsville Beach being such a short drive away, you can bet we’ll be back soon !

* These are the latest postcards our daughter will add to her collection 🙂 Thanks for the memories Wilmington,NC !

On Thursday, October 14, 2014, my family and I took one of the inaugural cruises on the Bimini Superfast Ship from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. http://rwbimini.com/bimini-superfast

They only had service from Miami prior to adding a Port Everglades cruise on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We parked the car at the garage adjacent to terminal 21 where it was docked. Check in was efficient and fast. Ship was new, clean and modern. Left on time at 9am. After breakfast and enjoying some dance music entertainment on the upper deck, we arrived at Bimini after a 2.5 hour voyage. We caught the beach club tram. Passengers have the option of staying at the beach or casino all day, but we opted to see the island instead. Since golf carts are the preferred mode of island transportation here, we planned to take one inorder to explore. There are various companies/operators that had carts lined up at the beach club. Most of these carts looked alike.. except one. It was a Rolls Royce golf cart. Imagine that. A Rolls ! It was owned by a company named ABC Cart Rentals. http://instagram.com/abcrentalsbimini or https://www.facebook.com/abcrentals.bimini. This rental was in great condition and fun to drive. After a quick tutorial on the cart, we were off to see Bimini.

We were hungry and a friend of mine in Miami advised me that her aunt owned the famous Edith’s Pizza. Off we went up Kings Highway. Edith’s Pizza is not made like the average pizza. She uses Bimini Bread as the dough. We had her famous Lobster Pizza. It was out of this world good. Set on the water, my daughter went conch shell hunting while we waited for our order. Of course we had a Kalik Beer to accompany it. Perfect lunch. Afterwards we took the Rolls Royce into Alice Town. We checked out Radio Beach and wandered around the shops in the area. We headed back to the Resorts World Resort for some fun in the pool. It was too windy for the ocean but we enjoyed a snow cone at the beach bar. Afterwards, It was time to turn over our keys to the Rolls and head back to the ship.

All in all, a wonderful day trip to the Bahamas. Bimini is a slice of paradise . Make sure you get yourself a piece.