Wilmington NC (and the ant invasion!)

We really enjoyed Wilmington NC. Beautiful beaches, amazing homes and gardens in the historic district and the only place (within a 90 miles radius) where the Venus flytrap grows naturally in the world. We had lots of rain while visiting but did hit one good morning for the beach.

Carolina and Wrightsville Beaches - so pretty.

Downtown Wilmington

These carriage rides have been in Wilmington for over 30 years. The horses are rescued Amish work horses and once retired, they live out their rest of there days on the owners farm. This was a fun way to see historic downtown Wilmington and the Riverwalk on Cape Fear River.

Bellamy Mansion Museum

This home was built just prior to the start of the Civil war in 1859 by Dr. John Bellamy. It includes the house, carriage house and slave living quarters. The tours include the stories of the Bellamy family, the free and enslaved black artisans who built the home, and the enslaved workers who resided at the home. The Bellamy’s 8 year old daughter was in her 80’s when she wrote about her life in the home. She died at the mansion in 1946.

The homes and churches in the historic district were amazing - the brick walls and walks, flowering Crepe Myrtle trees, trained ivy on many of the walls and beautiful landscaping. Just beautiful.

The Big Venus Fly Trap Hunt!

Once I found out the Venus Fly Trap only grows in one place in the world AND it is within a 90 miles radius around Wilmington….I had to see it. So I took my trusty spotter Bob to the carnivorous plant preserve! These plants are very small (full grown plants only grow to 5 inches in diameter) so they were not easy to find. We did find a few!! Poaching is a big problem - it’s illegal to remove these plants but they are big bucks on the black market. We more easily found the yellow and purple Pitcher Plants - also carnivorous!
Bob wanted to catch bugs and feed them to the plants .

It was great time to spend time with Bob’s friend Terry! Since Terry is a Wilmington native, he had great ideas of all the things to see. We really did need more time here. Thanks Terry!!!

NOW ITS THE ANTS…..

We were infested with ants at the Wilmington KOA. YUCK! I’ve been spraying for ants for the last 2 days. I HATE ANTS! So with the ants, heat, humidity and daily thunderstorms….this is turning out to be quite the summer trip. The thunderstorms and rain are SO SO LOUD when you live in a big “Tin Can” (or the “Spam Can” I am now calling it) poor Sam needs a sedative to survive big thunderstorms. We are really working hard to make the best of it!