Day 133 to Wilmington, NC

We left the Southport Marina at 8:35 am and headed 26 miles up the Cape Fear River to Wilmington, NC. We arrived just before 11:30 am in a fairly quick trip due largely to favorable tides. The main channel was deep at 42+ feet, and the current was strong when I could keep Lucky Us in the faster water. This bridge is the Cape Fear Memorial (lift) Bridge that is 65 feet high closed and 130 feet when open. The metropolitan area has about 265k people and stretches from the Cape Fear River all the way to Wrightsville Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. The Cape Fear River angles in from the coast so even though we are 25 miles up river, we are only 15 miles from the coast.

This is the battleship North Carolina, and it is up river from the lift bridge. Most of the port area (mainly container ships?) is before the lift bridge, but obviously large (i.e. high) ships can reach the downtown area. The ship appears to be in excellent condition, and we hope to take a tour if time permits.

     After a well deserved nap (my opinion), we called Enterprise and rented a car. While at the rental agency, we inquired about local restaurants, and one of the customers suggested "Elizabeth's Pizza". Even better, he was going to be driving past it so we could follow him. Well, the name of the restaurant is not very Italian, but I had the best margarita pizza since my last one at Fratella's in Bryan, TX.