Wilmalicious!

     What's a trip to Raleigh without a day-trip to somewhere else?  After the fried goodness of Saturday soaked up all the alcohol in our systems from Friday night, well Sunday was like being born-again.  We began it with some bacon, some more bacon, and some killer omelets (with bacon in them) whipped up by none other than Cousin John (putting the Austin, TX street-food vendors we were watching on No Reservations to shame).

(Hailey had sunscreen for breakfast...mmm)

 Then we decided to put a plan into action (well, that was all Lynne).  We shoved off to Wilmington, NC for the day - about a two hour drive south, down I-40.

 

It's a beautiful little city on the Cape Fear River.  It took me a while to understand this, that "Cape Fear" was the river, I dunno why.  I asked John and Lynne like 8 times..."wait, what is Cape Fear?"  A: "THE RIVER."

 
     I was particularly excited to see Wilmington because my old friend Craig lived there for four months of excellent partying, until he couldn't find a job and came back home.  Although there were lots of entertaining "NC stories" from those times, I remembered two highlights from his excursion:

#1) Craig got chased by locals for wearing a Yankees hat.
#2) Craig climbed a palm tree while intoxicated.

SO, although I brought a Yankees hat to wear around Wilmington (You know, all that NC sun):

...I remembered Craig's words of wisdom, and left it in the car.  Cousin John seconded this choice.

(Sorry, Yanks, but I want to arrive in New Orleans in one piece.  Matter of fact, I kept that hat well hidden from here to Arizona, if I recall correctly.)

Oh!  And I found Craig's palm tree...

...yeah, 5 feet looks a lot like 12 when you've been drinking.  No, I get it, Craig.

Who doesn't?  That's our one claim to fame.

We hit up not one, but two haunted establishments in Wilmington, and had lunch at a very nice restaurant (in addition to homemade milkshakes for the road).  But because it is fully my intention to stretch out the Wilmington visit for at least two more entries, I will leave you here, to go watch Sense and Sensibility. 

Jane Austen and Emma Thompson?  and Hugh Grant?  and...*gasp*...Alan Rickman in...uniform?  I gotta go.

~A