“You have as many lives as you have possibilities.”
-Matt Haig, The Midnight Library
Day 1:
Through a previous coaching class I met a gal named Katy. We were placed in the same peer coaching group and quickly learned that we were kindred spirits and that she lived nearby to some friends of mine in North Carolina. Fast forward to arriving in North Carolina for vacation- Katy and her husband picked My Best Favorite and me up at the airport and took us to lunch in Raleigh at Transfer Food Hall. We feasted on various cuisines and chit chatted about gardening, books, coaching, and so much more. Our chat continued as we travelled to Wilmington where we were to be dropped off with our friends. I’m certain there will be more meetups with Katy and her husband in the future and I’m incredibly happy to have finally met them in person.
Our first night with our friends Megan and Peter included an insanely filling and delicious homemade dinner of King Arthur Baking Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza (supreme and Hawaiian), salad, and roasted strawberry balsamic ice cream. Oh, and wine!
#YasQueen
Day 2:
The four of us journeyed down to Carolina Beach State Park for a leisurely hike. We enjoyed seeing the native Venus flytraps and pitcher plants that grow only on this area. Within this one trail you go through coastal sandhill forest/pine barrens to coastal evergreen forest that leads to the Cape Fear River then to swamp/Cyprus/gum forest.
We enjoyed a yummy seafood lunch at Fish House Grill that had delicious lemon-pepper fries and peel-and-eat shrimp!
Naps, Bojangles, Wes Anderson, board games and MLS rounded out a terrific day!
#Orthogonally
Day 3:
This day our job was beach.
We beached at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and surprisingly it wasn't crowded for Labor Day, but was quite pleasant in the morning. We enjoyed picnic lunch then came home for more naps, cookies, and games before heading out for dinner.
Dinner was at Poe's Tavern. We indulged in good burgers and drinks with really cool Poe themed names. Plus the bathrooms were also decorated with pages from the works of Poe and had an audio book of "The Raven" playing. For bookish people it's a must visit!
We ended the night with a walk on Wrightsville Beach and a 2000s Pandora radio sing-along.
#DoYouDareMe
Day 4:
It was too hot to walk the Wilmington Riverwalk long, so we escaped the heat and visited a bunch of shops at The Cotton Exchange including Momentum Distillery where we sampled the goods (Lemoncello, Orangecello, Rum, and Whiskey) all for free. It was a nice pregame for lunch.
We had the best lunch of our whole trip at The German Cafe. Not only was the food reasonably priced it was very authentic. We chowed down on German potato salad, Reuben, roast beef sandwich with au jus, knockwurst with sauerkraut, and a schnitzel sandwich. Of course there was Oktoberfest Bier and we finished the meal off with a wonderful cherry strudel.
We continued down Front Street where my Best Favorite joined team Chaco with a purchase at Outdoor Equipped. We also made some purchases at Old Books on Front where our bookish hearts were doing a happy dance and then ended our day with our second gelato stop, this time at Gelarto. They ship it in right from Italy and the flavors were incredible. We tried pistachio, ricotta, blood orange, and honeysuckle.
Until next time.
Here’s to living all the possibilities, good friends, big hats, bags of books, and Chacos.
