Winter Weekend in Wilmington

Hi, friends! Rex and I took a very quick weekend trip to Wilmington during President’s Day Weekend, and it was the loveliest time! I have been wanting to visit Wilmington since my very first time just a couple of years ago, and it was Rex’s first time in Wilmington actually.

We went for just Saturday and Sunday and decided to not rush getting there. Leaving from Durham, we arrived just around lunchtime and went straight for CheeseSmith. Their Landfall location is pretty new, I think. It’s basically in a strip mall so it was very easy to get to and find parking in. Somehow, the grilled cheeses were better than I remembered (ended up liking Rex’s Southern Charm better than my Brendito), and the fries were amaze balls too!

The primary reason we went to the Landfall location of CheeseSmith was actually because it was pretty close to the Yarns of Wilmington. Though the name of it might sound like it’s primarily a yarn store, it really is a needlepoint store. I found the owner/staff to be really friendly, and they carry a lot of fun, large project designs (belts, handbags, etc.) I haven’t seen much elsewhere. Rex got a Wilmington travel round for me (pictured above), and I can’t wait to turn it I to a Christmas ornament eventually!

Last time I was in Wilmington with my sister, we stayed at an Airbnb. The location was great but I wanted to try a hotel this time. We went with ARRIVE Wilmington (I recall Jenn @jennricewrites staying here some time ago) and were happy with both the location and the room. You get one complimentary drink at the bar which was a nice welcome. The weather was nice most of Saturday so we got to take advantage of the ample outdoor seating. They also had several fires going throughout which was really nice.

After checking into the hotel, we walked around the Riverwalk and popped into a few stores, including Old Books on Front Street. It’s such a cozy and slightly maze-like indie bookstore so I wanted to bring Rex here. We love picking up books during travels as souvenirs/gifts so I had Rex pick out a couple of books to bring home.

One of the few set plans we made ahead of time was the dinner reservation at Seabird. I did brunch at Seabird last time but really wanted to go for dinner. If you love seafood like us, definitely recommend it! I’ll be dreaming about the toro crudo for a while… We only had one dinner slot during our stay so we couldn’t make it but Olivero is on my list for next time!

Not pictured but we did end the night with a ghost tour. The tour times for the Haunted Wilmington, which is what I did last time, did not work with our dinner reservation time so we went with US Ghost Tours. Still learned a few new things, but I prefer the Haunted Wilmington tour.

Sunday morning, we went on a short stroll from our hotel to Hidden Grounds Coffee. We walked by it the night before on the way back from the Ghost Tour and saw all the dinosaur things so we knew we had to go!!! (Rex’s nickname is Rex obviously and my nickname in elementary school was T-Rex haha). The coffees here were so good, and their dedication to the dinosaur theme was so fun! FYI they have a few bar seats by the front entrance, and otherwise, it’s all outdoor seating through the back.

We wanted to see a little more of historic Wilmington and decided to do a tour of Bellamy Mansion Museum. After checking out of the hotel, we had just missed the 10 o’clock guided tour so we ended up doing the self-guided tour with the audio option, which we found really helpful and informative. Pictured above is The Slave Quarters, taken from the back porch of The Main House.

The weather was pretty bad Sunday, and it started pouring rain by late morning. We were ready to head home but after one last seafood meal! Kind of in the wrong direction but we had a late lunch at Flying Machine Oyster Bar in Wrightsville Beach (similar to how we went out to Kitty Hawk for our very last meal in the Outer Banks last year haha). We shared a dozen local oysters and their “Calabashket” which was the perfect end to this lovely trip!