Sunset Beach, North Carolina

It's only fitting that I start my new blog with my vacation to Sunset Beach, NC.  My family has been vacationing there since the mid 80's.  We fell in love with the place after my cousin John moved to Wilmington and raved about how nice it was.  He was right.  Sunset Beach is a little slice of heaven right here in the USA. It's a long trip from PA so when our kids were little, my dad started renting the beach house for two weeks.  That has allowed us to explore a little.  There are SO many things to see and do there.  Let me give you some highlights in pictures.

The Beach

Long, white sand beach, water temps in the 80's by the end of June, waves that won't steal your swimsuit, no jellyfish, no horseshoe crabs, cooling breezes all day long and no crowds.

The Island

Beautiful and refeshingly not commercial, but close enough to lots of fun spots if you want to leave the island.  Here's a few suggestions:

Have dinner at Roberto's

They have great Italian food, steaks and seafood and it's just minutes away in Ocean Isle, NC

Take a ghost tour!

We've done several ghost tours in the South. This year, we went to Georgetown, SC.  It was about an 1 1/2 drive from Sunset.  First we had a great dinner at Limpin Jane's..

then we took the harbor walk.  At dusk, we took the Georgetown ghost tour with William, a lifelong native and history buff.  His stories were great, some were first hand ghost experiences he and his friends have had.  They were added to the documented stories revolutionary war era to the present.

Work Out

We took a spin class and a group pump class at the Fitness Studio.  They were fun and they helped work off the dinner from Roberto's and Limpin' Jane's!

Visit Southport, NC. 

It's a quaint town on the Cape Fear River.  You can take a tour, shop, or if you are lucky enough to be there over the July 4th weekend.  Run or walk in the Freedom 5K, come to the street festival and see one of the ten best fireworks displays in the nation!

Taste some wine

Visit Grapeful Sisters Winery and campground. Amy will surely give you some great Southern hospitality! Call ahead to get a picnic basket lunch.  Eat and sip wine on the wrap-around porch.

If you decide to take a vacation in Sunset Beach, prepare to go back again and again because you are going to love it.  If you have been there, let me know about some of your Sunset Beach favorites.