Wilmington Weekend

Over Valentine's Day weekend, the three of us headed to Wilmington, NC for some relaxation and fun.  Josh and I have been to Wilmington once before Mara was born but were excited to share some of our favorite experiences with her.

People watching with daddy

It was a bit of a last minute trip so we were lucky to find reservations at a local bed & breakfast near the downtown.  On our last trip we stayed mainly in Carolina Beach on the ocean but this time we wanted to spend the majority of our time in Wilmington.  (plus it was too cold to spend anytime on the beach!)

At the aquarium

We left Fayetteville around mid-day Friday and took our time getting there.  We popped into a local brewery for a late lunch and then headed over to the b & b to check in. The rest of the evening we spend exploring some of the fun shops and strolling along the river.  It was a tad cold so we finished the evening with a warm bowl of pho in a local Vietnamese restaurant.

Fishes!

The next day we headed to the aquarium.  We had been there before but thought with Mara's love of animals she would get a lot out of it.  Mara thoroughly enjoyed the tanks of small fish and continuously was pointing them out as they swam by.

Look Daddy

She was a little unsure about some of the kid geared features of the aquarium.  She hated the turtle statue to climb on and the tunnels to crawl through.  I loved watching her awe at some of the bigger fish and the large lobsters.

After we had exhausted all the sea life we headed outside and let Mara expel some energy on the playground.  She had a blast testing out the slide, eventually climbing the stairs and going down all by herself.  

in awe

 After the aquarium we grabbed a quick lunch at a local pizza spot and then caught the ferry across the Cape Fear River to the town of Southport. We had heard it was a quaint town and worth the trip.  I think the ferry ride was better than the actual town.  Mara loved looking out the window in the look out and watching the waves.  The town was quite small and only had a few stores worth browsing.  We quickly decided to head back Wilmington for the night.

sliding!

Valentine's night we took our chances and tried a nice seafood place on the water.  Thankfully they had a table near the bar and we shared a dinner of calamari and crab cakes!  The rest of the night was spent exchanging presents and hanging out at the b & b.

Daddy daughter love on the ferry

Sunday was our last day there and we took the time to explore some of the last few shops downtown.  We ducked into an outdoor shop and I was able to find a nice pair of hiking pants.  Our final stop was another local brewery where we tried a few of their local beers on tap.  It was a great ending to our weekend.  Mara also enjoyed making friends with their canine mascot following him around the room and petting him.

The albino alligator

It was so nice to be able to spend Valentine's Day with my love. I had chalked it up to another holiday we would miss but am so glad that we got to spend the time together instead.