Category Archives: NC Points of Interest

4 Best Date-Night Spots in Carolina Beach

August 19, 2014 openvacadev Leave a comment

Known for its laid back attitude and rocking good times, Carolina Beach offers plenty of spots to turn an ordinary night into a date night full of laughs, great food, and live entertainment. The following are 4 of the best places to visit, from pub-style to fine-dining and everything in between, when hitting the town in Carolina Beach:

HopLite Pub and Beer GardenFor an upbeat good time, check out HopLite Pub and Beer Garden if you’re heading out on a date in Carolina Beach. If you’re looking to share laughs and a couple of cold ones with someone special, HopLite will deliver. This traditional-style pub fosters a friendly, relaxed environment that emits a good vibe throughout. Daily specials and live local music every Friday and Saturday night keep the HopLite bustling. With appetizers, sandwiches, and entrees that mirror your typical Irish Pub, HopLite also incorporates their own specialties, including shrimp & grits and lamb burgers, and features a packed wine list. For more information, click: here.

Havana’s Fresh Island Restaurant

Set in an old 1916 beach cottage, Havana’s is the perfect choice for more of a romantic night out for two in Carolina Beach. The attention to detail is apparent, from the low lighting and soft music, down to the plate presentation. Known for their seafood, Havana’s offers unique specials options, an extensive wine list and the perfect ambience for an intimate one-on-one conversation over dinner. Open year round, join the locals at one of the most popular spots in town, no matter what season you are visiting Carolina Beach. For more information, click: here.

Surf House

For a fun, casual date night, check out Surf House Café and Shop. The frequently-changing menu delivers customers with a seasonal selection of local seafood, taking pride in fresh, healthy ingredients. The laid back, oyster bar atmosphere delivers it as a fun date night spot for a less uptight, more carefree style of evening. Known for their one-of-a-kind hot chocolate and sweet treats, finish off the night with something indulgent. For more information, click: here.

Gibby’s Dock and Dine

Located on the Intracoastal Waterway, Gibby’s Dock and Dine provides a beautiful outdoor water view in a casual, friendly environment…the perfect place for a laid back Carolina Beach date night. This is the only restaurant in Carolina Beach that serves all three meals of the day dockside, it’s the perfect spot for couples looking to spend some time on the water enjoying a meal and drinks, or if you’re coming in by boat, just pull up to the dock and dine! Live entertainment and tropical drinks make it a happening nightlife spot. For more information, click: here.

Next time you’re enjoying a Carolina Beach vacation and are ready to hit the town with that special someone, check out one of these places and create a memorable date night on the North Carolina coast.

NC Points of Interest, North Carolina, Outer Banks

Live Music is Alive and Well on Hatteras Island

June 26, 2014 openvacadev Leave a comment

When I spent some time on Hatteras Island in mid-June, I was struck by how many local restaurants offered live music at varying times during the day and week. We found this to be true in all of the towns that we visited on Hatteras, including Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo (the tri-villages), Avon and Hatteras Village itself.

So, I started to wonder if this was a trend, or if like most homeowners down there, I just don’t get to see my house much during the rental season. If it’s the latter, I’m going to have to change my rental calendar to accommodate more visits in-season to check up on the local music scene, because it was fun.

Just the places we visited that seem to be pretty active in promoting local music down there included StingWray’s (Rodanthe), Watermen’s Bar & Grill (attached to Real in Waves) and the Hatteras Sol Deli and Cafe (Hatteras Village). What was great about these venues was that their entertainment was spread out during the week, for example StingWray’s had several bands on a Wednesday night, Watermen’s had music on Monday, Thursday and Saturday (during check-in rush) and Hatteras Sol had a very pleasant outdoor acoustic show for Sunday brunch. This started me on a search to find and publish what I can regarding the upcoming live music schedule on Hatteras. Here is what I found for approximately the month of July.

There are a couple of restaurants that I have not been able to reach yet (Sandbar Grille, Open Water Grill and Mac Daddy’s) that I am pretty sure also have music. If I get information from them I will update the post.

No shows booked at the moment.

NC Points of Interest, North Carolina, Uncategorized

A Mailbox On The Beach?

June 24, 2014 openvacadev Leave a comment

How cool is this? Just southwest of the resort town and island of Sunset Beach, NC, there is a mailbox on the beach. This creative and artistic relic, called A Kindred Spirit, has been there for almost thirty years now and was started as a tribute to the beauty of Bird Island, where walkers (the beach kind, not the Walking Dead variety) could post reflective thoughts.

This landmark was much harder to get to prior to a storm in 1997 that filled in Mad Inlet, creating a contiguous island with Sunset Beach, just northeast of Little River Inlet.

The mailbox is located a little over a mile from the last beach access point on the southwestern edge of Sunset Beach. The walk down this beach may just be one of the most beautiful you will ever experience – if you love natural, undeveloped beaches.

Once you arrive at the mailbox, tucked into the dune, you will find pen and paper ready for your use. There have been letters written to lost loved ones, funny stories, poems, testaments to the solitude and beauty of the place and wistful thoughts of times gone by. Wouldn’t it be ironic if you had to wait in line to sit on the bench to write your letter about this remote and beautiful place?

So, if you are looking for something out of the ordinary to do while vacationing in or near Sunset Beach, NC, consider a morning walk down the beach to share your thoughts with…well…no one (on this earth anyway). Kind of reminds me of the lyrics to a Moody Blues song – “Letters I’ve written, never meaning to send.”

The questions in my mind are how many letters, poems and introspective thoughts been recorded? Will the contents make it into a book one day? If the walk were 100 yards instead of a mile, would the content of the letters be less poetic?

If you have seen the Kindred Spirit Mailbox and have a story about it, please share. If you are the keeper of the letters and happen to read this post, can you tell us if there is a plan? A blog, with anonymous samples, perhaps?

For more information, here are couple of links:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kindred-spirit-mailbox-in-north-carolina-collects-secrets-from-around-the-nation/

http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/crp/bird-island

Mike