We recently spent a weekend in Wilmington NC. It is about a 3-hour drive from our home in central North Carolina. Wilmington is located in the Eastern part of the state near the coast. We have taken several trips this year to Western North Carolina(Cherokee) to see the mountains. The coast/beach is somewhere my Husband loves to go. Growing up in North Carolina, he spent most of his vacations at the Beach, as most families here do!

History of Wilmington

This area was colonized by the English in the 1720s, the area along the riverfront was named Newtown and it grew in population. By 1740 it was renamed after The Earl of Wilmington in England. The Cape Fear River helped it grow into a busy Port Community with families moving here from both North and South Carolina colonies.

During the Revolutionary War, the port made Wilmington a popular region for Patriots defying the British Government. The town remained in good condition after the Revolutionary War. In 1830. a railroad line was developed linking Wilmington to Raleigh(the state’s capital). Completed in 1840, this railroad became the longest single railroad track in the world.

Wilmington was a significant city during the Civil War, as well as WWI and WWII. You can read more about the rich history of Wilmington, HERE The WWII Battleship, USS North Carolina, is moored along the Cape Fear River across from downtown Wilmington.

Airbnb Wilmington NC

I searched on the Airbnb app. for a place near Wilmington, NC. I always filter the search to include what we want; 1 bedroom, 1 bath, kitchen area, an entire place, Wifi, private entrance, TV, free parking on premises, and heat & air. One of the most important things to be sure of is that you checked the box for a Superhost, these are hosts who have good ratings and can usually be trusted. Since we were going to Wilmington, I was searching for a place near the Cape Fear River with a river view! We have used Airbnb several times in different parts of the country and have been very happy with the places we have rented!

*Disclaimer; We are still dealing with COVID19 and travel can be difficult and unsafe. On this trip, we rented an apartment through Airbnb, you can read about their enhanced safety protocols HERE. The listing we found has a “SuperHost” who described how they are following these protocols. We did, of course, do a little cleaning of our own too. We only dined in at one restaurant, otherwise, we had take-out.*

Day 1 – Checking in on River Road, Wilmington NC

The check-in time was 3:00, but we asked the Host if we could check-in early and were very happy when he said we could check-in at noon. We dropped off our dog at the kennel at about 8:30 am and headed down the road. It’s an easy drive for us from our home to Wilmington, about 3 hours. With COVID19, we are always leery about stopping at gas stations, so we try to look for the cleanest places we can. If we got hungry, we would go to a drive-through.

We arrived at our River Road, Wilmington Airbnb apartment almost exactly at noon. The host had sent me the lockbox code by text so we were able to get the key and go in without any problem. I didn’t realize that we were on the third floor. Check out these steps! When you find a place on Airbnb, make sure you read the description carefully and look at all the photos. We were OK with the top floor since it gave us great views of the River!

We first went in to check out the apartment. It was more than we could hope for! It was clean, comfortable, and well-equipped. It may not be right for a family, but it was definitely perfect for a couple.

Next, we had to carry our luggage and supplies from our Truck upstairs to the apartment. Then we sat out on the front deck for a while, enjoying the fresh air and view of the Cape Fear River. This weekend we intended to have a relaxing time. We usually like to have a balance of activities and relaxation. We decided we would get some groceries and take a look around the community we were in.

River Road Park, Wilmington NC

We came across a neighborhood park, River Road Park. It was a small park with a boat launch on the river. It also had a pier but it was closed due to damage, There were a playground and shelters with picnic tables.

Wilmington is a fairly large city, with a population of about 122,000. The city has many restaurants of every kind. We decided to choose a restaurant close to our apartment, one that was requiring masks and practicing social distancing. I usually look online at restaurants near my location, on google maps or trip advisor apps. We were in the mood for seafood and found Fish Bites, it had great reviews and was reasonably priced! I’m not sure if it is totally safe to dine in any restaurant during COVID19, but we have on a few occasions. Since Fish Bites was not busy we were seated at the first booth, we noticed that masks were required and that they had installed plexiglass between booths. It always seems to me, that the small restaurants that don’t look like much from the outside, have the best food!

Fish Bites Wilmington

My husband had a combo of fried oysters & shrimp, I had a lobster roll. Both dishes were very good! We spent the rest of Day 1 relaxing in our Airbnb apartment. We watched the sunset over the Cape Fear River from our front deck.

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