WILMINGTON & WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH 🌴⛵️ Downtown, Riverwalk, Cargo District, & More!

This is the good life, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh This is the good life, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh Out in the sunshine, nothing but good times This is the good life, this is the good life, oh-oh-oh What's up guys? What's up guys? We are on another adventure, another coastal adventure, and we're so happy to show you guys what all we're getting into. So we're on the East Coast and we are in Wilmington, North Carolina. We arrived about two days ago and we got here to our stay here in Wrightsville Beach actually, which is about 10-15 minutes outside of downtown Wilmington. So we checked into our stay, the Trailborn Surf and Sound, and it is absolutely stunning. We just gotta live in the moment Blow your Monday, let's just go for it Pack your bags and I'll grab the door We'll head straight for the sun I've been thinking we should get away, get away Leave our troubles for another day, another day Gonna take you to a sunny place, sunny place I just wanna be with you I've been thinking we should get away, get away Let our worries all fade away Fade away Gonna take you to a sunny place, sunny place I just wanna be with you Roll down the window In the strawberry summer breeze Close your eyes and let go Breathe in the blue sky energy Don't you wanna live in the moment Blow your Monday, let's just go for it Pack your bags and I'll grab the keys We'll head straight for the sun I've been thinking we should get away, get away Leave our troubles for another day, another day Gonna take you to a sunny place, sunny place I just wanna be with you I've been thinking we should get away, get away Let our worries all fade away Guys, this place is unbelievable. It's truly so beautiful. They've done an incredible job. They actually just celebrated their grand opening last week. It was a different hotel that they transformed into this beautiful stay, Surf and Sound. And they have knocked it out of the park. Guys, this place is aesthetically pleasing as it gets. It is so beautiful inside and out. They've got the grounds and the grounds are so beautiful. Everything is like so picturesque, a picture spot everywhere you turn. It's like a mix of New England and also Amalfi Coast vibes. They've done such a great job of putting this really modern, beautiful twist on a coastal feel. And it's just so perfect. So they have a stunning loft area where you can relax and hang out. They have a beautiful restaurant called La Duna Paradiso. And we get to try that out as well for breakfast and dinner. And then the rooms are incredible. They are so spacious, so perfectly designed, and they've got everything you can think of. Yeah, I love how they've leaned into the surfing and coastal vibes because they have all these really cool surf magazines and surf books and everything in the lobby and in the room. And it's really cool. Something that I've really loved about this place too is that they offer the opportunity for you to book experiences through the hotel. So if you're interested in finding something to do, they do offer sailing lessons, sunset sailing cruise, paddle boarding, surf lessons, literally so much. So many options, which are so fun and adventurous. And then they also have exclusive experience like in-room camping. Yes. So many fun things, movie nights. So you can book experiences here, which is really fun. I thought that was so cool. Yeah, they literally do it all. And it's so amazing. A lot of really fun, unique experiences here. But yeah, so we did arrive a couple of days ago. When we got here in the evening, we ended up getting ready to head to downtown Wilmington to grab a late night bite to eat at Slice of Life Pizzeria. So good. So good, guys. You guys, when they say Slice of Life, they mean it because that pizza is huge. I'm telling you, the slices were the size of my head. And honestly, you can order just individual slices, which is probably what we should have done. But I think we should have done that. But we ended up getting a whole pizza and literally it was the size of like both of our heads. It was the size of the table. But amazing and really cool that they stay open late for you to come and get some food. And then after that, we ended up just walking around downtown Wilmington for a short time before we came back to our place to crash for the night. We had a busy first day exploring Wilmington. Oh, I'm wanting it, please. I never thought I'd find myself going dazing in the morning, daydreaming away. And I said, I've got to find a way. Like a wish in a way. Kissing on ten spaces and people's fashion and airplanes crashing. Oh, what a beautiful feeling. So we just made it in from our first full day exploring Wilmington and the Wrightsville Beach area. So earlier today we woke up and we actually just headed right down the road here in Wrightsville Beach over to Drift. So this is a great breakfast brunch slash lunch spot here in Wrightsville Beach. They actually have a bunch of locations around North Carolina and guys could not recommend it enough. It is absolutely beautiful. It is such a vibe in there and we loved it so much. We ended up getting seated and we both ordered a couple of coffees. Meg ended up ordering a salted coconut oat coldie and she really loved hers. It had a little bit of a sweet taste and definitely was coconut. I thought that that was something that I would like, but she let me try it and I wasn't feeling it too much, but she absolutely loved it. I ended up just getting my typical vanilla latte with cinnamon powder and then we ordered some food. I ordered the crispy potato brekkie and Meg got something really special. She ordered the strawberries and cream pancakes and hers was amazing. She let me try it and I loved it. That place was popping. It was so busy from the time that we got there from the time that we left. Can't recommend that place enough. There's one in Wrightsville Beach and there's also one in downtown Wilmington. Two really great locations. After that, we ended up coming back to our stay here at Surf and Sound and getting freshened up before we made our way back downtown to explore. Once we got downtown, we ended up walking around the main street there and checking out a lot of the shopping that they had. Something that's really awesome about Wilmington is that they have a lot of local shopping, local coffee shops, and local restaurant options. One of our first stops was actually what used to be Karen's Cafe in One Tree Hill. Now, it's actually an outdoors shopping place. After that, we ended up making our way through town to explore some of the more shopping opportunities. One of our favorite stores that we went into was called Modern Record Lounge and they had a lot of really great souvenirs, some great t-shirts, and collectibles. Another one of our favorite stores was called Edge of Urge and that place was super eclectic. They had a little bit of everything in there. They had some clothing options. They had some souvenirs as well in there and definitely a really cool store. After that, we ended up walking over to the Wilmington Riverwalk and that place is so active. It has so many shopping opportunities, some eating opportunities, and just incredible views overall. It is so huge and cool to see. You can actually schedule tours to go on the battleship and go through it. Whenever my dad and I visited here about 15 years ago, we did that and it was really cool. It's kind of crazy to see how crammed it is in the battleship. If you're interested in something like that, I highly recommend. It's also just so beautiful there along the riverwalk. You have beautiful views of the Cape Fear River and then you also have the Cape Fear Bridge there as well. You can see some sailboats coming by and they also have some tour boats that come through. It is really just so active and so beautiful. After that, we ended up stopping along the famous Nathan and Hayley bench from One Tree Hill. This bench is famous because this is where they had their first date. They reference it throughout the show as the TV show goes on for nine seasons. It's an iconic spot and there are so many signatures. They actually have a plaque right there commemorating that bench from the show. After that, we continued walking along the riverwalk as the sun was setting. It was just getting so beautiful as the sun was going down. We ended up getting some pictures and we'll throw them in right here. After that, we ended up stopping in one of the restaurants there on the riverwalk called Elijah's Oyster and Fish Camp. This is a great spot to get some food and people watch and also see a beautiful sunset. My dad and I ate there about 15 years ago and it was one of his favorite spots. He actually got a t-shirt from that place. When we had eaten there originally, it was more of a fine dining type of restaurant. Now, they've done some rebranding and it's more of a casual style restaurant but still amazing food. We did end up eating there and Megan ended up ordering a drink. She got a blueberry margarita and it actually had some champagne in it. It had a little bit of a different taste and she loved that so much. Then, we ended up ordering their famous crab dip and we loved that. The only complaint is that it wasn't enough. We wanted more of it because it was so good. That was probably the best crab dip I've ever had. It was amazing. Then, we ordered some food. Megan got the salmon BLT sandwich and mac and cheese on the side. She said she loved hers. I ended up getting the flounder sandwich with fries and I loved mine. It was amazing. It all was so, so good. I would definitely go back. After that, we ended up making our way back through downtown and we headed back to our place here at Surf and Sound. Tomorrow, we've got a full day planned here at the resort. We're going to crash for the night and we'll see you tomorrow. Our second full day here in the Wilmington Riceville Beach area and we've had a busy day so far. Earlier this morning, we woke up and we had breakfast at Laduna Paradiso. Guys, it was so good. We loved our food. Meg, what did you end up getting this morning? This morning, I got the smoked salmon bagel and it was incredible. Honestly, I loved that they serve it separate. You've got your salmon, you've got your dill cream cheese, and then your bagel. You can build it and make it how you want, which I loved that personally. Hers was amazing. I just ended up getting a classic breakfast and I loved mine. We ended up just going with two classic coffees as well. No lattes today, but we loved it overall. It was so beautifully displayed and also just tasted so good. The way they plated the food was so beautiful. It looked like food art and the restaurant is stunning, just like the rest of this place. They couldn't have done a better job. I loved the colors and it just feels so cozy and homey, but also airy and coastal. It was awesome. Then after that, we ended up renting some bikes here, which is amazing. They do offer bikes that you can rent for free. We ended up riding our bikes over to the downtown area of Wrightsville Beach and doing a little shopping. We hopped in a few of the shops downtown and that was really cool. There were a few cute boutiques and surf shops. They have a place called The Shed where you can rent surfboards. Everything is just right there together. It's a really cute spot. They have a sister store across the street called Sweetwater. They also have a lot of really cool surf gear and also a really good shopping opportunity over there. They have a sick mural on the wall outside, which I highly recommend going to and getting some photos because it is really cool. After that, we ended up hopping back on the bikes and riding over to this cutie little coffee spot called Sundaes. This place was so perfect. You walk up, there's string lights, and you go up these stairs to the top floor. They had so many options, super cool merch, and we both got a drink there. I got a caramel and hazelnut latte and you got... I ended up getting a vanilla matcha latte and loved mine. Meg loved hers. Then they also have a surf shop downstairs. Another surf shop. They really lean into the surf vibes here. After that, we hopped back on the bikes and also wanted to mention that what's unique about this area is that they have a surf side and a sound side. That's why it's so cool about the way that they've named this. On the sound side, there's a little inlet and people have their boats over there. There's a bunch of people sailing and doing water activities. They've got a little area where you can hang out on the green and look out because that's a really great view for sunset. Oh my gosh, yes. When we first got here, the sun was setting on our first night. All of these college students had pulled their cars on the sound side to watch the sunset. We're sitting up in their sunroofs and we're watching the view from their sunroof. That was just so cool. It was sick, yeah. Now, we've been spending most of our day here at the surf and sound and it's been amazing. Just been getting a bunch of photos, hanging out by the pool, got some drinks. I'll throw in some of those photos that we got right here. Now, I think we're actually going to head down to the beach and hang out by the beach a little bit and relax. We'll show you guys what all we get into. Let's do it. Let's go. Just goes like the breeze through your clothes. The song we sing, we learn late last spring. Keep singing. Hey, drive me away from the phone calls and radio stations. Life from traffic and cars. Oh no. Hey, drive me away from the phone calls and radios. Life from traffic and cars. What's up guys? Hi guys. New day here in Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach. The last time we saw you guys was actually at surf and sound and we were going to explore and enjoy surf and sound and all the things they had to offer. We ended up walking out on the beach to have some lunch and guys, the beach was so beautiful and so unique. You really don't see too many beaches like that in Florida or on the West Coast. It's just such a different vibe. Oh yeah, for sure. And we were actually shocked at how blue the water still was because normally the East Coast side, it can be pretty murky or darker. Um, but it was so beautiful this week. Yeah, it was amazing. Yeah. And it was a little later after they, um, they actually do umbrellas and beach chairs, but it was a little later. So we got the later half of the day and it was much warmer than it was earlier in the day. And it was just a really nice time to relax and enjoy the beach. It's awesome. We ended up walking down by the water and the water was literally like ice, but there was a lot of people out and enjoying the beach and some dogs running and playing in the water. It was just so cute and so awesome. And we loved it. We went on a little beach walk. It was really nice. It was nice. After that, we ended up coming inside and getting ready for dinner. And we ended up going on the sound side of Surf and Sound to get some photos before dinner because guys, that sunset on that side of the water is beautiful. It's stunning, especially for sunset. I mean, it is just so picturesque. And then they have really beautiful landscaping. So it's just palm trees, beautiful flowers, pretty flowers, water. And of course, that's where all of the sailboats are. And so it is just so perfect to grab some photos, relax a little bit before the sun sets. It is so pretty to take such a good vibe over there. We loved it. We did end up getting some photos over there. So I'll throw them in right here. And then after that, we ended up going back in Surf and Sound and having dinner at La Duna Paradiso. So this is the restaurant within the hotel. And as you guys know, we went and had breakfast there previously. And we went to dinner. And it was incredible. It was amazing. They really wined and dined us, honestly. And it was so good. We ended up getting a burrata to start, which was this specialty type cheese. And it had honey and peaches. And it was amazing. We loved it. Such a great, fresh, light starter. It was very light. I loved that. Yeah, it was perfect. And then... We ended up getting a couple of drinks. Yep. And Meg, what did you get to drink? So I got the Rules of the Book Club Spritz, which was like a lemon and lavender spritz. It was so, so good. Super fresh. So fruity and flavorful. I loved it. I ended up getting the Italian Old Fashioned. I loved mine. It was very sweet as well. I loved his too. It was so good. Loved it so much. And then we ended up getting some food. What did you get, Meg? So I got the spaghetti with blue crab, which was so delicious. I absolutely loved it. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with it. And it was so good. It had spinach, tomato, and blue crab. And that blue crab was like perfection. Yeah, hers was great. It really was. I ended up getting the roasted black bass, and mine was really awesome as well. A very light fish as well, and loved it. And then we were treated to a special treat to end our meal, and the manager brought over a limoncello, which I had never had before. That was amazing. It can be used as like an end of meal, like special treat, dessert, and a digestive, which is good because you like... And it's actually house-made, and it was truly so yummy. And then they actually then treated us with a special dessert in our room. It was incredible. I still don't even know what that was. Yeah, I don't know either, but it was amazing. Totally loved our experience at La Duna Paradiso. It was really good for breakfast and dinner. Highly recommend. The vibes in there are amazing. It's so beautiful. So yeah, definitely recommend going to check it out. So after that, we ended up crashing, and this morning we checked out of our stay. We truly love Trailborn Surf and Sound. We will definitely be back. It is amazing inside, outside, on the beach, at the pool, the bar, the restaurant, everything just top-notch. Perfect. They crushed it, honestly. Yeah, it was awesome. But it was so great for Wrightsville Beach. It was like the perfect feel. Oh, killing it. Wow. Now we're in the car. We're checked out, and we're on our way to get some brunch and some coffees and machas. Alright, we'll see you later. Bye. Hi, friends. As you can see, we've made it back home, and we've got some recapping to do. Yes. So our last full day in Wilmington, the last time we saw you, we were on our way to go grab some coffee and some brunch, and we headed back over to Sunday's Cafe. Guys, that place is amazing. We love it. It's such a great vibe. Yeah, so I ended up getting a vanilla matcha latte. Loved it. They crushed it with that. And I got a vanilla latte with oat milk, and it was delicious. And then we also grabbed their wraps. They have these turkey wraps that are so good. They're literally like just for his head. Yeah. But they're so good. Yeah. We had grabbed one the day before to take on the beach, and we had to have one again for lunch. Yeah, it was so good. And then we ended up getting this sweatshirt. Yes! To commemorate our trip here. Can you see that? It's got Wrightsville Beach on the back. So cute and so comfortable. So good. I had to put it on immediately. I love it. It's a goodie. So then after that, we headed back towards Wilmington, the downtown area, and we stopped in the Cargo District. This is a place that someone had mentioned to us in town for us to go visit, and I'm so glad that she did because it was a really, really cool place. Basically, everything is made out of shipping containers. So it's an entire district, like a couple of blocks, made full of shipping containers. They're stacked. There's upstairs, downstairs. There's bars. There's indoor, outdoor. It was so cool. Yeah, there's like even living spaces. It supposedly gets really busy on the weekends and really busy at night, and I can definitely see why because they had a little bit of everything. The coffee shops, restaurants. They've crushed that. That's really, really cool. It's been there since 2017 or 18, I believe. Yeah. And then after that, we took a tour of all of the One Tree Hill filming locations. I want to know which wavelets you're hanging on. I want to know which light you keep keeping on. I want to know whose side you're on. I don't know if we mentioned this before, but I actually was in a few episodes of One Tree Hill back in the day, back in season four, and I was obsessed with that show. So growing up, that show came out when I was a senior in high school, and I was the captain of my basketball team back then in high school. And so when this show came out, this is when I was living that life, and I was like, oh man, this is my life. I'm living through Lucas Scott. He thought he was Lucas Scott. And so I just loved it, and then the drama just sucked me in, and I just loved everything about it. And so then I wanted to try to be on the show, and I saw that you could do that online, and I went to Wilmington and actually was on a few episodes as a featured extra, which means you get a little more screen time, or you're a little closer to the actors. And so it was such a cool opportunity for me to do that back then, and it was cool to show Megan all the places that we've seen while watching the show. Yes, yes. So when we started dating, he had to get me on One Tree Hill. I had not watched it, and now I'm a huge fan, so it was super exciting to be able to walk around the town and have James show me all the places and the filming locations. Just keep in mind, all of these houses, they only film on the outside of the house. Everything that you see on the show that's the interior is actually in a movie studio, which is hard to your brain to process, because literally it's only just the outside. People actually live in these houses, and it doesn't look like on the inside as it does on the show. Oh my gosh, not at all. So just be respectful if you're going around to know that these people are actually living there, and just stay on the sidewalk, stay on the street, stay back a little bit. So yeah, we stopped at Brooke's house, and it was so cool to see that. It's crazy to see it in person. That was my first time seeing it in person. Yes, and it's a beautiful home. Yeah, beautiful neighborhood. And then we actually stopped by Lucas's house, and that is very cool to see, because that was a major staple of the show, to see Lucas's house. Yeah, they had the little side door that was Lucas's room, and his little outdoor access that they were always coming and going in. It was so cool. And then we stopped by Peyton's house, and then we went to the famous bridge. So this is the bridge where Lucas is dribbling the basketball across, and I had to put on my Lucas Scott jersey with the basketball, and just nerd out. And that was so fun to stop there and do that. He had his moment. It was so great. We got photos, we got video, so you will see. Oh, kill him, kill him. And then we stopped over at the high school, which is actually Cape Fear Community College. And the high school has actually changed a little bit, just because it has grown a bunch, so they have parking decks and everything like that. One of the scenes that I shot in the show was actually on the outside of that space. It's changed now, so it doesn't look the same anymore. And then as you head into town, you see Karen's Cafe, the famous record store. There's a lot of places in town that you'll recognize as you walk around as well. It was so cool. It's so cool to show Megan all of that, do a little bit of exploring. Oh yeah, it was so fun. And they actually still film a few shows in town. The Summer I Turned Pretty is filmed there, which is an epic show. Yes, so we didn't have time to really go around those places. I think a lot of it's around, is it Carolina Beach? Mm-hmm. And so it's on the other side of Wilmington, correct? But how cool. Yeah, it's such a popular filming location because it is such a cool town. They filmed a lot of really good movies there, like some of the Scream franchise. I think I Know What You Did Last Summer was filmed there as well. So yeah, it's a really, really cool spot. And Oldie, Dawson's Creek. Dawson's Creek, yeah. But yeah, so then after that, we just explored downtown for the evening before we made our way out of Wilmington. Life's a treat, I just wanna try it. This is the good life. Soak in the good vibes. So drink up the sunshine. Cause everything's alright. Yeah, this is the good life. Peyton just got drugged at a party. I need to go see him. I didn't know what you were gonna do. And I can't deny it. Life's a treat, I just wanna try it. This is the good life. So downtown Wilmington is really so beautiful. And our last day, man, the beach was beautiful. And then the downtown was so active and so beautiful. It always feels like it's that way on your last day of vacation or any kind of trip. It was so stunning. Literally, the beach was like glistening and glowing as we left our stay. And then we come downtown and it was so bustling and just like so many people. And the weather was perfect. Yeah, it was. It was so nice. And I can understand why it was so busy. It was really, really beautiful. Oh yeah. But yeah, there were so many shoppers and the boaters were out. And the weather was so perfect. And the river walk is just so fun. Literally, you could just walk back and forth and people watch and enjoy the water right there. It is really, really nice. But yeah, so then after that, we ended up stopping in at Prost Beer Garden. We had walked by this place and it was really cool. So we stopped in there to grab a late lunch. Yes. And that restaurant was very beautiful and cool. Oh my gosh, this place was stunning. The design on the inside, it felt like you were in like some mystical forest. Yeah. It was so pretty. And so we walked through to the patio actually and got a really nice spot on the patio. And there's like cool neon signs and it's just a really cool vibe. We ended up getting a pretzel and beer cheese. Man, I love that. And then we ended up getting some Brussels sprouts. Those were amazing as well. I wanted more. And then I got a lager beer and Meg got a sour. Yep. And I got a sour. We wanted to do something lighter and not do like full entrees. So that was perfect. Yeah. Loved it. But yes, downtown has a lot of really great restaurants. We saw a few and we would love to have tried them all. So then after we had some late lunch, we ended up walking back towards the Riverwalk to catch the sunset as we made our way back to the car. And actually drove by the Historic District. Someone earlier in the week had told us that they have some Charleston-style, Savannah-style homes in the Wilmington area. And we had to check them out and they were so beautiful and they were definitely right. They do have that vibe. Oh yeah, it feels like you're in Charleston. Someone also had reached out to us on Instagram and said that they highly recommend doing like a ghost tour. Because you do learn a lot about the history of Wilmington. You get to go by a lot of those houses. We then got another message on Instagram. Shout out Jordan for giving us the recommendation to go over to the Wondering Cone. Yes, he said it was the best ice cream in town. So, you know, we had to go try it. Guys, that place was so busy. The line was out the door. So he was obviously right. It was so busy and it was so very good. Oh my gosh, so cute. The design and everything was so cute. It was such a fun ice cream shop. It had like a travel theme to it, which I loved so much. And so when you look at the menu, it actually has flavors for locals and visitors. And the locals were the ones that stay all the time and the visitors were the flavors that come and go. What? So cool. And so we loved that immediately. And then I ended up getting the lemon cheesecake flavor, which was a visitor. And then you ended up getting... I ended up getting a local favorite. And she said it was one of their most popular ones for locals. And it's the caramelized banana Nutella. And I loved mine also. It was very unique and very good. Oh, they were both so good. We were like eating each other's. I would recommend. So great. So thank you, Jordan, for that recommendation. Thank you so much. Yeah, it was awesome. We loved our time in Wilmington and the Wrightsville Beach area. It was so beautiful. Highly recommend going to check it out. We only sniffed a little bit of the area and we can't wait to go back and check out and explore even more. Oh, my gosh. I am ready to go back. I absolutely loved Wrightsville Beach and downtown Wilmington. Everything was so fun. And I definitely feel like there was so much more that we would have enjoyed. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And honestly, it has such a like homey type feel like all the locals in Wrightsville were so welcoming and so kind. And so were the people in Wilmington. Yes. It definitely feels like a hometown town and you can understand why it is so special. Yeah, it was definitely one of those places where we were like, do we move here? Yeah, for sure. Elsa said yes. She said yes. But yes, thank you guys so much for watching. Remember to like, subscribe, follow us on Instagram and TikTok. All the things. All right, guys. We'll see you in the next adventure. See ya.