Weekend in Southport, NC

Southport is a picturesque & charming beach town on the coast of North Carolina. 

 



I decided to take a trip down to visit the fam & their pups. 


I enjoy gifting my parents with a homeless animal every few years. 



I checked in at the hotel (aka the rents house) at around 5pm - since Southport is about a 5 hour drive from Asheville. My room was delightful, yet at the same time disappointing (there was no turn down service). I’ll assume it’s because of COVID-19 - the world is crazy right now. 


After COVID I’ll expect fresh towels and a mint chocolate promptly at 6pm. 


So my first night there (Friday evening), we went to the Frying Pan. The Frying Pan is right on the ocean in Southport and has *to die for views*. Just FYI - the Frying Pan isn’t a giant man made Frying Pan on the beach or something; but rather a delicious restaurant with great drinks and a super friendly staff. 



Saturday morning I started the day off with a Red Eye & Almond Milk at Port City Java - because everyone needs a Red Eye after two vodka drinks from the night before. Order at the window (the inside part is closed) & they’ll bring your coffee right out to you! 

 

  

We were going to go straight to the beach after coffee - but my swimsuit had the likeness of a seal, so to prevent a potential shark attack the fam detoured to the Pacific Superstore in Southport to purchase a (non seal like) bikini. They have an abundance of swimsuits, beach towels, and tourist-esque tees at very affordable prices! I also got a super cute “Oak Island” towel and T Shirt to bring home so all of my friends and neighbors could be reminded that I went to the beach and they didn’t. 



Post swimsuit purchase, we headed over to the St. James Clubhouse Beach on Oak Island. The weather was perfectly overcast and the water was warm.



I fed the alligators. 


So anyway - my favorite part of the beach on Oak Island is that is wasn’t very crowded at all, also that there are no lifeguards to tell you how to live your life. There *are* however, adorbs little fish that jump out of the water all around you when you’re swimming. 



Probably alligators too - now that I think about it. 


After a fun day at the beach (and showering after, taking the herd of rescue dogs out, etc etc.) we headed back out to Oak Island for dinner at the Koko Cabana. The Koko Cabana is tastefully decorated with a kinda trendy vibe, and has a wide variety of dinner selections from fresh seafood to burgers and several vegan options. 



Since the Koko Cabana is literally right next to the Oak Island Pier - we decided to take an after dinner stroll down the pier. 

Tip, if you go right around sunset and look to your left you’ll see the Oak Island Lighthouse illuminated - it’s the perfect place to get some gorgeous photos!



Did you know...  Southport & Oak Island are pretty popular filming locations? A few movies that were filmed there are "I Know What You Did Last Summer" & Iron Man 3. 

 

Note; Oak Island is not synonymous with Martin Scorseses’ 2010 psychological thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio - “Shutter Island”. That was actually filmed on an Island in Boston Harbor. Southport and Oak Island have nothing terrifying about them (like Massachusetts), but are rather *adorable* seaside towns with bright colors and a quaint, yet refined - Southern Charm.



Click here to check out my new book on Amazon ~ 'The Crystal Inn: A Southern Haunting'





Location: Southport, NC 28461, USA

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