Wilmington, North Carolina

About 7:30 or 8 pm we reached Wilmington, very much ready to get out of the car. Driving into the city is pretty cool – lots of bridges and water, some great views of the Cape Fear River. Wilmington sits on a stretch of land between a river and the Atlantic Ocean, which makes for an interesting aesthetic and a unique culture. My first impression is that it is a mix of quasi-formal southern and laid back beach town. For example, at dinner at Elizabeth’s Pizza we were greeted with a “Are there just two of y’all?” but saw people wearing board shorts and slippers (not to mention the first set of blond dreads we’ve seen since Kailua).

Dinner itself was pretty funny, beginning with the people and the decor. The first thing we both noticed was a very loud, drunk lady walking in the parking lot and then into the restaurant. We worked out over dinner that this person must be Elizabeth. She remained loud and drunk throughout our meal. Our waiter – like all of the male staff members – wore a ridiculous fedora (one assumes in an effort to make more authentic one’s NY/Italy-in-NC experience) and a black button-down shirt and grey and black pinstriped apron to match. The walls were wallpapered/painted with Venice-esque scenery and a series of slow-moving (back-and-forth, not oscillating) rattan fans hung from the ceiling.

The food was also pretty funny: Enormous helpings of greasy, mostly disgusting food, including jalapeno cheese fries, meatball sandwich with even more fries, and the largest portion of gnocchi I’ve ever seen. It hit the spot, but left us both feeling completely full and a little bit nauseous.

We’ve basically decided that Day 73 will be the laziest day of the trip. We’re going to spend most of our remaining time in the Wilmington area. The city is a good mid-point between Atlanta and DC, close to several beaches, sightseeing, and tourist infrastructure, and the sunny-by-day-and-cooler-at-night climate we both like. Also, staying here will allow us to avoid the packing-unpacking charade of which we’ve both grown exhausted. In other words, we have time to see what we want to see and don’t need to be in any rush. Plus, we need the rest and time to chill.

Anyway, we spent our first few hours of the day watching the Swedish version (Hollywood also has one in the works, apparently) of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” An entertaining two hours, but we have several complaints, beginning with the casting (not how we pictured Blomqvist, among others) and some of the choices made converting the book to a screenplay. “There were so many holes in the plot, I’m not sure non-book readers could follow it,” said a very worried LVL. She’s right to worry.

About 1 pm we finally ventured out for something to eat. Indochine, a Thai/Vietnamese place on Market St. (the main drag running East-West through town), a few miles from our hotel, was the pick. The online reviewers were right. The setting itself was really cool. The dining room was overflowing with authentic (looking) stuff, from birdcages and other things hanging from the ceiling to thick wood doors covered with intricate carved wood and copper and tons of masks and dolls. The food was also pretty decent, at least to me. We started with shrimp/crab shumai, a personal fave and oddly, somewhat of a rarity on most menus. Though not the best ever, it was nice to get it. My cold noodle dish with fried bits of chicken and pickled veggies hit the spot.** LVL’s automatic Thai order, tofu pad see ew was not the best she’s ever had.

After we finished eating we took a quick stroll around their outdoor seating area (clearly way too hot for any rational luncher to want to eat out there), which was great. Several pagoda-shaped structures of varying sizes circled a little courtyard, along with a narrow koi pond and several big wooden statues. Almost worth eating there just to check it out.

After lunch, we retreated to our hotel room and its blasting AC. Hot and humid + semi-road weary travelers = afternoon spent chilling inside, regardless of what’s out there to be seen.

Hungry again, must venture out. This time to a place called The Basics, a soul food place in Wilmington’s historic district, steps from the Cape Fear River. “Downtown” area pretty quiet on a Tuesday night. The Basics was almost empty, maybe because they were out of everything on the menu. Literally the three things that I wanted to order were very casually scratched off the list by our waitress, so I settled for a fairly pedestrian shrimp and grits. I know that sounds totally snobby, but it wasn’t that good and in no way comparable to the shrimp and grits I had in Tupelo. The crabcake that started our meal was good though, as were LVL’s mac and cheese, asparagus, and seafood crepes (all appetizer-sized, FYI). Our molten brownie dessert thing (part of a three-course combo deal) was also very much worth our while.

** From the menu: “Bun Thit Nuong: Choice of grilled beef, pork, chicken or cha gio marinated in soy served over cold rice noodles, mixed w/shredded cucumbers, carrots and basil, topped with our spicy dressing and crushed peanuts.”

Perhaps it's the heat. Perhaps we’re tired. Perhaps it is because we’re nearing the end of the road. Perhaps it's a good thing that we’re nearing the end of the road. One way or another, tension is high, tempers have flared. About 9:00 am we jumped right back in to what has been a very up and down few days in Wilmington.

Anyway, breakfast at Sweet and Savory Bake Shop, a bakery/diner on the road headed toward Wilmington’s primary beach, Wrights Beach. This place may be my favorite breakfast stop of the summer. We shared the best bear claw I’ve ever had** before our “main courses” arrived. Bacon, egg, and cheese English muffin sandwich for me, salmon/spinach benedict for LVL. All great. I think this might be my favorite breakfast place we’ve been to all summer. I’d go back again tomorrow, for sure.

From there a quick trip to Wrightsville Beach to check out the town and the water. Charming if not pretty typical beach town. Beautiful, wide, white sand beach. We didn’t get in the water or stay long enough to do more than take a peek, but we’ll no doubt be back, especially now that we have a beach tent. LVL spent part of the afternoon driving around town finding it, and Wrightsville is the perfect treeless/shadeless place for it.

About 3 pm, LVL back from shopping. More down than up, so we decided to split up for the afternoon. LVL stayed put while I went to check out the city and some of its highlights. Stopped first to check out the Cape Fear River and Pier. The city is in the process of remaking the “historic” downtown area in its 19th Century image, and has already converted several of the streets to cobble stone. The buildings are mostly red brick and many of them have signs and/or short histories posted nearby.

Though Wilmington was no doubt part of the Confederacy, and served as a key blockade point, the city seems to have a good deal of pride in the fact that it was an important stop on the underground railroad. Pretty amazing to read the stories and think about the last 150 or so years in Wilmington, and our country for that matter. The South is an interesting experience, every time I’m here. Some places (and people) seem to be (or at least long to be) still fighting the Civil War. Others appear to be merely trying to deal with the reality of their history. One way or another, race, slavery, Jim Crow, and the remnants of those years are palpable, at least to me.

After a short walk, I stopped at Dock Street Bar and Grill for a beer and some boiled crawfish. No frills, and tons of island tunes, courtesy of the “Margaritaville Station” on the radio. Surprise, surprise, several Buffet songs on the set list. In spite of that, a very relaxing, good meal. Some reading, people watching, and lots of peeling and head slurping. Just the kind of thing LVL won’t mind having missed.

The CF Pier runs along the water for about half a mile, past several restaurants, bars, and cruise ship sales offices. The pier offers a good view of the river, the Cape Fear Bridge, at least one big air craft carrier, and several cruise ships or varying sizes. Strolled along the water for half an hour or so, trying my best to avoid the hot sun. Kent Haruf novel provided decent if a bit incongruous company.

Took a short drive from the downtown area to Greenfield Lake, Wilmington’s non-river, non-ocean, water attraction. The lake is shaped like an amoeba and sits in a residential area on the south side of town. It’s about 5 miles around and accessible from countless points on the road that runs beside it. Thick trees surround the water, from most of which hangs light green/grey Spanish moss. Bright green algae covers most of the water. Steamy, overgrown, serene spot.

Mostly serene, except for the monster alligator floating less than 100 feet from where I parked the car. As soon as I got to the water’s edge I saw the eyes and large head of what I would guess was a 10-12 foot alligator lounging in the water about 50 feet from where I was standing. Couldn’t really get any good pictures as it stayed mostly underwater, glided around a bit, but mostly didn’t really move much in the 20 mins I watched it. One exception: at one point it lifted its 3 ft long head out of the water and snapped its jaws, maybe to get a bug or something. With my heart in my throat and adrenaline pumping madly, I fast walked away from the lake. No real danger, but it didn’t matter.

Home safely, LVL and I back on good terms, we chilled/blogged for a while and then stepped out for a late-ish dinner at Hieronymus Seafood. Big place, with lots of typical seafood joint decor, including a huge marlin, pictures of lighthouses and sunsets, etc. and glass topped tables under which shells, dead seahorses, sand dollars, etc are spread out under glass. Oh, not to mention headshots (many of them signed) of local/visiting celebs, including Trot Nixon, Lou Gossett Jr., Nick Nolte, a very young Nick Cage, and many other hilarities.

Gluttony nonpareil: Crab dip, she crab soup, and a side salad, all before scallop fra diavlo (extra spicy) for LVL and the steamer platter for me. The steamer platter – clams, mussels, shrimp, and snow crab legs (two clusters, the second of which was included to make up for the missing oysters, lost somewhere in the sludge of the BP spill) – was huge, tasty, and quite a bit of work. LVL finished her order about 30 mins before I did. Both left absolutely stuffed and in great spirits, despite having spent much of our dinner forced to listen to the very talkative, heavily latin accented, know-it-all, business dude lecture his much younger colleagues (?).

** Not that I’m that much of a BC connoisseur, but real slices of apple stuck between something like a pie crust, covered with icing? Serious bear claw.