Cape Fear Riverwalk

Hi Blog! On Sunday, January 11, 2015, we spent the morning visiting the Battleship North Carolina. After our tour, we drove back to Wilmington, North Carolina to spend some time exploring the Riverwalk along the Cape Fear River. The first order of business was lunch. Eric had asked for recommendations from the battleship museum staff and they unanimously recommended Elijah's on Riverwalk. If the locals say its good, lets go check it out. Here Ginny, Eric and Kathy eagerly await the arrival of their crab cakes.

Having satiated our appetites and quenched our thirsts, it was time to explore. The polar vortex has been following us all the way down from Canada.  It has been months since it had been warm enough outside to go without a coat, hat and gloves.  However, today we almost reached 60 degrees!

The sun is shinning and the sky is blue.  Check out the restaurants along this end of Riverwalk. They all have lots of outdoor seating. Bet it's really crowded in the summer.

Like any good boardwalk, there are lots of fun and interesting shops to check out. Here Kathy cuddles up to one of the locals:

When we reached the end of the boardwalk, we headed up to Front Street for our walk back. Here is the old Cotton Exchange:

At the turn of the century, majestic sailing ships delivered treasures from around the world to the Port of Wilmington. Paddle-wheel boats plied the broad Cape Fear River from Southport to Fayetteville. Cotton was king, and one of the largest and busiest cotton export companies in the world was located in Wilmington. Today, The Cotton Exchange is still an adventure in trade. Eight graciously restored buildings connected by brick walkways, open-air courtyards, and gigantic heart pine beams house 30 unique specialty shops and restaurants, each a charming reflection of the style and feel of Wilmington’s 19th century working port days. Inside the main entrance of The Cotton Exchange are some artifacts from its earlier heyday:

We spent a little time just walking up and down and in and out and all around:

Some sections were really done up --

-- while other areas retained their urban industrial charm:

Back out on Front Street, Dave discovered an old book store called Old Books on Front Street.

It was everything you would hope an old book store would be, complete with a fellow playing the piano:

While Dave shopped for some old book, Eric, Ginny and Kathy found a comfortable place to wait for him. The Orton Pool Room is the only remaining structure from the Orton Hotel, which was Wilmington’s first five-star hotel. The Orton Hotel was built in 1886 and burned to the ground in 1949 leaving only the basement, which contains the pool room -- making it the oldest continually operated billiards parlor in America. The ghost of the only victim of the tragic fire, Willie, is still there, playing pool and having a good time with patrons. When Dave arrived, he did go down to the basement, but Willie the Ghost wasn't home at the time.

Wilmington is still in the process of rehabilitating some of its older buildings. Artists were hired to "decorate" the facades during rehab.  We liked these "sketched-in" windows:

Before long, we were piling back into Eric's Jeep and driving back to the campground. Earlier in the day, Dave and Kathy had taken a coffee walk to check out the campground neighborhood.  They discovered an interesting establishment called:

It occupies an unassuming little house which has been redecorated in white and shades of purple:

We were intrigued by the name - Fermental.  We were even more intrigued by their disclaimer: Beer is good. Very good. We sell and serve lots of it. From 750ml of Oaked Aged Imperial IPAs to craft brewed session ales. If we don't carry it, we can usually find it if it's available in our region.

Special orders are welcome and new arrivals are showing up everyday as we continue to grow.

This sounds like just our kind of place.

What made Fermental unique was that they felt the same way about wine. Grapes are good. Very good. Our wine selection continues to grow with new varietals and labels arriving everyday from $4.99 and up. We stock several small production wines and a growing selection of Mead, Sake and Ports. From Super Napa Cabs and Italian Barolos to an everyday refreshing Pinot Grigio we can satisfy both your taste and you budget. Unsure what to buy? Just ask us and we can find a wine to suit your needs, your palate and your accompanying meal.

You can not only purchase wine and beer here, but you can also taste beer by the bottle and wine by the glass.  We did this and found a cozy corner to sit and sip.  We really enjoyed the clever way the owners repurposed the bedrooms, and even the kitchen, as little mini-lounges for people to sit comfortably while they talk and taste.  Several young people were on their laptops.  Some other couples were caught up in their own conversations.  Others strolled through the house and broused the wines that are displayed in racks on the walls of every room:

It is very hard, actually, to find a place that doesn't discriminate between wine and beer.  For us, it is not "either-or," but "both-and." Finally, a place to kick back and relax, sip some wine and beer, chat with your neighbors, and shop until your wallet is empty.

And so ends another day of RV adventures.