Weekend trips are just what I need to break up the mundane routine of work, work, work. They’re the perfect excuse to just relax and do what I want to do without any obligations or a schedule!
The weekend before last, my best friend, Nikki and I drove down to Wilmington, NC for a 4 day “girls only” trip. I love Wilmington and I have loved it since the first time I went there with Nikki years and years ago. It’s where Big Bear and I hung out for the first time, it’s where we went for special dates nights once we were married and living at Camp Lejeune, it’s where we spent Christmas the year before last, it’s where I feel at home even though I’m hours away from home.
Thursday morning we got up bright and early to start our trip to the coast! Wilmington is only about 3.5 – 4 hours from us, so the trip isn’t so bad. I’ve made this trip so many times that I can pretty much get there with my eyes closed!
The first day that we were there, it started raining about 30 minutes before we hit Wilmington’s city limits. haha. Welcome to the Beach! 😉 But I would rather have had rain at the beach over the snow/ice that everyone was getting at home! As soon as we got into Wilmington we picked up Nikki’s nephew (her sister, niece and nephew live in Wilmington) and headed to Chili’s to grab a quick bite before going to get our room key.
For our weekend trip we stayed at the Extended Stay America and while it did offer a small kitchen area and was close to downtown I’m not quite sure I’ll stay there again. They randomly charged my card for over $200 when we arrived (not a normal authorized hold, but like a purchase of some random amount) and I didn’t know about it until I checked my bank account that night (thankfully the manager refunded me the money but it didn’t go back into my account until the day we left), the walls were kind of thin so it was noisy and 2 nights in a row I was startled awake by people yelling at each other and running down the hallway (not the hotel’s fault but still not a pleasant experience).
Our Friday, consisted of more rain but we made the best of it and spent a little time downtown, walking around the Cotton Exchange and checking out a few shop after grabbing lunch at The Copper Penny!
The Copper Penny was packed but our “15 minute wait time” was really only about 5 minutes; so we were quickly guided to our two top in the middle of the restaurant. I loved their menu and couldn’t decide on what to get!
We started with the Beer Battered Onion Rings and quickly devoured most of them before our lunch arrived! As for my lunch choice, when it came down to choosing between the Grilled Shrimp Pita and the Grown-Up grilled cheese, I let my inner child take over and the grilled cheese won. However this was no ordinary grilled cheese sandwich! Oh, no…this was crispy bacon and grilled tomato sandwiched in between melted mozzarella and provolone cheese on toasted ciabatta bread; I ordered the sweet potato fries to go along with it and I was in heaven!
After a filling lunch we walked back to the car (thankfully the rain had stopped for a bit) and drove over to Market street to visit The Black Cat Shoppe! I was on the hunt for a “Ghosts of Wilmington” book and I knew they’d have one, after all they are the ones that do the “Haunted Ghost Walk of Wilmington!”
I got my hands on a copy of the book I wanted and then we stepped right on over to Kilwin’s! Hey my parking meter still had a good 20 minutes left on it, I couldn’t just leave haha 😉
This place makes me want to open my own chocolate shop!! It is packed with fudge and chocolate treats; you can smell the scent of warm chocolate slip out and swirl through the street every time someone opens the door.
Two huge glass cases display the treats that they have to offer! Chocolate dipped Oreos, Chocolate Marshmallow Pops, Chocolate Pretzels, Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Treats (which I bought) and so much more!
I’m excited to re-create some of these goodies in my kitchen! Those Non-Pareil Drops! I will be making those! I know a certain Mrs. Barrett *cough Crystal cough* in our family that will love those!!
But the BEST thing I got at Kilwin’s was this Caramel Chocolate Drizzle Apple!
Nikki and I couldn’t get enough of this apple. It was so good! A Tart and Crisp apple with the rich smooth caramel made for an unforgettable treat!
Saturday, we headed over to Carolina Beach to do a little shopping at the beach shops and to take a peak at the ocean! It was beautiful that day but still cold and windy so we didn’t get to enjoy much more than the view.
That is one view that can literally melt all of my problems into nothing. I love it so much.
After we took in the beach and ocean for a bit we walked down the boardwalk and the smells from the nearby restaurants had our stomachs growling immediately. We walked up to the main road and had lunch at Pops Diner.
While I wish I could brag on the whole meal because I was really, really hoping to love this little place, I just can’t. I got the crab cakes for my lunch with (I think it was fried) corn on the cob; the corn was good but the crab cakes were kinda of dry and burnt. The hush puppies were also little rocks. 🙁 Bummer. The Waitstaff was also kind of iffy. I couldn’t tell if they were all just having a bad day or if we were intruding on an afternoon break. They were not rude, but pretty much robotic and without much personality. 🙁 Again Bummer. BUT beyond that… let’s talk Macaroni and Cheese.
They have fried mac and cheese bites with pepper jack cheese on the menu and let me tell you that they are DELICIOUS! Crispy on the outside with creamy mac and cheese inside with small burst of heat from the pepper jack cheese! If you are just looking for a quick little snack while in Carolina Beach, I totally recommend the fried mac and cheese bites at Pops!
So can you tell that my main objective on this trip was food right? haha. I can’t help it. When I go on vacation, I want everything to be about the food! Thankfully, Nikki was on board with that idea haha.
After lunch we headed back towards Wilmington and on the way back we drove over to Shuga Shak on Oleander to seek out a fabulous treat for the afternoon! I had one reason and one reason only to seek them out! The Macarons! I had read that the French Macarons at Shuga Shak were to die for and the reviews were right! They are out of this world good. Not to mention the ones I got had edible glitter on them!! Ok, amazing macarons, chocolate filling and glitter? I’ll take them ALL!
It was late in the afternoon so I was terrified that we would get there and they would be sold out! Oh why, oh why didn’t we go there first?!! (The call of the ocean is what was pulling me the most I guess) BUT we got there, ran inside and I was able to scoop up the very last gorgeous box of macarons!
Aren’t they beautiful! Oh and I didn’t even have to share! Nikki’s allergic to tree nuts so no macarons for her! (They’re made with almond flour!) Sorry, Nik. 🙂
That night we went on the “Haunted Ghost Walking Tour of Wilmington”! This was my third time going and Nikki’s first. It’s a “MUST DO” on my list! I’m all about history and ghost & this tour has both; well… it’s got haunted history!!
You can even visit their Facebook page and see photos that people have uploaded of ghost and orbs they’ve caught on film! I still haven’t gone through my photos but I need too! I caught something on my very first ghost tour so I’m kinda nervous to see if there is something in all the photos I took this time!
Once the ghost tour was over we walked over to the Front Street Brewery for a late dinner! We sat in the top loft area that over looked pretty much all of the bar area. We had some of the best food that night, or at least I know I did! We started off with an order of the Beer Nuggets! Beer Nuggets pretty much means… you get a plate of fried/garlic dough with a side of marinara but OH MY they were good! They tasted like fried garlic break sticks! Plus after 10pm they are 1/2 off! Score! For dinner I had the brisket sandwich with a cup of the Cheddar Ale Soup! Cheddar Ale soup has now shot to the top of my “love” list when it comes to soup!
And to finish off our fabulous, relaxing girls weekend in Wilmington we stopped by Hwy 55 (Andy’s) for lunch before we headed back home!
Cute little dinner with super good food! What did I order? I got the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich and it was so, so very good! It was a lot better than I had expected to be honest! I mean I didn’t think it was gonna be bad haha, but you know I just figured it would be a same ol’ same ol’ meal and then we’d head home. But the flavors that were packed into that simple little sandwich were memorable….and in a good way! I really wish I had gotten one of their milkshakes too!
Where we went:
The Copper Penny
109 Chestnut St.
Wilmington, NC 28401
Kilwins – Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28401
Pop’s Diner
- 104 N Lake Park Blvd
- Carolina Beach, North Carolina 28428
Looks like so much fun!!!
So, so wonderful!
It looks like you had a great weekend! The only part of NC I have ever been to is Cary and it was really nice down there.
I was in Cary on Saturday! Hope you get to visit Wilmington one day!
It looks like you guys had a wonderful weekend. I’m definitely putting this location on my bucket list of places to visit.
Hope that you get to visit sometime! It’s a wonderful place!
The chocolate Caramel Apple looks so amazing. It looks like you had a great trip!
That Caramel Chocolate Apple was so, so good!
Wow sounds like a lot of fun. That food looks like it’s to die for.
It was a much needed, relaxing weekend! I agree, the food was great!
looks like you had a great time. And wow look at all them yummy chocolaty things!! that beach looks beautiful
It’s one of my favorite beaches
It looks so beautiful especially from dark and gloomy Scotland! Those mac n cheese bites look sooo good!
I thought the mac n cheese bites looked scrumptious, too! Gonna have to make some, now!
I’m excited to make some too!
ooo I don’t know… I’ve always wanted to visit Scotland haha!
Food glorious food! Everything that you had a chance to try looked very good – too bad about Pop’s Diner. It’s so nice to get away! Glad you had fun with your friend.
I know, I really, really wanted to love Pops!
Looks like a great fun weekend! Will have to keep these spots in mine if I ever get the chance to go to Carolina Beach! I’d try to go when it is warmer though so that I can enjoy that nice beach in your pictures!
I love it all year but yes, the warmer weather is much better haha
Oh, how completely fun! I suspect I would have spent way too much time in that Black Cat Shoppe. I need a vacation so badly. Waaaa. Come on Spring break!
I love that little shop haha.
Looks like you had an awesome time! I never have gone to North Carolina but I hope to go some day. They look like they have some fun places to visit.
It is! I love it
Sounds like a wonderful girl’s week-end for sure. The beach looks pretty amazing too!
One of my favorite beaches!
Looks like you had an amazing getaway! The food looks fantastic! I think I’d head there for the chocolate and beach for sure!
Those were two of the best things! haha
The Wilmington area is such a beautiful place, I can’t wait to go back and try some of these places you visited!
Isn’t it?! Just wonderful down there!
What a fun filled trip! That chocolate caramel apple and French Macaroon look delish!
those French Macaroon were amazing!
Looks like you had a great time. What beautiful views – I am not sure if I am referring to the beach views or the food, lol. it all looks amazing.
Both views were great haha
Looks like you had a great time! I am so overdue for a girl’s weekend out. I’d be all over that candy! “)
I think everyone needs a girls weekend every once in a while
Sounds like an amazing trip full of fun ideas! Those macaroons are hilarious! Love it!
haha I loved the glitter on them!
Our family goes to Wilmington often – either to hit the beach or have a work trip with Hubs while he works on a movie. I’ll have to hit up the Copper Penny. It looks too good!
The Copper Penny was so good!
Looks like a great place to go for any vacation. A girls weekend there would rock! Chocolate is a girls best friend 🙂 (Kim)
Indeed it is!
What a great place to go!! You know what I seen that made me really hungry… those sweet potato fries. I love those things.
They were amazing!
sounds like a fab way to spend a long weekend!! i ve never been
Indeed it was!!
Looks like you guys had a great time! That candy shop looks amazing! Wish I lived closer so I could try it!
I am overly jelouse right about now! That beautiful ocean view and all that amazing food, on top of enjoying it for four days, sounds like an experience that you will remember forever!
Wilmington is city I’d love to visit. I kind of hate that I never got there when I lived in VA, I was so close. Seems like the perfect girls’ weekend getaway.
Looks like you had such an awesome time!! Sun…friends…..chocolate?? What’s more to ask for??
What an AWESOME trip! Good company, good eats and a gorgeous view!
Oh to have a “Girls Only Trip” I can’t even imagine – maybe someday! Looks like you girls had a blast, and the food looks delish! I will have to keep Wilmington on my radar for the future. Thanks for sharing!
Photos are lovely but what I’m after now… a recipe for those mac & cheese bites. Oh man they look so good!
Oh I wish I had gone. I need a girls weekend. The Shuga Shack must be visited if I go. lol
This post is making me hungry. And it’s making me want to go on vacation. 🙂 I love the beach and girl’s weekends. Definitely about time to combine those two things!
I have never done a girls weekend like this. The closest is a conference. I want to do one of these with my sister later this year. I may fly down for FBC, then continue on to Alberta for a few days. My son is there so I could do a few days with him. Then my sis is about an hour from him so I thought it would be fun to do a few days with just me and her. We’ve literally never done girls weekend. She’s 57 and I’m 45, how sad is that. I’m thinking Banff for 3 days would be a riot. Do some spa stuff and go horseback riding. Okay now you’ve inspired me to save up for this Angie.
I love that candy store, you got some amazing shots in there. I’ve never been to Shuga Shak but would love to. Ghost tours sound fun. I dig that stuff so that would be fun. Glad you got away for some girlie time. So important in life to connect with friends whenever you can.
Oh wow, what a wonderful weekend you had! The pictures of the food is enough to make me sooo hungry!!!
The beach looks really beautiful there! We have a Kilwin’s here in Indiana too, right by Notre Dame. The place really does smell amazing when you walk by!
What a great weekend that looked like! I lived in NC for two months and didnt know it had all that.
A weekend trip with the girls sounds like so much fun right now. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I totally would have spent some time in that bakery.
Oh wow what a wonderful trip and oh my all that yummy chocolate and desserts. Oh and the beach is gorgeous.
I have wanted to visit Wilmington since I was a teen (my love for Dawson’s Creek may have something to do with that!). Girls trips are always fun. I had a ladies night with my sister-in-law this past weekend and it was so much fun!
This looks like such a fun trip! It would be so much fun to do a weekend away with my girlfriends. Lord knows we all need a break! Glad it was a good time!
Wow. Looks like such fun. And that apple, well it looks like something else.
Looks like you had a lot of great food and fun with your friend.
All that food looks so good. That’s my favorite part of traveling, check out local places wherever I go.
It looks like you had a great time. That beach is absolutely gorgeous! I hope you brought me a goodie like one of those caramel apples!
I have an internet friend from Wilmington and I have always wanted to visit her in real life. Mostly because I want to meet her in person but I also always love all of the things she tells me about Wilmington. Now I was able to see them in beautiful pictures and it makes me want to take that trip even more so.
What a fun post! I adore the beach and am oh-so-jealous that you live that close! So many yum-ilicious things here! That grown-up grilled cheese … pepper jack bites … those caramel apples … the beautiful chocolates … And, of course, the gorgeous ocean waves! Love, love it! 😀 ~Shelley
That trip looks wonderful. Aside from the hotel itself, it sounds like you really enjoyed yourself. I think the food alone would make me happy!
It looks like you had a fantastic girls weekend! I really enjoyed looking at your photos. The food from The Copper Penny looked amazing.
We went to Carolina Beach for the first time last year…I’m still dreaming of going back. Great place for a girls weekend!
I want and need a girls weekend!! Everytime my husband and I go to a new city, we search yelp for places that serve sweet potato fries. It seems like we never get disappointed by these places.
Wow! I’m soooo hungry now! and I have the urge for a scary movie too! Food and being scared sounds like the perfect combo right now! Loved the post , it looks like you had a great time!
OH man, that candy looks to die for! Yum! Amber-
What a fun weekend! I’m so ready for summer and the beach!
I love it! You must live relatively close to me (I’m a few short hours from Wilmington..) I used to head to Wilmington all the time, and I need to go again soon. I love the cotton exchange, and kilwins–oh my goodness…heaven must be chocolate flavored. I’ve always wanted to do one of the ghost tours!
Oh wow! Can I come along next time? That looks like an awesome getaway! It is great to do that sometmes
The sandwich looks awesome! plus I just bought some of those mason jar mugs. They are great
The beach looks beautiful. That macaron is amazing. What a vibrant color.
What a great trip. The beach is stunning and I am jealous of all the good looking food you consumed!
Oh my gosh.. I am planning a trip to see a friend in North Carolina Next February and I look forward to all of the food too!! I love that you took pictures of your food and shared them! I’m hungry now! Thanks! 😉
Wow! What an amazing girl’s weekend! I have a friend that recently moved back to New Hampshire from Wilmington and she is really missing it!
This looks like a weekend that I would have enjoyed and I’m happy you got to enjoy it. I want to be on a beach right now. Great photos btw.
What I love about Wilmington is that Dawson’s Creek was filmed there! I’ve only ever been once and it was in the middle of February (I’m an idiot lol)
that looks like a fantastic time. I’d love to plan something for me and my friends
What a fantastic girls weekend. It looks like a blast
What a fiesta food haven you visited. All the food and desserts looked so delicious… Glad you had a great time away.
All of that food looks absoutely delicious! It stinks that you had kind of a bad experience with the hotel, though. I know I would have been upset if they charged $200 to my card right after getting there!
Sounded like you had a fantastic trip! Take me with next time? I wanna go on a ghost tour 😛
New Orleans have a really nice ghost tour as well…
I’ve been on the cemetery in New Orleans! Can’t wait to go back and do another tour!
What a fantastic view of a white sand beach! You’re so blessed to be near the beach! 🙂 I’m drooling over those sweet goodies too!
Ice cream, chocolates and fudge…OH MY!! This looks like a great trip!! Sounds like a super fun girl’s weekend.
Those foods are just awesome – now I’d like to taste that macaroons!
I so need a girl’s weekend! This looks like you had an amazing time!
Your post has me hungry now. I want one of those apples!
Looks like you had a great trip! I want that mac and cheese fried bite!
I am a new fan Angie, keep inspiring me. I am a travel agent but I wouldn’t want to intrude and promote on your page. Can I have your email so you don’t have to experience an unpleasant hotel stay again. Happy that your girl’s trip overall was great. Now I have to go grab a bite to eat, maybe chocolate 🙂
@pazazvacations:disqus oh my gosh, I’m so sorry that I just saw this. I’m awful. Please forgive me. My e-mail is angie at bigbearswife dot com 🙂 Well.. you know.. with the actual @ and . haha
Wilmington is only 2hrs away from us. Sounds like a great road trip!
I just came across your site and I must say I love how you were honest and descriptive with your likes and dislikes! I have lived in Wilmington now for 5 years and I have to admit my boyfriend and I are major foodies! Wilmington is a great place to visit for the beach and the food!! (Lots more of course but we all have priorities!) Winnies Tavern and PTs Grille for amazing burgers and Sweet and Savory are just a few of the places I would recommend for your next visit to the Port City! RuckerJohns is awesome and make sure you visit Carolina Beach during the summer for a Britt’s Donut. The Pilot House is terrific for a sunset dinner as it sits on the Cape Fear River. May be a little pricey but totally worth every penny considering the service, food and scenery!! Oh and if you are a sushi fan Nikki’s Sushi can be found in multiple locations across Wilmington. (They do have many more awesome items on the menu though). Sorry for rambling on but I get excited to see folks get excited about where I live!! Oh and I almost forgot!! Indochine is AMAZING and always busy. Share a meal as the portions come by plenty!! Don’t let me get started on breakfast spots!! Have a great night!!
ooo We will have to check out some of these places!! I’ve been to Britts, I LOVE them! So good. Ooo and Nikki’s sushi, I’ve seen that place (well one of them) when we were there next time. ooooo and I’ve heard amazing things about Indochine!!
Thank you for the recommendations! We are heading to Carolina Beach and Wilmington in August and I’m scouring the internet for restaurant ideas!
Welcome! We love it down there!