For Christmas, I got Grant a trip to the one place he has been dying to go, but that I always said “no” to. Wilmington, North Carolina. Or as Grant likes to call it, “Tree Hill, NC.” With the entire world to be able to see you may be wondering— why in the world Grant would want to go there? It is home to Screen Gems, which has produced some of his favorite TV shows including One Tree Hill and Dawson’s Creek as well as the latest Scream movies and many others.
The original flight was out of LAX, but somehow Grant convinced the American Airlines representative to switch our entire flight to San Diego without having to pay. While we still had the early morning 6 am flight— waking up at 4:30 am was a heck of a lot better out of San Diego than waking up at 2:30 am to add driving to Los Angeles to the itinerary.
Upon landing, we picked up our car rental. Then returned it because it smelled like smoke. Only to be given a car that smelled like pot, which was worse. We didn’t want to ask for a 3rd car so we just “rolled” with it. Midway through the trip, I got so irritated with the smell that we stopped at CVS to pick up a bottle of Febreze. Note to self— even an entire bottle of Febreze cannot mask the smell of pot. Once it's in— it is not going anywhere.
Catching the early morning flight let us get into North Carolina midday and we were able to take advantage of still having daylight to go exploring. Our first stop was the historic river walk area. Multiple scenes were filmed here including a tutoring session on One Tree Hill and also a scene from Scream5 where the main character says “I am Sidney <expletive> Prescott, of course, I have a gun.” This recreation didn’t quite translate…
We stopped and grabbed a souvenir T-Shirt/Sweater and then snapped a few more photos. It was funny at the T-Shirt shop—I grabbed a T-Shirt and then Grant unintentionally grabbed the same design, but in Sweatshirt format. So, of course, we had to buy the matching pair. All the walking got us hungry and so we moved up our reservations at Circa 1922. Grant was excited as this restaurant was a favorite of one of the actors from… you guessed it, One Tree Hill. The food was okay, portions were small and expensive, and overall— just ehh. As I told Grant— $15 for 4 tortellini in NC makes sense if it is Northern California, not North Carolina.
The weather was great so instead of turning in early, we hit the road looking at other notable sights. Having been to several movie studios it was eerie how the entire city resembled a backlot to us. After driving around the early morning flight caught up with us and so we turned in.
The next morning, I “accidentally” woke Grant up by slamming the shower door and we took off. While he got ready, I picked us up a bagel. By the time, I returned he was ready to go and the trip continued to Airlie Gardens. This swampy garden area was picturesque with mossy trees and was the site for several romantic scenes in TV/movies. Grant wanted to sneak in, but I was a bit more hesitant and insisted we pay. The people in North Carolina were— well rude. A lot judgier than we would have imagined with it being the south. We got plenty of stares and I even received some comments about how I was dressed at dinner. Unlike people in North Carolina— we are from California and stare back/comment back.
After hitting most of the highlights in Wilmington, we hopped back in the car for the 1.5-hour drive to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The city is unique. There are candy stores, souvenir shops, and a million miniature golf courses. It was the strangest thing— you would go one block and there would be another one. And another miniature golf course. It had to be the most densely populated area of miniature golf in the world. While this was extremely unique— what was not was Grant’s selection for lunch. We passed a BoneGrill, then an Outback, and I knew it was only a matter of time before—- Carrabba's. He saw it. Game over. Grant gasped and swerved. I think we left tire marks on the street. I realized I was still in the car objecting when he had already reached the restaurant’s front entrance.
The trip hit a snag when we couldn’t figure out what show to go see. Most of them were closed for the season and after being told: “the gospel” was good in the one we were interested in we decided to go and do some of the smaller items like Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. We signed up for both the oddity museum and the 5D experience. The oddity museum was fun going through, but the 5D museum was a bust. There were two shows and the first did not have “sound.” After Grant commented, “umm…there is no sound.” The lady goes “oh yeah… it's either too loud or too soft” So we did a 5D ride with no sound or water effects because of COVID.
Realizing we were in a tourist trap we tapped the “red button” to escape. The next morning we would realize that there was an entirely different section of Myrtle Beach that was called “Boardwalk at the Pier” that wasn’t anywhere near the beach that had the newer attractions. Had we known it probably would have been a different experience. Alas, we were not informed and so we looked to regroup.
Georgetown, South Carolina was approximately 45 minutes away and close to Charleston. We agreed to try a new, but we weren’t 10 minutes down the road when we were confronted with an opportunity to good to pass up. The billboard read “$20 Helicopter Rides Exit Now.” Having had an excellent experience in Hawaii before we thought why not. We swerved to make the exit and parked not knowing what to expect. We went in, was told the $20 experience was an approximately 2-minute helicopter ride and said why not? After getting on a scale, paying, (no waiver was signed), we boarded the chopper for our quick flight over the water. A unique way of looking over the beach. By the time the panic of being in a toy helicopter above buildings and water could set in we were touching down again.
Without further distractions, we made it to Georgetown in a flash. The speed limit was 45mph on the highway, which is incredibly slow. We may have gone a tad faster and gotten there a tad sooner than expected. It was a fairly sleepily harbor town but did have a quaint historical downtown full of restaurants. We choose to eat at Root and were glad we did. The food was stellar and we left satisfied. Also, the people in South Carolina were a lot friendlier than in North Carolina. No stares or judgey faces there.
We left on Sunday out of Wilmington so we started doubling back. The hotel that Grant got us in Myrtle Beach was not as advertised. The hotel was supposed to be on the water and we somehow were on the opposite side. I know Grant was not pleased, but it was a bed, we slept, got free parking, and were that much closer to returning to Wilmington.
The shoe was on the other foot this time and the next morning Grant woke me up in his own special way. We took off shortly after and stopped at a place called 10/Fold Biscuit. This place was worth the heart attack I am sure I am going to have for eating here. When you have a condiment counter full of different kinds of butter you know I am in heaven.
On the way out from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach we commented how there was nothing, but Dollar Generals and churches. I came up with this game that every time we saw one— whoever saw it first and called it would get a point. We didn’t start on the way there, but on the way back we did. I am sad to report that I lost majorly. Grant killed me 42-24. He dominated in finding the Dollar Generals (5 points), while I could only get the churches (1 point).
The game kept us busy and we made it back to Wilmington in no time. We didn’t make it to the Museum of the Bizarre the first time so we made sure to make it this time. The museum is a bit of a hodgepodge of someone’s Halloween decorations and “oddities,” but it was fun. They also added a laser room and a mirror maze. For $7 we did everything.
Fun fact about Wilmington that I am sure you did not know. Wilmington and the surrounding 75-100 miles is the only place in the world where Venus Fly Traps can grow naturally. Oddly this is the only place where the soil is acidic and wet enough for them to grow naturally. Didn’t know that until we visited the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden. While most of the plants didn’t survive the recent freeze there were still remnants of the plants and we did find a few fly traps.
We didn’t hit the beach closest to Wilmington so we attempted to go to Carolina State Beach, which was just right outside of the city. We drove in and then drove away just as fast. Not a beach, but more of a launching pad for boats. There was a small patch of sand, but not worth having to deal with sand on a plane. Before we got on the plane — we knew we needed to eat. Having been in the Carolinas for the last two days I was not going to leave without having some Carolina BBQ. Looking at the reviews— we decided to stop at this place called Moe’s Original BBQ. The place was packed and so we knew we were onto something. I ordered some BBQ and a few sides. The BBQ was good, but nothing earth-shattering. The sides— WOW! Delicious! Grant said it was the best banana pudding he had ever eaten. We went straight to the airport from there as we wanted to end on a high.
Quick layover in Dallas, then back to San Diego without any major hiccups. Hollywood of the East doesn’t have anything on the real Hollywood, but it was a fun experience. With South Carolina off our list of places to visit we are just knocking all 50 states off our lists. Still have more to go, but getting closer and closer to hitting all 50!