After we checked out Kure Beach and Fort Fisher, we parked on a residential street in Wilmington and walked along Market Street to the city’s Historic Downtown district. It was beautiful. Enormous southern mansions and elaborate cathedrals lined the streets, punctuated by statues venerating Civil War heroes. At the end of Market Street sat the Riverwalk, along the Cape Fear River. That general area housed a multitude of interesting shops and cafes, and of course, plenty of touristy places. Lots of photo opportunities.
The most outstanding thing about Wilmington, however, wasn’t the charming downtown area or gorgeous beaches; it was the people. Everyone was nice, so nice that it caught us off guard. The standards of courtesy and communication in public make the inhabitants of Reading, PA seem antisocial. We really liked treating other human beings like human beings, but unfortunately, we’d get the cold shoulder if we were to be so kind and open to strangers back home.
The people of Wilmington were even more striking in that many tried to sell us on moving down there. Everyone appeared to love the city, wanted us to know that everyone loves the city, and enumerated all the reasons we should love Wilmington, too. From what we saw, Wilmington is easy to love; it’s got classy beaches, clean, attractive urban areas, a diverse and engaging population, and a progressive environmental bent. We’ll be back as soon as we can!
Very nice! I need to take another trip down there. I was pregnant with Melissa when I was there. Long long time ago!!