CAPE FEAR, THE INNER BANKS

Long-awaited days at the beach.  I picked Wilmington, NC, because a lot of rescue friends live close by, a friend from CT is moving there next year and it was only a five-hour drive.  This is Oak Island.  We went specifically to see the lighthouse.  It would be fun to do a coastal NC lighthouse tour one day.

It's not the blue waters of the Gulf in the Panhandle, but I'll take it.  The beaches were quiet and the historic downtown of Wilmington was very nice.  

My friend Vickie met me Sunday night to have dinner on the pier of the Oceanic.

After dinner we took a walk on the beach and sat and talked for a while.

The next morning we had quite a few coffee shops to choose from, but dog rescue people can't pass up a coffee shop named Java Dog!

Dogs are welcome.  This Akita did not look impressed with the coffee, though.

A nice morning stroll with coffee along the Cape Fear River on the riverwalk.

Downtown Wilmington reminds me of Asheville, but on the water.  A young town with lots of unique shops, more bars than restaurants.

We walked around the historic residential district looking at old houses and gardens.  I think I could live here.

We met up for lunch with one of Vickie's sons, Marshall.  He has his own clothing line that is taking off.  He is a very nice guy.  He was trying to show me ways to adjust my camera for better photos, but I've forgotten it all! Yes, storms rolled in and they were bad as you can see from the clouds behind them. The breeze felt pretty nice, though!

A shot from the car going over a bridge looking down on marshes.  I thought the trees were really neat.  I think taking photos while driving is probably as bad as texting while driving.

On my way back I stopped to meet Gina and her daughter Amber, transplants from NJ,  who just adopted Willow.  I was so happy they kept the name because the rescue let me name her.  Willow on the other hand would not let me pet her and would sneak behind me to get a sniff of my dogs.  

Oh, and another reason to go to Wilmington, I sold my bed!  The lady stays in the mountains for the summer, but lives in Wilmington, so since I was coming her way, I loaded it in the car and it is history and it paid for my vacation!