parents are in town and I want to take them to the beach
it's been awhile since i've been myself and forget which are the nicer beaches

looking for clean not crowded beach, with fun things to do and good restaurants...something for old people LOL.

thanks.

6/4/2007 1:32:02 PM

take them down to emerald isle or one of the wilmington area beaches... they are the closest

6/4/2007 1:39:52 PM

For the less crowded beaches, there's Fort Macon, near Atlantic Beach, or several of the Outer Banks, like Ocracoke. Either of those have several nice places to eat.

6/4/2007 1:42:03 PM

Little farther away, but still nice none the less...Sunset Beach. Has good eating 5 mins away with Calabash. Little entertainment however, unless you drive 10 mins to Ocean Isle (another nice beach) or 35 mins south to North Myrtle.

6/4/2007 1:43:01 PM

I've got some land for sale at ocean isle if anyone wants it

6/4/2007 1:52:05 PM

take them to ocean isle and eat at the sugar shack

6/4/2007 2:10:25 PM

^^Where's the land? and how much? seriously.

[Edited on June 4, 2007 at 2:10 PM. Reason : .]

6/4/2007 2:10:44 PM

do we have an aircraft carrier that public can tour? my dad oddly brought this up today as one of the things he's interested in....

i've always wanted to go to the outer banks...but the distance has always deterred me...how far is it really? do they still have lighthouses there? that would be unique for my parents

(btw, they are from Dallas, so imagine flat land with no ocean/beaches in sight)

6/4/2007 2:12:10 PM

also long time ago I remember this beach and a little town next to it where when you cross the suspension bridge, it's like a little walkable town, it looked new and clean....

and i know it wasn't wilmington

6/4/2007 2:14:43 PM

Battleship at Wilmington, aircraft carrier and other ships for tours in Charleston. I'm not sure if they have anything to tour at Norfolk.

6/4/2007 2:15:42 PM

from raleigh to manteo takes me about 3 hours...then you can go to nags head, kitty hawk, etc...the bodie island lighthouse is not far from there and neither is hatteras or ocracoke

6/4/2007 2:18:06 PM

^^^ they're slightly over 3 hours away

6/4/2007 2:18:49 PM

Take them camping in Pea Island or Hatteras nat'l wildlife refuge.

6/4/2007 2:22:43 PM

Quote :

"Where's the land? and how much? seriously"

just outside of town, 33 acres, $99K

6/4/2007 2:25:14 PM

emerald isle ftw

6/4/2007 2:27:30 PM

Quote :

"take them down to emerald isle or one of the wilmington area beaches... they are the closest"

how are you going to recommend beaches in the wilmington area as uncrowded and a "nicer" beach as krazedgirl requested. do not get me wrong i enjoy wrightsville beach but as if you are looking for a relaxed place to take your parents none of the beaches around wilmington i would recommend

wrightville= packed with college kids and tourists
carolina/kerr= packed with rednecks

holden/long beach would be nice or even topsail but each are like 30-50 min away from wilmington

6/4/2007 2:35:42 PM

yeah, I was giving her a "close"option, not a "nice" option

[Edited on June 4, 2007 at 2:37 PM. Reason : EI FTMFW]

6/4/2007 2:37:07 PM

haha true. yeah the south part of wrightsville would be nice more elderly tourists v. college aged people.

wrightsville is getting shitty though b.c you have to pay to park everywhere now and they are starting to crack down on open containers (thanks to the fucking tourists who can not manage to walk 15 ft to the trash barrel at every access point)

[Edited on June 4, 2007 at 2:43 PM. Reason : l]

6/4/2007 2:42:14 PM

Quote :

"just outside of town, 33 acres, $99K"

How far is just out of town? PM me the details please.

6/4/2007 4:40:32 PM

take them to obx if you want a quiet beach.

Wrightsville beach is semi quiet during the week and certain spots but its usually packed on weekends.
Carolina beach is also pretty quiet.

6/4/2007 4:47:24 PM

Sunset Beach
Twin Lakes Seafood, right on the other side of the bridge = Awesome

then stop by and have a drink with me and the fam.

6/4/2007 4:51:54 PM

Outer Banks, stay somewhere on Hatteras Island for the quiet. Duck is nice to walk though and shop, as is downtown manteo. Plenty of stuff that both mom and dad would probably like.

6/4/2007 5:06:09 PM

decisions decisions decisions

sounds like i def want to hit wilmington b/c of the downtown and battleship....how is the ship? is it worth seeing?

then it's a tough call whether to head up north to topsail maybe even nags head/obx and hit those places you guys mentioned since i've never been myself.....

or go down south to sunset beach and then the more crowded tourist attractions in myrtle beach

i'm leaning towards the former.

6/4/2007 5:13:31 PM

virginia beach ftw

6/4/2007 5:49:17 PM

Outer Banks>>>>>>>>>Wilmington

6/4/2007 5:57:35 PM

^

it really depends what you are looking for. If you want to get back to nature and just relax on the beach with your girlfriend or something then yeah the outerbanks are better.

but if you want to scope out some hotties on the beach, party/drink , and be in an active beach scene then wilmington is the place to go. you can sit out during the day then walk 0.5 mile to be at the beach bars to drink at night.

6/4/2007 6:30:42 PM

VA beach definately...only a little over 3 hours from Raleigh. Very clean and plenty to do

6/4/2007 6:38:50 PM

Quote :

"Sunset Beach"

I'd second Sunset for a quiet family trip. Great beach.

Not a lot of places to eat on the island, but there's plenty nearby on the mainland.

6/4/2007 6:44:36 PM

when you say take them to the beach do you mean spend a few days there or see it for the day?

6/4/2007 6:47:50 PM

for your parents and yourself i would also recommend va. beach. very family oriented and plenty to do there on the beach and in the local area

Battleship Wisconsin is also nearby for your dad to see (in norfolk).

[Edited on June 4, 2007 at 7:15 PM. Reason : battleship]

6/4/2007 7:15:05 PM

Virginia Beach is really gross and horrid tho...

6/5/2007 9:10:39 AM

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=480670
Myrtle Beach

6/5/2007 9:19:11 AM

The way you have described what you want I would go to Emerald Isle or the outer banks. Since they are from Dallas and have never been here I would take them to the Outer Banks and go out there on the ferry to give them a different experience. Plus the outer banks have great food and it's really quiet and beautiful out there. If I was you I wouldn't go to Wilmington. Shits too packed on the beaches.

6/5/2007 10:43:24 AM

go to Sullivan's Island (~10 miles north of Charleston, SC)...its kind of expensive but its clean and not crowded and there are good restaurants and the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier is right over in Mt. Pleasant at Patriot's Point

6/5/2007 10:47:19 AM

Tucker Beach is usually not that crowded

6/5/2007 11:52:08 AM

Quote :

"Twin Lakes Seafood, right on the other side of the bridge = Awesome"

Will be going our beach house at Sunset and eatting at this wonderful establishment in about a week and a half.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 12:25 PM. Reason : .]

6/5/2007 12:25:13 PM

I always thought Twin Lakes and the Hungry Fisherman (is that the one right there also?) sucked

Crabby Oddwaters (Bill's Seafood) was good stuff though

6/5/2007 12:27:23 PM

Quote :

"Outer Banks>>>>>>>>>Wilmington"

if your 50 years old, looking some where quiet for the family, then yeah.

Have you ever been in the ocean at OBX? its like 5 yards of sand of 3 foot deep water, then a 12 foot drop off.

Wrightsville you have atleast 15-20 yards, if not more, before it turns into a 12 foot drop off. Plus the ocean water is warmer there. Party/Scene there is good to (as well as downtown).

6/5/2007 2:25:52 PM

Quote :

"its like 5 yards of sand of 3 foot deep water, then a 12 foot drop off"

yep...one of the first things i noticed the first time i went there...the steeper slope...which makes sense to me from a continental drift scientific perspective...but its not as nice for "laying on the beach" or whatever as any of the beaches inside the OBX

6/5/2007 3:47:18 PM

Go to Topsail Island. It's about 30 minutes north of Wilmington, but without the Wilmington crowds. It's clean, and drive to Wilmington for the fun things to do.

6/5/2007 4:13:51 PM

^I second that...Topsail Beach is awesome. My dad used to LOVE that beach before he died...I still go there almost every summer just to remember him. They have awesome restaurants, fun things like putt putt and stuff, and it's really quiet and not a lot of teens/parties. If you drive down to the North end (which is the nicer, more expensive end), they have some really nice restaurants and golfing. There is also a bridge on the North end that overlooks some beautiful marshlands.

[Edited on June 5, 2007 at 4:33 PM. Reason : yeah]

6/5/2007 4:32:35 PM

You guys saying there's not much actual beach on the outer banks just need to go to the right places. Areas of Kitty Hawk through Nags Head have very little beach, but parts of corolla (not all, but some) and then from Coquina Beach in Nags Head (right across from the Bodie Island Lighthouse) on down through Hatteras have a very wide beach. Also, the dropoff changes all of the time with the currents. Some areas can be fairly shallow (waist deep and less) for a good bit and then have the drop off. Other areas go from 3 to 12 feet deep in about 50 feet.

6/5/2007 5:04:59 PM

theres still an inherently steeper slope on the outside of the outer banks than the inland barrier islands...basically the easternmost point of hatteras has the steepest slope...the Georgia Bight shows that the westernmost points of coast (Savannah GA, Brunswick GA, etc) have the gentlest slopes

6/5/2007 5:09:20 PM

are there any good seafood buffet restaurants at topsail? i'm heavily leaning towards raleigh --> wilmington --> topsail

my parents are old and they don't like being in the car too long so i think OBX is out of the question....also this means it's got to be a day trip

my alternative is raleigh --> wilmington --> myrtle.....myrtle has more shopping/dining but the beaches are pretty crowded

6/7/2007 9:39:21 AM

heading out tomorrow yippe

6/8/2007 4:26:28 PM

Does anybody know what that thing is called where somebody flies around in a chair with a fan and parachute? Ive seen it at the beach alot and didnt know if it had a name

7/11/2007 8:28:52 AM

parasailing?

7/11/2007 9:46:06 AM