Carolina Shore - Ocean, Seafood, History & More!

[giradman]

As a follow up suggestion for the museum, they should consider an exhibition on the evolution of flight in mammals, leading to the many species of modern bats.
Flight has evolved separately at least four times, in insects, Pterosaurs, birds and bats.

Well, this is a traveling exhibit in part from the Yale Peabody Museum so may reflect their collection/interests (never been to New Haven, CT but have visited the Harvard Peabody Museum several times - great place!) - SO, just need some more sponsors to cover the other flying animals - I guess most people (i.e. those who think about the matter?) find birds as 'survivors' of the 'asteroid' impact 65-66 million years ago more fascinating (of course, unless you're an entomologist or chiropterologist - ) Dave

 

[giradman]

Return to Wrightsville Beach and the re-done Holiday Inn, now the Lumina (historic name but another story) in early June 2024 - the usual 4 hr drive from Winston Salem - weather beautiful on our arrival and views from the 7th floor room so inviting of the ocean - hope the weather holds up to the current sunny/cloudy predictions (June is the beginning of the hurricane season) - some pics from our room balcony - sat out at dusk after dinner just listening to the ocean.

This may be mainly food posts to this thread since we've been here so many times - BUT a new restaurant tonight, the Perla Raw Bar (probably a take-off on a pearl in an oyster?) - we LOVE 'seafood towers' (usually raw oysters w/ other treats) - below Susan in 2 different facial expressions on seeing her tower tonight! This one included 2 dozen raw oysters (3 types from PEI - Prince Edward Island, Virginia, and North Carolina), tuna tartar, lobster salad (mostly lobster pieces), spicy ceviche, grilled and then chilled seasoned local shrimp, and a fish dip - we were sated and turned down a dessert. Tomorrow night we have a reservation at the Brasserie du Soleil, eat their on every visit here and discussed in previous posts. Dave
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[giradman]

Hubble Space Telescope Exhibit at the Cape Fear Museum!

On our last trip, I posted extensively on the excellent Cape Fear Museum, so if interested please go back in this thread - a NEW exhibit was showing on the Hubble Space telescope (and the new Webb Telescope) with numerous panels and pictures ( below in my images) - many of the pics may exlarge on clicking for better reading (probably some 'space nuts' on the forum who may be viewing - ) - in the Cape Fear chronology section of the museum there is a nice presentation of the famous 1898 Wilmington Riot (really a coup that put whites in power of what was then the largest city in North Carolina) - posts at the end along with a short video (longer videos are present and books can be bought on Amazon - again I posted more on this event previously) - our evening meal coming up next (again I'm only posting restaurants that we've enjoyed for those who may be in the area). Dave

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[giradman]

Last night, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants Brasserie du Soleil - for starters, the 3 oyster choices were all Canadian - 2 from PEI (Prince Edward Island) and Beausoleil from New Brunswick, one we have had often in the past - decided to order a half dozen of each (shown below) + tuna tartare. Then we went small on a main course and each of us had the charred octopus starter (it was actually quite filling with 3 tentacle portions). For dessert, we always share the 'minis' - the three last night were creme brûlée, key lime pie, and a mixed berry sorbet (pic below from web so not the same ones).

TUNA TARTARE* shallot, caper, olive oil, lemon, sesame seed cracker ……18
CHARRED OCTOPUS pearl couscous, red pepper, cucumber, avocado, spiced mango coulis ….. 19
OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL* ….. market price
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[giradman]

Last night we ate at a place not visited in 10+ years called the King Neptune - recently underwent a complete renovation and looks great - first established in 1947 and the oldest restaurant on the WV Beach (if not in the area?) Also, apparently under new ownership with an innovative kitchen - pics below show its location and website at the link.

We started by sharing a coconut shrimp ceviche and cup of potato and leak soup that was more of a bisque. Susan had the flounder and pasta plate, and I picked the special for the night, a pan seared grouper with jasmine rice, corn relish, and a veggie new to me called romanesco ( a hybrid between cauliflower and broccoli) which was excellent. Strawberry shortcake for dessert (most eaten by Susan, one of her favorites). King Neptune will definitely be a return visit next time, plus a strong recommendation for potential visitors to the island!
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[giradman]

Well, Susan always wants a 'boat ride' on our trips to the coast but we've done the Cape Fear River tours already and often, plus the ferry to Southport, a beautiful trip, again has been repeated; SO, I decided to drive up HW 17 to Surf City on Topsail Island (see map below and quote - name has a pirate legend!) - from their marina we took a 2-hr afternoon cruise with Tiki Tours - boat shown below (needs a paint job - ) - only two ways to get onto the island via some beautiful bridges. Many osprey nests on the tour with chicks now nearing the size of their parents - a half dozen dolphins were seen (tour was along the intracoastal waterway) - plenty of other faster boats passing us and many on ski jets! On the way back, we dined at the Tidewater Oyster Bar, a discovery last year and the next post! Dave

Topsail Island is a 26-mile long barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, lying south of Jacksonville, North Carolina and Camp Lejeune. The northeastern edge of the island is the New River Inlet, and the southwestern edge is New Topsail Inlet. It is separated from the mainland by a series of small sounds and channels that make up a portion of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It includes the communities of North Topsail Beach, Surf City, and Topsail Beach. Topsail Island is a sanctuary for sea turtles and is known for its beautiful beaches. There are only two ways on and off the island: a high-rise bridge in Surf City and a high-rise bridge in North Topsail Beach. Topsail Island's name is claimed to have derived from its historical use by pirates: according to popular belief, pirates would lie in wait in the channel between the island and the mainland, hoping to capture passing merchant vessels. As word spread about this tactic, mariners supposedly began referring to "Topsail Island" as a pirate vessel's topsail was often the only visible indicator of a planned ambush. (Source)

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[scifan57]

Well, Susan always wants a 'boat ride' on our trips to the coast but we've done the Cape Fear River tours already and often, plus the ferry to Southport, a beautiful trip, again has been repeated; SO, I decided to drive up HW 17 to Surf City on Topsail Island (see map below and quote - name has a pirate legend!) - from their marina we took a 2-hr afternoon cruise with Tiki Tours - boat shown below (needs a paint job - ) - only two ways to get onto the island via some beautiful bridges. Many osprey nests on the tour with chicks now nearing the size of their parents - a half dozen dolphins were seen (tour was along the intracoastal waterway) - plenty of other faster boats passing us and many on ski jets! On the way back, we dined at the Tidewater Oyster Bar, a discovery last year and the next post! Dave


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A very interesting new travel story.

 

[giradman]

A very interesting new travel story.

Hi Scifan.. - this was probably our 4th visit to Topsail Island and we've traveled to both ends and looked in all of the communities but never that interested in staying mainly because the housing options were not as interesting (much more for young families with a bunch of kids), activities were more limited for older people (need to do things on the beach or in the ocean), and the restaurants were numerous but more grill and sandwich places with a seafood emphasis - BUT if that is what you're looking for then a great recommendation! Also I was surprised and impressed at many of the houses we saw on the intracoastal waterway (as in a handful of pics I left in my last post) - there is some MONEY in this long barrier island -

 

[giradman]

Tidewater Oyster Bar - discovered last year on our WV Beach trip and a convenient stop from Topsail Island back to our hotel (see map below) - started with small salads and a cup of their superb clam/oyster stem (flavored with Andouille sausage) - then shared a dozen clams and a dozen oysters on the half shell (forgot to take a pic) - all of the oysters were sourced from nearby North Carolina shores - last night 4 different ones were offered, 2 from Stump Sound, NC (near the top of North Topsail Beach), another from the other end at Topsail Beach, and finally one from Beaufort, NC (a frequent topic in this thread). For dessert, we decided to share another half dozen oysters and picked Topsea Turvies from Stump Sound (described on their daily oyster menu sheet as 'Medium brininess, refreshing finish, meaty oyster') - nice ending for our last dinner on the trip. Dave
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