A six-hour drive from Washington DC got me into Wilmington, North Carolina, the state’s largest port and one of its most historic cities. Above is a photo of the decommissioned World War II battleship USS North Carolina on the left. The USS North Carolina served in the Pacific during World War II and participated in numerous campaigns against Japan. On the right is an active-duty Coast Guard ship docked along the waterfront.
These two historic buildings are in different parts of Wilmington. On the left is a federal building and the city courthouse as seen from Battleship Park. To be honest, I’m not sure what the building on the right is, but Wilmington has a large historic district filled with buildings dating back more than a century.
These photos show some of the more modern residential buildings along the waterfront and an intersection on Market Street. Wilmington has an interesting mix of historic architecture and newer development, especially around the downtown waterfront.
The boardwalk in Wilmington provided a nice stroll along the waterfront. There were plenty of small shops to stop in along the way. Below is a picture I took of my girlfriend as she was trying on a hat and jewelry from one of the shops. The chocolate candy store on the right wasn’t open yet, so I only got the window photo and didn’t stick around to try any of the sweets. Regrets!
Wilmington is about a six-hour drive from Washington DC, but the flora here is noticeably different from back home. The subtropical coast of North Carolina has Spanish moss, palm trees, and other plants that aren’t nearly as common farther north. The flower above is a hibiscus that was growing along the boardwalk. I’m not sure of the tree species on the right, but as you can tell it’s completely covered in Spanish moss, which doesn’t harm the tree.
Spanish moss is common throughout much of the coastal Southeast, but Wilmington is getting close to the northern edge of where you’ll regularly see it. The strange-looking bugs below were living on a rotten log along the river and were new wildlife to me. The trees on the right were another example of how different the environment felt from Virginia. I visited in early September, so I was surprised to already see some leaves changing color.
