Daytrip to Wilmington to Visit the USS North Carolina Battleship and Area Breweries
I know. I know. Our vacation to Carolina Beach wasn’t going to be a work or blog trip. The notepad was staying at home and the camera was to be reserved for special family moments. This was our time to spend with Deacon on his first trip to the beach and a chance to reconnect with each other as we re-evaluated the next chapter in our life with Shannan’s lay-off.
In fact, we agreed to a weeklong social media disconnect. No Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. The goal of our trip was to relax and experience the present as a family unit, without the worry of what was going on in the world or with the disastrous US election.
For the most part, I stuck to the agreement.
The only time I took the “good camera” out of its case was on our daytrip to visit the USS North Carolina battleship and a few Wilmington breweries. Don’t worry; I still captured plenty of cute baby beach moments with my smart phone. The “good camera” felt too much like work though, which is why it stayed packed away.
I did break my no social media rule with SnapChat though. I had to negotiate with Shannan on this one but eventually convinced her that SnapChat was okay as it’s something I considered more fun than part of my blog’s social media marketing plan. It’s also void of the political drama and arguments that are smeared all over Twitter and Facebook.
I’m really glad I was permitted to use SnapChat as I captured some amazing snaps of the USS North Carolina battleship and Wilmington area breweries that I’m excited to share below.
The USS North Carolina battleship was by far the best battleship we’ve toured.
While Shannan has toured quite a bit more battleships that I have (her family was more into seeing sights while mine was all about the beach), we were both very impressed with the USS North Carolina battleship. It’s the first ship we’ve been on where the entire boat is open for touring, from the engine room to the infirmary.
In fact, the tour was so extensive that we spent two-and-half hours below deck before emerging to tour the upper decks. Unfortunately, Deacon had enough and we were famished, so we skipped the upper decks and headed to Front Street Brewery for the brewery portion of the day.
Like with the USS North Carolina battleship, we were very impressed with our glimpse of the Wilmington brewery scene.
As we had Deacon with us, we didn’t visit quite as many breweries as our pre-baby days, but the three we popped into painted a tasty picture of how Wilmington is not far behind Asheville and Charlotte in terms of craft beer.
Everything I tasted at Front Street Brewery was so good that I can’t really pick a favorite. Order a flight and try them all! The same goes for Waterline Brewing (although I was crushing on the Tripel). At Flytrap Brewing, they were in the midst of a brew house upgrade so only two beers were on draft. Still, I dug the nano-brewery atmosphere and the Hoppy Tripel.
For more on our daytrip to Wilmington to visit the USS North Carolina battleship and area breweries, check out my SnapChat video below!
Like what you saw? Then follow me on SnapChat at brichwrites, or use the SnapCode below.
Using SnapCodes is not as hard as you think. Follow these simple steps to follow me on SnapChat via my SnapCode.
- Open SnapChat on your phone.
- Hold your phone up to the computer screen like you’re planning to take a picture of my SnapCode.
- Now press and hold your finger on my SnapCode like you’re trying to activate face filters.
- SnapChat will then bring up my profile.
- Click “Add friend.”
Want to go on a similar trip?
Check out TripAdvisor for the latest reviews of hotels in Wilmington and the surrounding area. Or, consider a vacation rental. We loved our vacation rental in Carolina Beach. Nearby Wrightsville Beach is a popular destination as well.
As a home brewer and craft beer fan, I know my husband would love this daytrip, not to mention the battleship as well. Thanks for sharing!
Make a weekend of it and really explore the beer scene!
I love Wilmington! Great post!
Thank you!
Sometimes we need to enjoy the moment and step away from Social Media.The battleships looks amazing. Though I don’t drink beer I finf it interesting to visit.
There’s so much more to beer in Wilmington. The beaches are beautiful and the historic city has a lot of shops and restaurants worth checking out.
Would love to try some of the beer, love that there is so much craft beer to enjoy all around the world.
Craft beer truly makes the world a better place!
I love Wilmington but I’ve only been once or twice! I love the idea of visiting a battleship and checking out some breweries! Plus beach, of course. 😉 This sounds like such a great trip!
Wilmington beaches are totally underrated. Its a laid-back, awesome place to visit. Wait, maybe we don’t want to let the secret out…
One of my favorite breweries, Dogfish Head, is located in Delaware. I’m not familiar with the ones in Wilmington and will have to check them out when I’m back in the area.
Wrong Wilmington. We were at the one in North Carolina 🙂
Sounds like a fabulous trip -and good for you for going mostly social media free 🙂
Thank you. It was a great family time.