Wilmington did not disappoint. I finally made it to this port city on the coast of North Carolina and fell completely under its charms.
While I could have happily spent my time just strolling around the Riverwalk and the 230-block historic district, we kept busy with a guided kayak tour, horse-drawn history tour, a sunset cruise on the Cape Fear River and dining at many of the local restaurants where we indulged in our love of seafood.
Highlights were our stay at the C.W. Worth House, a Queen Anne-style home built in 1893, and paddling to the Diminishing Republic. Here are more highlights of our visit to Wilmington, North Carolina.
Staying at the C.W. Worth House
You have plenty of accommodations to choose from when staying in Wilmington – bed and breakfasts, boutique hotels and beach vacation rentals. For our visit, the historic C.W. Worth House was perfect.
This 1893 Queen Anne-style home has seven bedrooms, a wraparound front porch, gardens in the backyard and large, airy common areas.
I loved our room, the Louisiana, at first sight because of its blue-and-white color scheme and beautiful tiled fireplace. We also had a desk, dresser, table and chairs, mini fridge, small couch and TV. The location was ideal as we could easily walk to all the restaurants and to the Historic District.
Two features I love with a bed and breakfast are 1. The breakfast and 2. Happy Hour, if available. C.W. Worth House delivered on both counts. A daily hour-long wine reception often features local wines and is a nice welcome back after a day of sight-seeing. The inn is owned by Jeff Mason and Jen Blomberg, with Jeff serving as our host for Happy Hour and Jen as the chef for breakfast.
Breakfast is served daily from 9-10 a.m. and features dishes such as yogurt with fruit, baked eggs, quiche and French toast. The blueberry muffins we had one morning were the best we’d ever had and Jen graciously shared the recipe. I’ve made them several times to rave reviews.
A history tour and strolling around the Historic District
I admit to being a little hesitant about horse-drawn carriage tours out of concern for the health of the horses. But on our history tour with Springbrook Farms, we learned the horses are rescue horses bought at auction from Amish farmers. The company does not make money on the tours as it uses the proceeds to pay for caring for the horses.
Lindsey, our tour guide, led our hour-long tour through several of the streets of the Historic District, sharing stories of the city’s past and pointing out some of the historic homes. It was a relaxing way to learn more about Wilmington’s past.
Touring the Bellamy Mansion
(Photo courtesy of Wilmington and Beaches CVB)
We took a self-guided tour of the Bellamy Mansion Museum of History & Design Arts, a 10,000-square-foot home built from 1859-1861 for Dr. John D. Bellamy. The home is beautiful and I enjoyed wandering around the rooms although these tours are always tinged with the sad knowledge that these homes were built and maintained by enslaved people.
(Photo by Jan Schroder)
The most fascinating part of the property was the slave quarters behind the home. While most slave quarters I’ve seen were in rural areas, made of wood and in various stages of dilapidation, these are made of brick. Apparently, this type of construction was common in cities, but with very few of them remaining. The building, which contains four sleeping quarters, has been restored.
When John Bellamy was nine years old, his father died, and he inherited 21 enslaved people. At one point he owned 115, with nine working at the Bellamy Mansion.
Sunset cruise on the Cape Fear River
(Photo courtesy of Wilmington and Beaches CVB)
The weather was perfect as we boarded the Henrietta for our 1.5-hour sunset cruise with Cape Fear River Boats. I always love getting out on the water and seeing a city from a boat gives you a new perspective.
We cruised past the Battleship North Carolina, a restored battleship that is moored across the river from downtown Wilmington. Guided tours of the ship’s nine levels are available. We also sailed past the Live Oak Bank Pavilion, an outdoor venue where I’d love to see a show. Just before we docked I spotted some beautiful floating homes, which I learned were The Cove Riverwalk Villas, 35 stationary two-bedroom houseboats that are available on Airbnb.
Our sunset cruise was a relaxing way to learn more about the city and see some the city’s magnificent homes from the river.
Dining on seafood, and more, at local restaurants
Always up for downing dozens of oysters, Chris got to indulge in them our first night at dinner at PinPoint Restaurant. This critically acclaimed restaurant has a menu that changes nightly with food sourced from local farmers and fishermen with items like pork tenderloin, seafood pasta, steaks and fried chicken. The light-filled décor features hardwood floors, a white painted ceiling and brick walls.
There were more oysters for Chris to enjoy at Rx Chicken & Oysters, a sea-to-table restaurant where they farm their own oysters and catch their fish. But they leave the chicken harvesting to others. In addition to oysters, we tried the pimento cheese with biscuits and smoked ham and ½ fried chicken with collards mac and cheese and mashed sweet potato grits. All seriously yummy southern food.
On our last night we ate dinner at a restaurant just a few blocks from our bed and breakfast – Olivero Kitchen & Cocktails, which opened in 2023 in a building from the 1940s. I loved the red brick walls, high ceilings, blue-and-white wallpaper and paintings.
The New Orleans and Mediterranean-inspired dishes include grilled octopus, tortellini with braised beef cheek and grilled fish. The concept is from a James Beard Award-nominated chef, Sunny Gerhart, a Best Chef Southeast semi-finalist.
Paddling on the Intracoastal waterway on a guided kayak tour
Chris and I jump on any chance we have to get out on the water, especially on a kayak. One morning we headed to Wrightsville Beach, one of three beaches easily accessible from Wilmington, for a guided kayak tour with Wrightsville SUP.
Sunny and clear, the weather was perfect for our trip and we set out with our guide who took us on the Intracoastal Waterway past hotels and beautiful waterside homes.
(Photo by Jan Schroder)
He signaled to us to pull over on a tiny island, which we learned is called Palm Tree Island or the Diminishing Republic. It has a fake palm tree, an American flag and a parking meter and apparently is a well-known gathering spot for locals. We took a closer look at the parking meter and saw the famous lyrics from the Joni Mitchell song “Big Yellow Taxi” – “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
It was a great place to rest a bit and watch boaters go by on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Exploring Carolina Beach by bike
After hopping on bikes at Tony Silvagni Surf School we set out to explore Carolina Beach, weaving through some of the residential areas on our way to Carolina Beach Lake Park where we cruised around on the bike path and checked out the 11-acre freshwater lake.
After leaving the park, we cycled toward the giant Ferris wheel to the Carolina Beach Boardwalk where we hopped off our bikes to experience the old-fashioned charm of the shops, restaurants and arcades. This is the place to try your skill at games, indulge in hot dogs and fudge and buy souvenirs.
The third beach near Wilmington is Kure Beach, which is where you’ll find the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher and Fort Fisher Recreation Area.
Strolling through Airlie Gardens
It’s not every day you see an almost 500-year-old live oak tree. The Airlie Oak at Airlie Gardens dates back to 1545 and was just one of the delights we saw in the 67 acres of gardens.
We strolled in and out of several gardens, thankfully shaded by several trees along the path. Fans of “Dawson’s Creek” may recognize the Pergola Garden that has served as a filming location. Apparently, it is prized for its romantic setting as we saw a wedding there on the Tuesday afternoon that we visited.
My favorite stop was the Minnie Evans Sculpture Garden and Bottle Chapel. The Bottle Chapel is made of wire, wooden posts and other humble materials, and filled with pieces of colorful bottle glass that form images that include apple trees, fish and cowboy boots. I spent several minutes wandering through it and was lucky enough to sit and enjoy it on my own for a while.
For more information on Wilmington, visit Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau.
– Jan Schroder, Editor-in-chief