Deal alert! Wrightsville

We like to travel to the Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach area because it's usually civilized and it's near. Hop on Interstate 40, and you're less than two hours away if you live in the Triangle...not much more than three hours even if you're as far west as the Triad.

That said, seven firms are offering special discounts for booking through mid-March. They include the Holiday Inn Resort, Shell Island Resort and the Blockade Runner.

Here's the link: www.wilmingtonandbeaches.com/Wrightsville-Beach/Winter-Highlights2/Special-Offers?cmpid=Email_3061

What's sweet about the southern barrier islands is how warm it can be even in midwinter. A long weekend does wonders for a harried marriage or an overly busy family.

Go for it!

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A Crystal Coast freebie

One of our favorite times to spend at the beach is the late fall and winter. Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. The crush of tourists is long gone...which makes long, quiet walks on the beach that much easier. The weather is usually pleasant, and sometimes even warm. And here's a treat: Cottage rental rates are at their lowest.

Here's one better. Bluewater Vacation Rentals is repeating its offer of one night free when you rent a cottage or condo for three nights. The deal is good from December 15 to January 6. You must pick from a selection of rental properties and then call 866-976-3512 to make the  reservation. And you must mention the 4-for-3 promotion.

Actually, there are a growing number of families that have started a tradition of spending Christmas or New Year's at ocean's edge. Some of the rental companies even offer Christmas season vacation packages that include a Christmas tree delivered to your cottage door! Be careful, though, since rates can be higher during the holiday weeks than the rest of the winter season.

We're old-fashioned enough that Dec. 25th has to be at home. But we've spent more than a few January 1sts in the salty air.

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Deal alert!

You wouldn't call it March Madness or anything, but Emerald Isle Realty is offering a vacation deal through the month of March: 3 days for the price of 2 or 4 days for the price of 3.

If nothing else, it's a good kite-flying month. You can watch basketball March Madness in between long walks on the beach! And with the weather so warm during these first few months of 2012, chances are good that it'll be pleasant next month.

Go here for details of the deal.

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Quick, Beach Cottage Contest

One more contest, this one for a free week’s accommodation in an oceanfront cottage at Sunset Beach this spring. Deadline to enter is Dec. 15th.

Sunset Properties has teamed up with Our State magazine for the special promotion. You’ll stay in Sea Oats West cottage, which has four bedrooms and four baths. Sleeps up to 10!

Includes free linens and setup, free DVD movie rentals and discounts to area businesses.

Sunset is a wonderful beach, and within easy driving distance to wonderful food in the small town of Calabash and the big entertainment in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Sunset Properties has been around since 1988 and offers more than 400 homes on the barrier islands of Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach.

Enter Here...Good luck!

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Graveyard Worth Visiting!

The state Department of Cultural Resources operates three fine maritime museums, including one on the Outer Banks. Here's a press release about that facility's Christmas open house, which is coming up fast!

HATTERAS – Cookies and caroling will be among the delights of the first annual Christmas Open House at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum on Saturday, Dec. 10, from noon until 4 p.m. Vintage Santa Claus displays, twinkling lights and a holiday village will make for festive times at the free family-friendly event. Even the animatronic dog and bear and a snowman or two will be part of the fun.
Children will enjoy making nautical bracelets and stencils. A variety of homemade soups will warm the soul, and door prizes will be given. All donations brought for the food bank will earn a 5-percent discount in the gift shop and also a special holiday bag.

Island history will be on display in the “Flags Over Hatteras” Civil War exhibit, and in the familiar names and faces of the “Ship Ashore” exhibit. Actual artifacts from Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck are in the “Pirates, Scalawags, and Brigands” exhibit, and will make for a full fun-filled day.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is located at 59200 Museum Drive, Hatteras, N.C. 27943, and is one of three N.C. Maritime Museums, along with the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort and the N.C. Maritime Museum in Southport. The Maritime Museums are part of the Division of State History Museums in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

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Gotta Go: Wright Brothers Memorial

Next month marks the 108th anniversary of Wilbur and Orville Wright’s great accomplishment, man’s first controlled flight in a heavier-than-air craft. Join the celebration.

On Dec. 17, the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, N.C., will hold its annual celebration of the first flight from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. It’s free. National Park Service rangers will lead a tribute at the exact place and time as the historic flight. You can also visit a replica of the brothers’ encampment; an extensive visitors center; and the soaring, 60-foot granite monument to the brothers’ feat.

Wright Brothers National Memorial is at mile post 7.5 on U.S. Highway 158. Here’s the website.

There’s more to do that weekend on the Outer Banks. Take in a home and gardens workshop and a kid’s craft day at Elizabethan Gardens. From 10 a.m. until noon, learn wreath making during the same time that children from 5 and over enjoy arts and craft and a stroll through the Gardens. Both have a cost and have limited enrollment. Visit this website for details.

At the Indoor Theatre at Roanoke Island Festival Park, UNC-Greensboro’s troup will perform “Amahl and the Night Visitors” on Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in. It’s an opera about the biblical three Wise Men, and is performed internationally every Christmas season. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for those 12 and under. For details, click here.

Holidays By the Sea

A lake just a few hundred yards from the Atlantic Ocean is the focal point for the holiday festivities at this area in N.C. year. From the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, the towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach host the Island of Lights Festival. Beachgoers and visitors follow a one-mile path around Carolina Beach Lake to view displays built around the lake. On the first day, Nov. 25, free hot chocolate and cookies are served. Admission is free.

On Dec. 2, fishing and pleasure boaters decorate their crafts with thousands of lights for a water parade on the Intracoastal Waterway. The parade, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., cruises from Snows Cut to the Carolina Beach Boat Basin and back. The parade and parking is free.

Find all the details at www.islandoflights.org.

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