Wilmington 2024 : Airlie Gardens & The Airlie Oak

 The Airlie oak which was supposedly an acorn in 1545 is over 500 years old! It reminds me a lot of the angel oak in Charleston.  Even though not much in the gardens were blooming, it was both Majestic and mesmerizing to see the Spanish moss blowing in the  500-year-old tree!

Wilmington 2024 : Playa Bowls

 This trip to Wilmington would not be complete without my praise of Playa Bowls! They are basically frozen fruit puree topped with fresh fruit and granola. Originally created for surfers on the Jersey Shore it has become a coastline sensation! Leia and I are both obsessed with them which shows At least in this case we are like mother like daughter.

Wilmington 2024 : Fort Fisher & Saint Therese

 Today we took a tour of fort Fisher and learned about the bloody gate which was the entry from the river where the southerners and the Confederacy tried you stop any Union soldier from coming through The battle of fort Fisher was kind of the turning point of the war in that the South needed fort Fisher in order to be sure that blockade runners got through to supply the South. Once the North took over the fort after much bloodshed, They could no longer supply their troops. Fort Fisher also has these neat promontories that look like the coast of Ireland that you can actually walk across!  Saint Teresa's a beautiful Catholic parish set right on the Atlantic ocean it's companion that I would see was Mary's by the sea in Rockaway Beach Oregon On the Pacific Ocean. (Lucky Catholics who can be married OUTSIDE!!)

Wilmington 2024 : Riverwalk, The George on the River & The Museum of the Bizarre

 George's, famous for its crab dip!

 St. Mary's was a beautiful basilica and confessions just happened to be going on. It was a sign, so I went!

 One of the props from the movie Annabelle that seemed to scare most of the kids in both Leia and Annie's classes.  They also had the antidote and the diamond from the temple of doom.

 I bought 3 of these beautiful pins 1 green 1 purple and one blue and let each of the girls choose 1.

Wilmington 2024 : Leia's UNC Wilmington

 One of our excursions was to UNC Wilmington! It was a Majestic campus that is self-contained and all red brick. The entire campus really impressed me with its blooming Camilla's and its seahawk sculpture and its live oaks everywhere And even its Confederate cannon. We even got to see Harvest's University Film center.

Wilmington 2024 : The Blockade Runner Beach Resort

LOVE THIS PLACE! Right on the water with a balcony.  And we got lucky with the 170° weekend in late winter! There was a beautiful sunrise every morning and time by the fire every night. The only issue was a strange gnome that was bigger than life-size standing near the beach looking right at our room. Eventually we would be brave enough to take pictures by the gnome.

Wilmington 2024 : Visiting Leia & Harvest

Leia and her sweet Fiesta in her new Wilmington apartment as she finishes up her undergraduate degree.

Their apartment is the top left.

They have a nice park behind the complex, too.

And Harvest is now very good at making bread!