Start planning your North Carolina getaways with some help from our staff CO M P I L E D B Y J E S S ICA STR INGE R
PHOTO BY ANNA-RHESA VERSOLA
Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) was beheaded in 1718. We ride bikes to small shops, like Mermaid’s Folly (they have a great selection of T-shirts), and restaurants like Dajio and the Flying Melon. Our favorite eatery is Thai Moon, which only offers pickup service, but it has the best Thai food in the state. We hang out at one of the many beaches during the day. I enjoy hunting for pretty shells while my husband is fishing and our daughters are jumping in the waves. Only one beach is monitored by a lifeguard. And there’s a beach by the airstrip where four-wheel vehicles can drive onto the sand. Ocracoke is a true barefoot getaway where you can feel like you’re standing at the edge of the world listening to waves as a storyteller shares ghostly tales while the sun slips behind the dunes.
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hit the road
– Anna-Rhesa Versola, managing editor, Chatham Magazine
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– Ashlin Acheson, director of creative operations
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y family’s happy place is Ocracoke, a tiny barrier island off the coast of North Carolina. From Pittsboro, it’s about a four-hour drive to Cedar Island where you roll onto a ferry. Two hours later, you follow Highway 12 to the only village on the island. We usually rent a home at the edge of Springer’s Point, a nature preserve along the sound where 44
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most enjoy Isle of Palms, South Carolina, with my family, and I also love a quick getaway with girlfriends to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. It’s less than a two-hour drive from here, we stay at the newly renovated and modern Holiday Inn to save a buck, and eat at cute, casual beach bars with great margaritas and fish tacos – like Shark Bar and Kitchen – or dine late on the waterway at Bluewater Waterfront Grill.
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ach summer, my family heads east and rents a house on south Topsail Island. By day, we swim in warm water, look for dolphins and walk along the dunes – peering out toward Wilmington. Most evenings involve preparing fresh seafood from the market, then watching the sunset from the southern tip of the island. For casual eats, we grab a burger or mahi sandwich at SurfDog Bites & Brews. This Surf City spot is owned by Suzanne Ray and John Ray (the latter