We chose Carolina Beach as our base of operations to explore the North Carolina coastal area between Wilmington and Cape Fear during our short weekend trip. It is centrally located for the area and is the largest of the beach towns in the area. It has two major hotels on the beach (Hampton and Marriott Courtyard) and several other minor players off the beach. We chose the Marriott and it was an excellent choice with all beachfront views. Carolina Beach has a new boardwalk and boardwalk shopping and entertainment district that sports many restaurants, bars, and fast food places. The boardwalk itself is still in progress (getting longer every day), and has benches and swings along the beachfront. It is a very nice addition to an otherwise run of the mill beach town. There are many eating venues to choose from, although many were closed for the season while we were there. Every time we visit a place, we try to eat on a budget, but we like to try at least one or two “Local Joints” while there. The town looks like it would be an interesting place to visit in the summer. It has three major points of interest for the photographer on a short weekend and/or the average tourist. I’m sure there are many more if you have the time to get out and explore the town. The Carolina Beach State Park with its marina and docks on the Cape Fear River make for excellent sunset pictures, The Park also boast an excellent campground is you are really on a budget and also has something called the Venus Flytrap Trail that looked like a good place to shoot in the summer. There was nothing to it in the winter. The major place for sunrise pictures is the Carolina Beach pier and the old pilings between the pier and Freeman Park. The pier itself is closed in the off-season. There is a public parking area on the beach side just before the road enters Freeman Park. It is free before and after hours and during winter. It is between the pier and pilings and only a few feet from the beach. Be sure to arrive at first light and try to plan your sunrise visit during low tide. These were the only two locations I shot during our visit, but others might include, the marina and inlet, the city lake in the middle of town, and areas around the Inter-coastal Waterway.
This was our first visit to the area and I would love to return during season. Places to eat were limited due to the off-season but we did try Havana’s for lunch. I was very disappointed as the shrimp basket I got, was shrimp and onion rings that had clearly just been taken out of a box. Havana’s was crowded every night, but we did not return. We heard that the best seafood place in town is Michael’s by the Inter-Coastal Waterway bridge, but we did not have time to try it. We did try a couple of cheap eats that were surprisingly good. The first was Hardees’s and the second was Jersey Mike’s. By far the best place we ate while there was Wake and Bake donuts. This place is like Duck Donuts on steroids, with dozens of mouth watering varieties and any kind of beverage desired. This one is not to be missed. We even stopped in on the way to get donuts for the trip home.
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