Sunday, April 30 - Wrightsville Beach and Morris Family Visit

Sunday, April 30 - Wrightsville Beach and Morris Family Visit

Wrightsville Beach had been a docking option for our Wilmington visit but everything was full.  There is  PGA event this week, a One Tree Hill event, and a couple of other things.  Anyway, we decided to go check out the beach.  There wasn't much to the town and parking was awful.  We ended up eating lunch at the one restaurant that had its own parking.  (My shrimp and grits were awesome.)

While we were eating, I realized I had not posted a picture of our awesome UGA t-shirts.  Our cousin Kippie heard me say we wanted UGA shirts to wear on the boat so everyone could see them, and she had them made for us!  WITH "Ellis' Island" on them, too.  Thanks so much, Kip and Jim. 

There wasn't much else to see at Wrightsville Beach, so we headed back to "town."  We did stop at Harris Teeter to get shrimp for supper.  

It was time to be tourists!  Jennifer had bought batteries for her selfie stick, and had way too much fun with it as we tourist-ed. 

We rode bikes to the Bellamy Mansion, a 10,000 square foot antebellum home.  One of it's claim to fame is the Slave Quarter's Restoration.  It was Family Day at the mansion, so we toured for free!

The Kenan Memorial Fountain in the street at the corner of the mansion was designed by the same architectural firm that designed the New York Public Library, and erected to memorialize Mr. Kenan's parents. 

We biked around the historic area, enjoying the different styles of houses, and the deep sense of history. 

Danny wanted to go back to the boat for a beer, but Jennifer insisted we go somewhere fun!  I don't remember the details but the building that housed this brewery was really old!

Jennifer had not ridden in the dinghy, so we launched it and headed for the USS North Carolina, just across the river from our dock.  The ride over was great.  The ride back was SLOW - we were battling the current.  It was still a lot of fun.

 Highlight of the day was a visit from Knoxville (Benington and Cokesbury) friends Betsy, Tracy and Holly Morris and Holly's son Jackson.  Thank goodness Holly had kept us with us and called so we could get together.  What a great visit!  Reconnecting with friends is one of my favorite things about the Loop!