Vacation in NC and Jacksonville

[AshyMinx]

In a few days I'm traveling all the way from Australia to see DF in North Carolina for a week. He is in a training school at Lejeune. I'm coming up for a little over a week, and I'm going to be staying in the Jacksonville area. He has a big chunk of time off and we have a car. We want to go exploring.

I'm looking for recommendations of where to go or what to see while I'm there.

Those of you that live there or have lived in the area: what is your favorite sight/restaurant/event there.

I really like Southern cooking and blues music. Recommendations on where I can find either of these will be well received

TIA!

[Roboto]

For Southern cooking, go to Mike's Farm http://www.mikesfarm.com/ It's delicious!

Wilmington is always fun. It's about an hour away. Downtown (near the water) has tons of good restaurants and there is a haunted pub crawl and horse drawn carriage rides and things. It's always a good time.

[bb1982]

The haunted pub crawl in Wilmington is always lots of fun! If you could swing staying a night in a hotel in Wilmington I would definitely do it.

For breakfast, check out the Dixie Grill in Wilmington. There's always a bit of a wait, but it's worth it! There's a really cute, romantic fondue restaurant on Front Street in Wilminton called The Little Dipper that is yummy.

Around Jacksonville- you aren't going to get a lot of great restaurants unless you just love chain restaurants. The Old Siam is a yummy Thai restaurant on 17. The Marina is also a little further down 17 and is on the water but is only worth going to if it's nice enough to sit outside to enjoy the view.

If you want to head the other direction, you can go to Swansboro and walk around. It's a cute, really small town. There's a Mexican restaurant on the water that is good (and has yummy margaritas) and the Ice House is on the water as well and is pretty good.

Emerald Isle would be worth checking out if you want to see the beach. There are a few decent restaurants there as well.

[Roboto]

Holly Ridge and Topsail have some decent restaurants as well. The Thai Grille on NC 50 is super yummy, and I personally like Daddy Mac's on Topsail. Beaufort has a cute historic district, and you can take a ferry ride to Shackleford Banks to see the wild horses roam on the island....but depending on the weather it might be too cold for that.

[AshyMinx]

I never thought of staying in Wilmington for a few days. That's an excellent suggestion!

Tha haunted pub crawl has been twice recommendedso I think I'll have to see what that is all about. I think I'll be hitting up Mikes Grill and the Dixie Grill. I won't be able to get enough grill while I'm there

[bb1982]

the Hilton in Wilmington is right on the water and offers a military discount which is usually significantly less than the regular price. (just depends on when you're trying to go though b/c sometimes they don't offer it at all) That's where we always stay so we can walk to all of our locations.

There's also the Best Western and also some really nice B&Bs. I've heard the Front Street Inn is super nice (but may be a little pricey)

We've lived here for 3 years but still take romantic getaways to Wilmington to stay the night and enjoy the area. I Wilmington. Jacksonville- not so much!

[Roboto]

Originally Posted by bb1982 the Hilton in Wilmington is right on the water and offers a military discount which is usually significantly less than the regular price. (just depends on when you're trying to go though b/c sometimes they don't offer it at all) That's where we always stay so we can walk to all of our locations. There's also the Best Western and also some really nice B&Bs. I've heard the Front Street Inn is super nice (but may be a little pricey) We've lived here for 3 years but still take romantic getaways to Wilmington to stay the night and enjoy the area. I Wilmington. Jacksonville- not so much!

Why aren't you in the Jacksonville girls thread?

[bb1982]

Originally Posted by Roboto Why aren't you in the Jacksonville girls thread?

We're moving to Hawaii next month and I didn't want to confuse people!

[LittleRed]

Things to do in Jacksonville? Do you prefer tittie bars or tattoo parlors?

Definitely go to Wilmington. K and I have toured the USS North Carolina twice now. I think it's a blast.

Agree on Mike's Farm for southern cooking. Our favorite restaurant is in Swansboro - White Oak River Bistro. It's about as close as you can get to a nice restaurant within a 30 mile radius from J-ville. Also on the water, and they have a nice back porch dining area.

Good luck finding any blues anything around. J-ville is very much a military, single guy town. Tittie bars, tattoo parlors, barber shops, and car/motorcycle dealerships.

[AshyMinx]

Hmmmm, I'm starting to rethink my plans to stay in Jacksonville. Pretty sure it's going to be Wilmington now, thanks to you ladies