Carolina Shore - Ocean, Seafood, History & More!

[scifan57]

Our Departure Day for Home - Up Early for Sunrise Over the Ocean - Beautiful!

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That makes it worthwhile to get up before sunrise.

 

[suenc]

That makes it worthwhile to get up before sunrise.

I was still sleeping, but I love the photo

 

[suenc]

Hi Scifan.. - thanks again - view is indeed beautiful and temps today hit 60 ºF, so a light jacket was just fine. Our afternoon outing included a drive around Wrightsville Beach (not a large island) and was again surprised at the lack of damage (not sure about lower level flooding?) - saw just a few houses w/ minor damage, several around Johnnie Mercer's Pier which suffered no harm except for beach erosion, probably already restored (pic below from an late afternoon walk on the beach).

However, several restaurants were not opened and are under restoration, i.e. South Beach Grill and the Oceanic Restaurant (pics of the latter below) - the wood pier seems to be still standing but likely damaged - I'm sure both will be back in business soon! Overall, I'm amazed that the island is in such good shape. Dave
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I never get tired of Wrightsville Beach, peaceful, good food, and things to do in Wilmington if you want to.

After our visit to the Latimer House, I drove down to the Cape Fear River (Front and Water Streets) - again cannot talk about flooding during Hurricane Florence but virtually all looked intact - a couple of streets were blocked off for construction which I assume may have related to flooding? We went shopping at the famous Cotton Exchange which seemed 'untouched' by the storm.

The historic Wilmington district covers hundreds of blocks with many structures intact and restored - most are private residencies but the ones open to the public are indeed gems to explore. More on the Latimer House - the inside was beautifully done and brought back to its Victorian appearance - the basement had two kitchens (some pics below w/ the original cooking area, sink and table); the second kitchen was converted into a useable room for meetings, kid's birthdays, etc. Different events occur often, including weddings, historic reenactments, and even seances. The restored slave quarters is worth seeing w/ a lot of interesting history presented - the building (shown in the last pic below) is now rented out as small apartments. Dave
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It’s always interesting to find out about the history of a city through its houses.

 

[suenc]

Grainger McKoy is a Carolina artist whose primary interest is the sculpting of birds, especially from their dynamics - he carves out of wood but incorporates metals and paints to produce wonderful bird animations - a short bio quoted below, plus check his website in the first link above. He has expanded into other areas, such as jewelry for both women and men. The current exhibit at the Cameron Art Museum was impressive - I particularly love the Carolina Parakeet multi-bird work, a beautiful species now extinct - I own a print copy of the original Audubon drawing (a print was part of the current exhibit). For those nearby Wilmington, this is an exhibit not to be missed (which is also part of the next post on famous Japanese woodcuts); the pics below are a mixture from various web sites, some of which are in the exhibit. Dave


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Impressive, to say the least. The birds were so intricately carved that they almost looked real.

 

[suenc]

Last Day - Fitness Center - Shopping & Movie - Dinners

Our last day, we were at the fitness center late morning - Susan on the reclining bike and I on the treadmill plus some light hand weights - although small the machines are relatively new and work well, PLUS the views from the large glass window are spectacular (see first 3 pics below - Susan on the bike). Plan to do a little shopping at a LARGE nearby mall and may take in a movie (Green Book).

For those who may be visiting the Wilmington area and would like some restaurant suggestions near Wrightsville Beach - on Tuesday night, we ate at Brassiere du Soliel, an annual favorite - shared a dozen oysters (Texas and Hatteras Island, Outer Banks); I had the flounder and Susan the Crêpe (believe her third time) (see first quote for details). On Wednesday night, we tried for the second time the Port City Chop House; Susan started w/ oysters (Gulf Coast) and I with tuna sashimi; she had a delicious Australian set of lamb chops and I the seafood sampler with oysters on the half shelf, of course (again details in second quote). On our last night, we plan to return to the Boca Bay Restaurant. Tomorrow, Friday, back home; although chilly the weather has been beautiful and the ocean re-invigorating. Dave




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All the food was good. Ignore the photo of me on the exercise bike, but admire me for doing it.

 

[giradman]

Susan has chimed in and appears to have had a good time and culinary experience - Dave

 

[giradman]

Return Trip to Wrightsville Beach - October 2019

Well, as is evident from this thread, we visit WVB annually about this time of year (and sometimes biannually w/ a spring trip) - but back for a 3-night stay again at the Holiday Inn (some views from our balcony below) - the visit is short because we plan a 2-night stay in the Raleigh area on the way home to see a special exhibit at the NC Museum of Art (which I'll likely post in another travelogue thread). Tonight we ate as usual on our first day at Boca Bay - started w/ a dozen oysters from North Carolina, specifically Sea Cups from the North River just above Harker's Island (near Beaufort) - this area has been a subject of many of my posts in this thread; the oysters are described below w/ a map of their sourcing. The weather report is iffy, so not sure what we will be doing - just brought my iPhone for pics. Hopefully, more to come. Dave
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[giradman]

Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 - Hidden Past in Need of More Revelation

The Wilmington Race Riot of November 10, 1898 following mid-term elections of that year was the most serious event of racial violence in North Carolina's history (much more quoted below). An event that I had only a foggy recollection until earlier this month when I read the book Cape Fear Rising (1994) by Philip Gerard, a northern transplant (like me) and a Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington - an accurate historic novel w/ several 'fictional' characters added - the read was a shocking 'eye-opener' for me, leading to my PDF download of the 1898 Race Riot Commission Report in 2006 which I'm now reading. Gerard has an excellent 20-min C-Span discussion of the event HERE for those interested.

The pics are all from the web w/ my text insertions and make much more sense if the information below is read and the C-Span video reviewed. In the 1890s, Wilmington was the largest city and port in North Carolina - the aftermath of this illegal cout d'etat by the white leadership of the city was a major factor in the emergence of white supremacy, Jim Crow acts, and suppression of Afro-Americans first in North Carolina and then throughout the south - not until the Civil Rights events of the 1960s - enjoy this sad but fascinating story - Wilmington has erected a monument - I'd like to see a major permanent exhibition in the Cape Fear Museum. Dave

The Wilmington Race Riot of 10 Nov. 1898 was the most serious incident of racial violence in the history of North Carolina. It has been variously called a revolution, a race war, and more accurately a coup d'état. The outbreak stemmed from an editorial published on 18 Aug. 1898 by the Wilmington Daily Record, an African American newspaper edited by Alexander Manly. In response to an appeal for the lynching of black rapists made by crusader Rebecca Felton in Georgia on 11 Aug. 1897, Manly wrote that white women "are not any more particular in the matter of clandestine meetings with colored men than are the white men with colored women." Moreover, Manly argued, many accusations of rape were simply cases where a black man was having an affair with a white woman. Because it involved the sensitive issue of interracial sexual relations, the editorial struck a raw nerve with many whites and led to bitter denunciations of Manly in the Democratic press. (Source)

The entire thrust of the white supremacy campaign, in which the Democrats were attempting to regain control of state government, had been racially inflammatory. It was no surprise that after the Democrats, bolstered by bands of armed Red Shirts, overturned Republican-Populist Fusionist control of the state in the 8 November election, the Wilmington Democratic Party leadership decided to discipline Manly and take over the city administration. An order was issued under the name of Alfred M. Waddell, a former congressman and the Democratic candidate for mayor, that editor Manly leave the city with his press and inform Waddell of the action by 7:30 a.m. on 10 November. Unfortunately, Manly had already left Wilmington and the response by local black leaders to Waddell's ultimatum did not reach him in time to forestall the subsequent violence. A white mob of 400-500 people marched on the Daily Record office, smashed the press, and burned down the building. The rioters delayed a black fire company long enough to ensure destruction of the property. Thereafter white bands roamed the city, hunting down Fusionists and indiscriminately shooting into neighborhoods believed to be black political strongholds. Many African Americans fled to the forest outside of town. Waddell, backed by armed men, demanded and received the resignation of the entire city board of aldermen, including Republican mayor Silas P. Wright. Waddell immediately took over as mayor and appointed Democratic aldermen. (Source)

Republican governor Daniel L. Russell belatedly directed the state militia to stop the violence, but Walker Taylor, the Democratic commander of the guard at Wilmington, arrested only blacks. The new all-white city government forced selected white Fusionists, deemed "decidedly persona non grata," to leave town. In his Memoirs, Waddell boasted that the rioting Democrats had "choked the Cape Fear with [black] corpses." In fact, the most-often-cited estimates of black casualties place the number at 11 killed and 25 wounded. Only 3 whites were wounded. Nevertheless, one report noted that at least 2 whites were killed, and another placed the total death toll as high as 250. Most modern accounts of the violence discount contemporary partisan news stories that a black mob, near the corner of Fourth and Harnett or Nixon Streets, fired the first shots in the riot. From the casualties it is clear that white Democrats did most of the shooting, while blacks were largely defending themselves. The Wilmington race riot marked a bloody end to increased black participation in North Carolina politics, which had been made possible by Fusionist control of state government from 1894 to 1898. The emergence of an essentially all-white electorate and one-party Democratic rule was solidified two years later with the adoption of the disfranchisement amendment to the state constitution. (Source)

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[giradman]

Boat Ride Up the Cape Fear River & Visit to the 1898 Riot Monument

After a light lunch at the hotel, we headed out for a couple of afternoon activities - decided to repeat a boat tour north on the Cape Fear River - pics below of the Wilmington harbor area w/ numerous restaurants, bridge across the water (carries HW 17), schooner Anne (made famous by Reid Stowe - an upcoming post), dead cypress trees related to salt infiltration up the previously fresh water river, and the WW II battleship USS North Carolina (check link for its impressive history) - boat tour was well narrated. We then drove to the 1898 Monument and Memorial Park for a visit and a few photos, one w/ Susan showing the size perspective - more information in the quote below (plus my previous post), and also in the last pic explaining the 'paddles'. Great weather and an enjoyable afternoon. Dave

The 1898 Memorial commemorates the coup d’état in which prominent white citizens of Wilmington overthrew the legally elected biracial government of the city. It consists of an arc of six elongated, 16-feet tall freestanding bronze paddles fronted by a two section low, curved wall also of bronze. Incised into the top of the wall is a rather lengthy text describing the historical events. In front of each paddle is a small lectern shaped bronze box. This array stands on a large concrete circle with a primary brick walkway leading to the memorial from the parking area. A plaque placed near the parking area explains that the paddles refer to the role of water in “the spiritual belief system of people from the African continent.” To the right of the memorial is brick and concrete circle framed with a brick wall and three short columns. This feature is called the “Peace Circle.” Two of the columns hold bronze plaques listing donors to the project. This feature is repeated to the memorial’s left and is called the “Hope Circle” with three plaques listing donors. (Source)

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[giradman]

Reid Stowe and the schooner Anne!

In my prior post, a photo of the schooner Anne is shown docked along the Cape Fear River and looking in 'poor shape' - the boat was designed and built by Reid Stowe, an American artist and mariner - both made most famous by his 1000+ day open ocean voyage, where he did not touch land (much more below); our tour guide is a friend of Stowe and has been on the Anne numerous times - he states that the schooner is in excellent shape and just needs some new paint, minor repairs, and more attention to the mast - will the boat sail again - he wasn't sure?

Stowe is also a famous artist w/ an eclectic style - believe he resides in New York City - his art reminds me of Australian aboriginal works with nature and abstract symbolism - he is also a sculpture - I would love to own one of his works (which are likely quite expensive), but will search to see if any have been made into limited edition prints, hopefully numbered and signed by him? Just a few pics below of the Anne under sail, Stowe himself, and some of his art; again refer back to my previous post for a view of the boat as of yesterday. Dave

William Reid Stowe (born January 6, 1952) is an American artist and mariner. Stowe grew up around sailboats on the East Coast, sailing on the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in his late teens and early twenties. By age 26, he had built two of his own sailboats with the help of his family and friends. Stowe subsequently sailed to the Antarctic with his schooner Anne in 1986 and completed a 194-day journey without touching land in 1999. (Source)

In 2010 Stowe completed a more extensive ocean voyage, entitled 1000 Days at Sea: The Mars Ocean Odyssey—a journey begun on April 21, 2007 from Hoboken, New Jersey. Stowe was the principal designer and builder of the Anne, a 70 ft, 60-ton gaff-rigged schooner which he sailed on this voyage. The purpose of the enterprise was to remain on the open ocean, without resupply or pulling into any harbor, for a period of one thousand days, and an unfulfilled goal of circumnavigating the globe four times. The single circumnavigation involved active management of a sailboat under varying weather conditions, with continuous wear and tear of equipment on the schooner, although the schooner was not always under full sail. (Source)

On June 17, 2010, Reid Stowe sailed the schooner Anne up the Hudson River, accompanied by Sail Magazine's Executive Editor Charles Doane, and docked in New York. The total voyage duration claimed by Stowe was 1,152 days, a potential record for the longest continuous sea voyage without resupply or stepping on land. Upon landing at Pier 81 in Manhattan, he was met by family and friends, by his girlfriend Soanya Ahmad—who had accompanied him for the first quarter of the journey—and their toddler son, as well as by the press. (Source)

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[scifan57]

Reid Stowe and the schooner Anne!

In my prior post, a photo of the schooner Anne is shown docked along the Cape Fear River and looking in 'poor shape' - the boat was designed and built by Reid Stowe, an American artist and mariner - both made most famous by his 1000+ day open ocean voyage, where he did not touch land (much more below); our tour guide is a friend of Stowe and has been on the Anne numerous times - he states that the schooner is in excellent shape and just needs some new paint, minor repairs, and more attention to the mast - will the boat sail again - he wasn't sure?

Stowe is also a famous artist w/ an eclectic style - believe he resides in New York City - his art reminds me of Australian aboriginal works with nature and abstract symbolism - he is also a sculpture - I would love to own one of his works (which are likely quite expensive), but will search to see if any have been made into limited edition prints, hopefully numbered and signed by him? Just a few pics below of the Anne under sail, Stowe himself, and some of his art; again refer back to my previous post for a view of the boat as of yesterday. Dave






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I’ll bet that a huge portion of the cargo capacity of the schooner was filled with food and water.

 

[giradman]

I’ll bet that a huge portion of the cargo capacity of the schooner was filled with food and water.

Yes, wondered myself - quote from a CNN Report states "With a hull stuffed full of food, large tarps to catch rainwater, solar panels for energy, a laptop and a satellite phone, Stowe began a voyage that has lasted 1,152 days -- without once returning to land or stocking up on new supplies."

From the same link, Stowe quoted below about his diet - I assumed that he likely did a lot of fishing. Dave

I have a fantastic diet. I have huge sacks of rice, beans and pasta. I've tons of nuts that I roast myself, and nearly every day I eat fish -- mostly delicious tuna or mahi-mahi. I used to have a garden -- I grew everything from lettuce to tomatoes, to mustard greens -- until my boat was turned upside down off the Cape Horn and all the earth got dumped out. The absolute key to my diet, the real secret to what has kept me going all these years, is sprouts. It gives you way more fresh food and grows much faster anyway.

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[giradman]

Carolina Beach State Park & Cameron Art Museum (Part I)

On our second day, we headed south on HW 421 to Carolina Beach for an early lunch at the Shuckin' Shack - shared a dozen local raw oysters and clams - our third visit and consistently excellent; also, great to see the local shellfish industry rebound in North Carolina. Then headed for the nearby Carolina Beach State Park which has a half dozen or so trails, a marina, and uniquely a number of carnivorous plants that are indigenous to the area (see quote) - plus, similar discussion of the park earlier in the thread; we walk the short Flytrap Trail and saw some 'Pitcher Plants' (my pic below), but no Venous Fly Traps (pic from web) - the mosquitoes were numerous despite having sprayed ourselves w/ bug spray containing DEET - decided not to do anymore trails - later in the afternoon I took a mile walk on the ocean beach.

Then onto the Cameron Museum of Art or CMA (another prior topic of discussion in this thread) - not a large museum but there are always interesting exhibits each time we visit. Multiple choices were available on this visit and we concentrated on two - one the photography of Phil Freelon (1953-2019) who was an Afro-American architect. He is best known for leading the design team of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture - which we wanted to visit on our last trip to Washington, D.C. but the wait was excessive, so another time - the design is spectacular. The CMA exhibit was of several dozen of his photographs, several of which are shown below. Next post will be on the other exhibit which we really enjoyed. Dave

Several interesting carnivorous plants thrive at Carolina Beach State Park by trapping and digesting insects. Among these carnivorous plants are pitcher plants, bladderworts, sundews and butterworts, but the most familiar—and the most spectacular—is the Venus flytrap. With the appearance of a clam shell, the trap is actually a modified leaf. Its interior may be colored pale yellow to bright red. When its trigger hairs are touched by an insect, the halves close and the guard hairs mesh, entrapping its prey. The plant then secretes digestive fluids and, within three to five days, nutrients from the prey are absorbed and the trap reopens. Each trap dies after closing and opening three times. Throughout the growing season, new traps emerge from underground stems to replace those that have died. Venus flytraps are native only within 60 to 75 miles of Wilmington. (Source)

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[giradman]

Cameron Art Museum (Part II) - Louis Belden Private Print Collection

Louis Belden (1926-2017) was a New York then San Francisco investment counselor, who started collecting original prints in the 1950s - his father was a doctor originally from Wilmington, NC - Belden donated his art collection to the Cameron Museum and much of his art works are on exhibit and include numerous artists, some mentioned in the quote below. The individual pieces in my pic demonstration are mainly of rather 'famous' artists, which I've labeled - Susan & I have been print collectors since the 1970s and one of our pieces is an Alexander Calder signed and numbered lithograph similar to the one shown. For lovers of the art of original printmaking, this is a fantastic exhibit. Dave

View over 135 modernist prints that include original artworks from the leading artists, the change-makers, the radicals, the early modernist European expats seeking asylum in this country, all who shaped the course of visual art in the 20th century. Among others, artists in the exhibition will include Josef Albers, Helen Frankenthaler, Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Diebenkorn, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Rauschenberg. Louis Belden, a renowned San Francisco art dealer bequeathed this private collection (starting in 1965) containing his selection of original prints in such mediums as intaglio, lithography and screenprinting. The collection of prints offers an endless range of expression, experimentation and expansion of the terrain of postwar modernism.(Source)

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[giradman]

Well, a great 3 nights in Wrightsville Beach - probably shared 5 dozen oysters & clams, plus some mussels and shrimp - now off to the Raleigh area for 2 nights at the Umstead Hotel in Cary, NC - just a couple pics below - rated as arguably the BEST hotel in North Carolina - some of our other favorites likely in the top 5 are the Inn on Biltmore Estate (Asheville), Old Edwards Inn & Spa (Highlands), Fearrington House & Inn (near Chapel Hill), and Ritz-Carlton (Charlotte). Dave

P.S. this listing is mainly for those living in the area or visiting North Carolina - none of these hotels are inexpensive but if price is not a major consideration, then certainly worth considering - we've stayed at all multiple times and continue to return.
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