Beaches and Michael Jordan: Welcome to Wilmington

Commissioned in 1941, the USS North Carolina served in every major naval offensive in the Pacific in World War II. She earned 15 battle stars for distinguished service. The ship has been preserved, so you can see it like it was when in active duty.

It was neat to see the bridge with the guns, turrets, mess hall, butcher shop, barbershop, sickbay, bakery, and more. You take your own tour of nine decks. They did a nice job of keeping artifacts in the rooms with old pictures, so you really got a good feel for the place. For instance, the cobbler would have the old tools and other equipment, and then they would have a life-sized poster of a man actually working.

As interesting as it was, it was a lot of walking. You had to go up and down stairs quite frequently. You know those tight staircases with the metal grid stairs you see in the movies? That’s exactly what they were. They were steep and a bit difficult to step on. You’d be in trouble if you wore heels.

I have a disability and problems walking. I also walk with a cane. This tour was definitely not made for me. It was so tough and exhausting. My cane would get stuck everywhere, and it was very easy to lose my footing. I wanted to quit many times, but you had no idea where you were on the ship or how to get out. That was a major flaw. I was lost. Furthermore, there weren’t any people around that could help. I struggled to get myself out of there. It made me wonder, "If there was a fire, what do they do?" I suppose the guys knew the ship back in the day, but what about now? Despite the tour being long, I was happy to see it since I had never seen a ship. But now that I’ve done it, I’m not doing it again.

Once off the ship, there is a small museum that shares the experiences of the crewmembers. There is also a gift shop. The museum is open from 8am to 8pm in the summer and 8am to 5pm the rest of the year. It is located at US 17th and US 42 IN across the river from downtown Wilmington.

The Cape Fear Museum is located outside of the downtown waterfront area. It is the oldest history museum in North Carolina. It was a cute museum, with a lot of it geared toward the younger ones.

There was one exhibit called Waves and Currents: The Lower Cape Fear Story, featuring a model of 1863 Wilmington and a diorama of the historic battle at Fort Fisher. That exhibit was one of the few that were more appropriate for adults. The model was done very well and is very detailed. There is also quite a bit of information to read. I learned that tar and turpentine were big exports, and with their waterways, importing was big business for them. The transportation and agriculture in the region are highlighted in another exhibit called What’s Cookin’ in Cape Fear.

There was an ecology exhibit called the Michael Jordan Discovery Gallery, which features weather and animals. That would be particularly fun for the children. It was fun for adults too! Because Michael Jordan is from Wilmington, they have a special Michael Jordan exhibit displaying some of his personal belongings, like a report card from his school years. It’s a small exhibit, with all of it fitting into one small case.

This is a medium-sized museum focusing mostly on the history of the area, and although there is a lot of information, it is presented in a way that is easy to understand and absorb. If you are planning on visiting more of North Carolina, it gives you a bit of an overview of more than just the Wilmington area.

Hours are Monday through Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sunday 1 to 5pm, closed Monday in the winter. First day of the month, and the first and third Sunday are free. Call 910/341-4350 for more information.

I took a trolley tour of downtown Wilmington from the Wilmington Trolley Co. I proudly admit that I am totally spoiled with great trolley tours in other cities. Because of that, I was completely unimpressed with this tour mainly because of the trolley driver. He sounded like he was reciting a history paper and would repeat things without knowing it. He had absolutely no life to him as we went on this 8-mile, 45-minute tour of Old Wilmington. He made the tour seem like it lasted hours and would never end.

Some of the downtown was charming, with some interesting homes. The historical society has put out signs in front of many of them, which would be very helpful if one were walking the city. The city was filled with historical facts and buildings. The big thing in Wilmington seems to be that many movies are filmed here. The TV program Dawson’s Creek was filmed here, and the driver pointed it out as if it were the greatest highlight of the city.

The downtown area seemed rather depressed, although I heard they were really trying to revitalize it. There were many cute shops and restaurants, but in between them there were many stores up for rent or sale. And there were some very depressed housing areas that we went by where the people had really let their house go. I didn’t feel that including that area on a tour was particularly helpful for the city’s image. It almost seemed like they wanted to point out the poorer people of the city.

The city is not that big, and I would suggest walking the area by foot to visit the historical houses and buildings that are clearly marked. Maps of the town are found everywhere, and it is extremely easy to get around. I’d save my money next time and put it towards one of the riverboat cruises that I didn’t get to try.

The trolley departs hourly from 10am to 5pm April through October, and it departs from Dock and Water Streets

While in Wilmington, I went to a place called Alleigh’s for dinner and evening entertainment. They are located about 10 minutes outside of the downtown area off Market Street and College Road. It’s a 35,000 square foot restaurant and entertainment complex similar to Dave & Busters. They have five different eating and entertainment rooms.

I had a nice dinner at one of the bars while a great jazz band played. This particular area in the complex had a sophisticated atmosphere. My chicken sandwich was wonderful and the friendly bartender served me generous sized cosmos and delicious chocolate martinis. Probably too generous I decided the next day!

I wandered to the outdoor tiki bar for one drink. It was filled with large groups of younger kids drinking mostly beer. The patio area was nice, with a Caribbean theme, and it seemed like a good place for an after-work cocktail or while the sun is setting. I was feeling pretty good after those martinis, so I walked into the arcade to try my luck at some games.

A couple hours and an empty wallet later, I collected my toys that I had earned through their point/ticket system. After all that time and money, I ended up with a bunch of "junk" (cheap toys) for my nieces. That’s what you get when you play after having a couple of drinks!

Besides the areas mentioned, there is a sports bar with 31 TV’s offering live entertainment. There is also a family-style dining room and banquet rooms. I’d bet this would be a fun but expensive place for children and teen birthday parties. It would also be a great date spot because of the variety of things to do. It is open Monday to Friday 11am to 2pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 2pm. Call 910/793-0999.

The Aquarium near Fort Fisher is 20 miles south of Wilmington. The drive was breathtaking because you go by beautiful Carolina and Kure beaches. You drive right next to the water the entire trip. The homes on the beach aren’t fancy; it seemed like they would be affordable, unlike some other beachfront properties. It was very pretty.

The aquarium was large and clean, having opened its expanded 84,000-square-foot facility recently. It features everything from the waters of Cape Fear, like the freshwater rivers and swamps, to coastal waters and the open ocean. I wasn’t blown away here, but it was neat to see all the different sizes and colors of fish. I was on a hunt for a loggerhead turtle, but they didn’t have one. I guess they don’t live around these parts.

They had a "Cape Fear Conservatory", which is a half-acre, glass-covered conservatory with alligators, catfish, and other freshwater animals. It was warm in there, and we had a hard time finding the animals. It gets crowded in there, as well, as there are only paths to walk on.

I did enjoy the "Cape Fear Shoals", which is a quarter-million-gallon marine exhibit with sharks, eels, and more. You could look at that from multiple floors and see different things from different locations. The back provides a window to the Moray Eel Cave.

The aquarium does give descriptions of the types of fish you would find in the different waters. I think it would be very educational and thrilling for children. They also have live presentations in their auditorium, with things like videos and programs. There is a gift shop with lots of underwater-related gifts and an outdoor eatery for quick snacks.

The aquarium is handicapped-accessible, but there are a lot of up and down ramps. I wheeled myself and really had to use my muscles in a lot of places, especially the conservatory. It would be better if you could get pushed.

This was my first aquarium, and now that I’ve seen it, I think it will be my last. It just didn’t interest me very much, and I was bored. But I am recommending it because it was quite beautiful, and I think that most other people will enjoy it. The other people there seemed to like it. It just wasn't the thing for me.

If you do plan a trip to the aquarium, set aside time to go to the beaches on the way. There is also the Fort Fisher State Historical Site, with a Civil War museum, the State Recreation Area, and a ferry to Southport. The aquarium will take about 2 hours to tour, without seeing any special presentations.

When I visited the Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, the temporary display had ended, so I just saw their permanent collection. Their permanent collection filled 10 rooms that included mostly 18th-to 20th-century paintings with portraits and landscapes; American Treasures from NC Museum of Art; The Gilded Age and Decorative Art from UNCW, work of Elizabeth Chant and Claude Howell; and contemporary art from North Carolina artists.

The museum is dedicated to North Carolina art, and almost all of the artists featured had lived in the Wilmington area or the state. One such artist was Minnie Evans. I would consider her work to be fantasy. The museum had a large collection of her work, and her paintings were pretty remarkable, considering she had an untrained hand. It wasn’t my style, but it was interesting to see the video about her life and to see her work. You wouldn’t normally find that in an art museum.

Another artist was Claude Howell, and a number of his paintings were featured in one gallery bearing his name. Claude Howell (1915-1997) was born in Wilmington, and his paintings documented coastal communities and the coastal lifestyle. He used a number of mediums, but each of his paintings had a unique look that was identifiably his own. I thoroughly enjoyed his artwork.

The permanent collection contained a range of work, including paintings, sculpture, pottery, and more. In contrast to the North Carolina artists, there was a beautiful painting called "A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros" from 1880 by Adolphe William Bouguereau. I recognized it immediately, and it was wonderful to see up close, but I wasn’t sure how it related to North Carolina. Then there was the painting next to it, called "Holy Family with Angel Offering Fruit," from 1635, school of Peter Paul Rubens. I remember that one from holiday cards. It was the museum’s oldest painting, as the gentleman volunteer proudly pointed out.

The museum also holds a collection of small prints by Mary Cassatt. Created in 1890, this rare portfolio, called "The Ten", is only one of eight in existence. The museum is quite proud of this collection, as they should be. They also allow this exhibit to travel to other museums.

The museum isn’t very large, perhaps because I didn’t view any traveling exhibits. It took me less than an hour to view the permanent artwork. Their area for those temporary exhibits is quite large, and it seemed they had frequent temporary exhibits come to the museum. They did have some unusual sculptures outside of the galleries, as well as a beautiful stained-glass window on the west side of the building that colored the museum floor.

They are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 10:30am to 4pm. Admission is $7. Food is available in The Forks Restaurant overlooking the sculpture court. The gift shop has an extensive book collection, gifts relating to the museum’s collection, and children’s items. Photography without flash is permitted.