North Carolina Road Trip: Greenville, Wilmington, & Raleigh

After coming back from our trip to Brazil and Peru, I decided to make a quick turnaround and head for warmer weather again. In March, the ground in New Jersey was still covered in snow—our car even got stuck when we took Bailey to the dog park! No, thank you. It had been a while since the last time I visited my uncle in Greenville, North Carolina, and I also wanted to check out Wilmington, so I packed up the car (which thankfully still ran just fine after almost two months in the snow!) and headed south.

First, I took Bailey to my alma mater, the University of Delaware, with official nostalgia stops at Newark Deli & Bagels and Brew HaHa. Bailey wasn’t loving the car on this road trip, so it was a good point to stop, stretch our legs, and administer more dramamine.

We made a couple more dog-friendly stops along the way. I’m kicking myself for not bookmarking or remembering the name of one coffee shop off I-95 in Maryland. It was extremely dog and laptop-friendly, inside and out!

Bailey was still feeling drugged-up later in Virginia, so this was not her best photo:

Greenville

We arrived in Greenville just in time for dinner. My uncle made BBQ and invited a couple of friends over for drinks and laughs. Dessert was yummy tiramisu from his friends’ bakery, Boston South.

That weekend in Greenville, we took a nice walk in Wildwood Park for some nature time. It’s been wonderful seeing my uncle recover from a stroke and diabetes diagnosis three years ago and get back to his old self and moving around again. We saw a very entertaining production of Grease at the Paramount Theatre in Farmville. And we had some afternoon drinks at Pitt Street Brewing—that’s become a favorite spot for my visits to Greenville. The spring flowers were all in bloom, and it was a lovely weekend.

Wilmington

Next stop, I drove out to the coast. I’ve always fantasized about someday living in Wilmington, and it lived up to the hype. I can tell it likely faces the same traffic and crowd troubles as coming over the bridge to Long Beach Island, NJ in the summer months, but with good reason. I felt like I was visiting at the perfect time of year.

I rented an Airbnb hotel room-turned-aparment just over the bridge from Wrightsville Beach, and I was treated to many beautiful sunrises and sunsets throughout the week.

I loved the glimpses of local surf culture. I saw a few groups of women surfing together in the early morning, then quickly showering off in the parking lot before heading to work. I brought my board and caught some fun small waves.

For food, I had to get my standard southern delicacies—Bojangles & Mellow Mushroom pizza. Then I also tried some local favorites: Sundays Cafe (the best!), Drift Cafe, (nice breakfast!) and Adapt Kitchen & Juice Bar (smoothies & bowls!). My uncle came out to the beach for a night, and we had a really good dinner at Fish House Grill. It was a great visit all around and a nice taste of Wilmington and the Wrightsville Beach area.

Raleigh

My last stop was Raleigh. I’ve visited the city a few times before, so this time, I was really there to see the Thomas Dambo trolls! There are five of the recycled wood troll sculptures throughout the city. I woke up early and drove over to see as many as I could. The trolls are scattered throughout Dix Park, and they weren’t too hard for Bailey and me to find.

Mother Strong Tail was the coolest one I’ve seen, with a tail that wraps a long way through the forest:

There are two other trolls in North Carolina—in High Point and Charlotte—but that was a little too much driving for me this trip.

I went straight from the trolls to work for the day at a WeWork co-working space (which I didn’t love and should’ve just gone to a regular old coffee shop!) I’m glad I woke up early to see the trolls, because the weather completely turned to pouring rain and hail later in the afternoon. It was time to make the long drive back. I didn’t make any scenic stops on the way back to New Jersey (besides a scenic Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s) but Bailey and I arrived safely home around 1am.