We left Savannah better informed about the RV situation there, and with two solid options for staying there in the future, and headed North towards Wilmington.  In keeping with our drive distance preferences we made a one night stop just before the North Carolina boarder on I-95.  I played with the idea of staying at the RV park associated with the South of the Border theme park, but thought it might be too noisy and filled with rowdy kids hyped up on cotton candy and adrenaline, so we opted for Bass Lake RV Park, a Passport-America participant.  It was ideal for a one nighter: quite, full hook ups, and a pull through site for $20.

Yes, that is the South of the Border water tower, and it is indeed designed to look like a sombrero.

The next morning we dropped Serenity off at Jack’s RV Storage, the same place we left him last year.  The place is really a granite counter top specialist, but the owner, who lives on site, runs several side business off his property, including boat and RV storage.  It’s cheap, secure, and situated close enough to Wilmington to be convenient for our needs.

That sub heading under the Welcome to North Carolina sign: “Nations most military friendly state” is an easy claim to make, can you back it up?

Our timing this trip is working out quite well; we arrived in Wilmington the day before Mother’s Day and stayed for five days of work and play with Mom and Tim.    Wilmington took a direct hit from Hurricane Florence in September of last year, and like many other residents, they are still in the process of getting there house back in shape, a process made even more urgent by their desire to put the house on the market.

Stone crab claws, quiche, fruit, cheese, prosecco, and acacia honey for Mother’s Day brunch.  If you have not had Acacia honey, do yourself a favor and try it. You won’t go back.

So in between outings to farmers markets, restaurants, wine tastings, and music lessons we pitched in where we could, making minor repairs and helping with the removal of a lot of vines overgrowing into the tree line in the back yard.  We made a lot of progress, though they still have some work for actual professionals to do before the place is 100%.

Wielding various implements of destruction, we made huge inroads into taking down the vast array of vines strangling the trees between Mom and Tim’s house and the neighbor’s.

After discovering the wine tasting event at Sweet and Savory last year, it will be a priority for our visits to Wilmington.  This time around they paired five wines with five modest dishes, and so as not to be too glutinous, the four of us shared two orders of this special.  Almost everything was fantastic, and with the associated wine sale we left full and toting a couple of bottles as well.

I have honestly never seen this before.  So apparently NC can make the boast with at least this bit of evidence.  To be honest, I am not sure why this should be a thing any more than “First Responders’, Nurses’, or Teachers'” reserved parking.

Perhaps the highlight of our visit was the music lessons Tim provided both of us.  Having purchased Rosemarie’s ukulele we had not made much headway on our own, but under Tim’s guidance we made significant progress!  As much as learning some basic chords and being able to switch between them, it was the assistance in strumming that we both really needed.

Rex does not wish to play tug-o-war, but is just a bit suspicious about handing me his favorite stuffed toy to throw for fetch.

Next up: Norfolk region of Virginia.  Only 26 days behind on the blog now, catching up!