How to spend 4 Days in Sweet North Carolina

North Carolina is a destination we didn’t really plan on doing. We went originally because we had a  2 for 1 reward flight from one of our credit cards (TD Aeroplan Visa), and it was the farthest destination we could visit from home.

But after spending 4 days of sightseeing the capital (Raleigh)…

driving through the scenic roads leading us to Wilmington…

and finally ending up relaxing on the beach in Wrightsville…

we were so GLAD we came!

North Carolina is a state that has natural beauty, southern hospitality, and good food, making it a perfect “long-weekend trip”.

We didn’t do alot of careful planning for our visit this time. As a short “extended long weekend”, we set on finding some places to visit in North Carolina, and go from there. For us – this meant visiting some historic sites (such as the North Carolina Museum of History), visiting the beach in Wrightsville, and just having some relaxing leisure time.

While I can’t speak for the public transportation of Raleigh, getting around by car is very easy (especially if you come from a big city like Toronto!). Renting a car makes sense especially if you want to get out and hike, drive to the beach, and explore the state (rather than just being limited to a city).

On our first official day, we headed to Wilmington. We walked around the historic district area, admiring the picturesque boutiques and stores on the street.

Before heading off to the beach, we strolled down the Cape Fear river where we had lunch on the riverfront at Elijah’s Oyster Bar, a seafood restaurant with a beautiful view of the river.

           

For dessert, we walked a couple of blocks to The Peppered Cupcake, a small boutique shop that had delicious little cupcakes!

We headed out to Wrightsville beach after. It was so full of beach-goers, that we spent 45 minutes trying to find beach parking! We finally did and got lucky enough to find a weird parallel parking spot by a few trees on the side of a beach house and headed towards the beach for a few hours!

                

After such an amazing time at the beach and much needed downtime, we drove back to Raleigh.

I saved the BEST for LAST though – following the most wonderful seafood dinner at The Bonefish Grill, I did one of the most incredible and nerve-wrecking decision of my life – I asked Sophia to M A R R Y    M E!  As we were walking back towards our hotel, I went down a little secneic route and got down on one knee and asked her. As you can see, she had no trouble saying yes!

   

 

North Carolina is a state that has natural beauty, southern hospitality, and good food, making it a perfect “long-weekend trip”.

We gave ourselves 24 hours to enjoy the news before calling Sophia’s side of the family.

We planned to surprise my parents back when they picked us up from the airport. Mind you, her sister knew of my plans and I took the time to ask for her dad’s blessing prior to our flight.

So for the next 24 hours, we enjoyed being engaged and made our way to downtown Raleigh, where we took on the sights.

We made our way to the NC Museum of History. As you can see, I went back in time and took over milking a (plastic) cow!

 

The main event of this day included the WORLD CUP 2014 game. As you can see, Sophia’s top team was fighting a fierce competitor! We continued to down a few beers at a local pub while we watched Argentina lose to Germany. Sophia was very sad!!

                      

Although the game was lost, fairly I might add, it was a great way to spend our day out!

On our third and final day, we went for a hike at William B. Umstead State Park and enjoyed a nice little picnic before heading back home.

 

All in all it, we found many things to do and places to visit in North Carolina. It’s the beginning of a wonderful journey!