Where have I been these last 5 months...oh you know just traveling between all my homes and living on airplanes! But if I have to travel, seeing family is the best reason to do so. Nick took a job with The Industrial Company and was assigned to work on a project in Wilmington, North Carolina since the beginning of June, but it didn't start without me shedding a few tears as he drove out of the driveway in Arizona with all his stuff. Actually I was okay, until I walked inside and saw a half empty house and not one piece of his clothing left in the closet--that's when I lost it! It's been a few months, so it's the new-norm, and all the changes have been exciting. I'm staying in Arizona so I can keep working at my job (such a headache trying to get licensed in other states) and to stay in our house until we decide what to do in the future. I've arranged with my bosses to have a week off each month, next to my 4 day weekend so I can travel to visit Nick. Here he is heading out of town.
We were excited for our next chapter/adventure to start in Wilmington, NC. Wilmington is a smaller city with a little more than 100k people. It has a branch of the University of North Carolina here, and is a big draw as a retirement area of northeasterns. I like to joke that this town is full of college kids and retirees (kind of like AZ)!! The obvious draw of Wilmington in the beach, and it is nice that Nick is renting an apartment that is less than 10 minutes from the ocean. Lots of people know this town for all the movies that were filmed here. Who didn't love the TV show, Dawson's Creek? That was filmed here in Wilmington as well as just about every Nicholas Spark's movie. Currently they are filming Ironman 3 here. There are 2 movie studios here that are open for tours, and you can even taking a walking tour of the city that points out all the locations of where various movies/shows were filmed. I can't wait to to that!
Love the nightly walks on the beach
This view just doesn't get old
Love the beach grass and the old wood fences
I'm always picking out my favorite beach houses
Beach access points
Wilmington is also a very historic town. The downtown is so cute and charming. Old buildings are painted still advertising old paper mills. Lots of the buildings have survived some big hurricanes over the years, and all throughout the downtown area and monuments and signs retelling an old story. I love how so many of the streets have the huge oak and willow trees that touch over the streets making arches and have moss hanging down off the limbs. It just seems surreal. I'm surprised I haven't got in a wreck driving yet because I'm so distracted when I'm driving!
Downtown
Love these big old houses with the huge wrap around porches
This is the corner of water street and front street--I love this street! Stone streets, old buildings with so much character, all on facing the Cape Fear River (which is one of the many waterways to the Atlantic).
This picture makes me laugh. No one is at the beach!! It's great--sometimes I've been and won't even see but two other people in a 3 hour period!! And then when I saw one of the walkways that was lined with cactus and the tall beach grass it made me glad to see a piece of AZ was here too!
We are loving Wilmington. I feel like we have done so much, yet my list of things I want to do out here keeps growing! They have a huge aquarium right on the coast, a ferry that you can take over to some of the coastal islands, several museums, historical houses to tour, and lots of other cool things that are just a days drive. Nick's job will have him here until May 2013 or possibly even August 2013--so I'm glad we will have time to explore this great place.
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