Battleship North Carolina

We visited the Battleship North Carolina sitting in the Wilmington Harbor. It was Deb's first time on board a ship this size, let alone a military ship.  She was amazed by the narrow steep steps, small quarters, bunks, coolers, and all of the onboard shops, kitchen, dining area, and overall little town inside the hull of this magnificent ship. I tried to get her up in to one of the turrets but she is claustrophobic and couldn't handle the very tight enclosed space.

Below are some of the pics we took while visiting this vessel.

Restaurants in/around Wilmington North Carolina

There are many restaurants in around Wilmington, North Carolina and we tried to get to as many as we could during Deb's days off.  I would get out to the ones I wanted to visit on my own though, since I know she wouldn't want to go to places like Hooter's, but she did go with me once while we were there.  She also went with me on a regular basis to Buffalo Wild Wings that was very close to us in the Porter's Neck shopping area. We like to try out restaurants that aren't chains even though we will still frequent our favorite chain restaurants. If you plan on taking any trips to Wilmington, North Carolina and see any restaurants you would like for us to try out please let us know.  We will be trying out many more once we return to Wilmington, North Carolina in the fall.

Restaurants we have went to are listed below, not necessarily in the order of preference, just listed as I thought of them.

1.  Carolina Crab House - We really enjoyed this place.  They steam up a variety of combo plates of various seafoods along with small red potatoes and serve it up to you in a plate surrounded by a plastic bag. We definitely will go back. This was the first restaurant we went to in Wilmington, North Carolina.

2.  Cape Fear Seafood Company - Great seafood served here as well and the waiters/waitresses are very friendly making sure you have everything you need to enjoy your meal.

3.  KM38 Baja Grill - Mexican cuisine with great margaritas and atmosphere.

4.  Brunches - Wonderful brunch place that serves up Mimosas and various coffee liquor drinks along with a variety of breakfast concoctions. This was Deb's and her coworkers favorite place to meet after a long night of work to wind down and relax before going home to sleep.

5.  Ogden Tap Room - Huge line of IPBs and other popular beers on tap along with a great menu.  I enjoyed a couple of their menu items that come in pairs.  At first I was like who could eat two of those huge beef hot dogs or pretzels but then I found out it wasn't so hard to do and I enjoyed them with my beer.  This place was right across from the Wilmington KOA where we stayed.

I may add more to this post later but for now I want to get it posted so everyone can see where we went to eat besides McDonald's and BW3s(Buffalo Wild Wings).

Wilmington North Carolina KOA

Our stay at Wilmington North Carolina KOA was one of the most pleasant experiences we have had at any campground we have stayed at. The staff were all very kind, helpful, and would do almost anything to keep their guests happy and enjoy their camping experience. We stayed at this campground from December 2021 through April 2022 and plan on going back to stay again in October through March of next year. We saw constant improvements of the campground during our stay.  Cabins were renovated, new concrete sidewalks and site pads were installed, new mulch applied around the campground, and gravel applied to sites to keep them level. Three sites that had new concrete poured also had fireplaces built onto them in addition to the grills, lamp posts, and patio sets that are normally on the high-end sites that make a KOA campground a "Holiday" KOA. On a rating of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best possible rating, I would give this campground a 10 plus. Below are pictures that I had taken around the campground during our stay there.

Holden Beach/Shallotte area Restaurants and Hangouts

 1. At the top of our list was The Cove Restaurant where we enjoyed the atmosphere, the food, and the bar area.  It's where I had my first Samuel Adams Octoberfest and Winterfest beer and enjoyed drinking it for quite a while until they were no longer seasonal.  When they changed the tap to Cold Snap they lost me because I just couldn't get my taste buds wrapped around it. Will have to wait until next year I guess to enjoy the Octoberfest and Winterfest flavors again.

2. Second place goes to the Wings & Fish Company in Shallotte, just a few miles up the road.  Great range of beer and also had great food.  Servers were also very friendly and communicative.

3. Third place goes to the Provision Company where you order your food at a counter on the way in and pick up your drinks. Really enjoyed their seafood and atmosphere.

4. Fourth place goes Jerome's Steak and Seafood. We had the buffet there which was really great with a wide assortment of food.

5. Fifth place goes to Mermaid's Island Grill. Another order at the counter on the way in and they will bring it to you.

Holden Beach RV Campground

We stayed at Holden Beach RV Campground when we first got to North Carolina because it was close to the next travel nursing job that Deb was supposed to work at Brunswick hospital.  About an hour before we got to the campground Deb was notified her contract was cancelled because they hired someone locally to fill the position.  We stayed at Holden Beach RV campground for about a month before we moved to the Wilmington KOA in Wilmington, NC where Deb was hired onto after finding out she didn't get the Brunswick hospital job.  Below are a few of the pics we had taken while staying there.

In the above pic Bella is watching squirrels run around

Above pic shows our "floating lights" on the temporary fence we put up

Motor home all lit up as dusk approaches

Pic above and pic below are of the first site we were placed on

While I don't have any pics of the ladies that handle the office check in desk I have to say they were all very friendly, understanding, and very helpful.  They were so helpful that we decided to give them all a Christmas tip in cash to divide amongst themselves.

We really enjoyed our stay there up to a point to where there was a miscommunication between the owners and the rules limiting the number of dogs one could have and whether or not a temporary fence could be set up.  Once that was brought to light we decided to move on to another campground which was closer to where Deb was working anyway.  It was an hour drive for her to drive to/from work from Holden Beach RV Campground.  Deb works 12 hour days and the drive to/from work made it a 14 hour day for her, so we had to move anyway.

I will add there are more campsites going into the back of the Holden Beach RV Campground but it is a field they are converting and they will need to make sure they add trees to shade the sites, otherwise the sun will bake the RVs and air conditioning will have a hard time keeping up.

There is another campground going into the Holden Beach area along the road on the way to Shallotte that was being built while we were staying at Holden Beach RV Campground.  This new campground will also have to plant trees in order to shade the RVs during the hotter months.  There was no name nor sign up for that campground but it is near the golf range practice area off to the left as you travel towards Shallotte from Holden Beach.

Various Campsites We Stayed On At Elkhart Campground

First camp site

Second camp site

Third camp site

Fourth camp site

We moved for the convenience of the campground due to already reserved sites we were on.  So, we ended up on 4 different campsites overall while at Elkhart.

Wind Damage to Elkhart Campground Trees

While at Elkhart campground we experienced firsthand the damage winds could do to the trees and near misses of having trees falling onto the RVs staying there.

The image below shows a canopy someone left out that was caught up in wind