Home Care In Carolina Beach, NC

The beach isn’t for everybody.

Summertime along North Carolina’s coast can be tricky to navigate – a couple of hours (or more) in the car just to face the hordes of people all battling for the best sliver of sand to relax for the day.

WRAL News Brief

Watch More

It’s no wonder that the lure of a dip in the ocean at North Carolina’s beaches – Cape Lookout National Seashore, Nags Head, Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach among them – is so tempting when the weather is warm.

While it’s less possible to sunbathe and swim in cooler temperatures, wintertime at the beach provides an entirely different experience. It provides crisp air, empty stretches of shore and the calming waves all to yourself.

Here’s a look at what North Carolina beaches offer in the wintertime.

Get coffee, hot chocolate or something to warm up

Whenever I’m at any kind of restaurant or establishment, I know something is top-notch when something I wouldn’t typically order is delicious.

Admittedly, I am a faux coffee drinker. It’s not that I don’t like coffee, but I’m not devastated without it.

However, the coffee at the Workshop at 86 Waynick Blvd. at Wrightsville Beach is spectacular. The food is also delicious.

The shop is open every day from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. If coffee isn’t your thing, the Workshop also has smoothies, pastries, toasts and panini-pressed sandwiches.

Grab a cup of coffee, hot or iced, and take a walk on the beach. There are several beach access points to Wrightsville Beach less than a quarter mile away.

5 things to do in Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach that don't involve the beach

Carolina Beach Pier

The Carolina Beach Pier is at the northern tip of the island at 1800 Carolina Beach Avenue North. It also offers customers free parking.

In 2022, the Carolina Beach Pier was sold to new owners.

The High Tide Lounge is typically decked out with holiday decorations during Christmas time. It also provides a tremendous view from either the second floor or third floor of Carolina Beach. From the lounge, you can watch the few who are brave enough to endure the cold water to surf.

At the beach level, the pier sells Christmas trees in advance of Christmas Day and pumpkins in advance of Halloween. It provides a great sense of holiday spirit.

When the weather is warm enough, the Tiki Bar on the second floor is a relaxing place to grab a drink.

One thing to note: The end of the pier is closed for fishing and undergoing repairs due to storm damage.

Visit the Wright Brothers Memorial

Wilbur and Orville Wright were out of their minds.

It took the brothers four years of experimentation before achieving the first successful airplane flights on Dec. 17, 1903. Keep in mind, they would also travel back and forth between North Carolina and Dayton, Ohio.

Wilbur Wright developed the notion of warping the wings by watching birds and idle twisting of a box.

While in Dayton, they tested wing-warping on a 5-foot biplane kite. However, the weather conditions in Dayton were not suitable for their extensive experiments.

They chose Kitty Hawk – a windy location – for high-sand dunes, isolation and a soft sand landing area.

According to the National Park Services, in a letter dated May 13, 1900, to Octave Chanute, an experienced engineer and a worldwide authority on flight at the time, Wilbur Wright wrote:

“For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man. My disease has increased in severity and I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money if not my life. I have been trying to arrange my affairs in such a way that I can devote my entire time for a few months to experiment in this field.”

Keep in mind: The brothers would have to haul test gliders up the 90-foot tall Kill Devil Hill. Over the years, their gliders ranged from 17-foot wingspan to 40-foot, 4-inch wingspan.

The Wright Brothers National Memorial at 1000 North Croatan Highway in Kill Devil Hills provides a tribute to their achievement.

A 60-foot granite monument was dedicated to the brothers in 1932 atop Kill Devil Hill.

Every American should go see where the Wright Brothers forever changed the world.

Want to visit for free the memorial for free? The Wright Brothers National Memorial will waive its entrance fee for eight days in 2024.

The eight fee-free days will be:

Free admission to Wright Brothers National Memorial on these days in 2024

Visit Jockey’s Ridge State Park

Jockey’s Ridge State Park is home to the tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic coast. It provides an awesome view of the Atlantic Ocean.

It is a great place to fly kites, watch the sunset and to hang glide if that’s your thing. Registration is required if you want to hang glide.

To me, Jockey’s Ridge State Park feels like the “Star Wars” planet of Tatooine. (The scenes were actually filmed in Death Valley National Park).

I cannot emphasize this enough: Bring water or something to hydrate!

My family made the mistake of visiting Jockey’s Ridge State Park in the summertime. If I ever go back to Jockey’s Ridge, it will be when it’s cooler out, ideally, either in the morning or as the sun is setting.

There are no camping facilities at Jockey’s Ridge.

Visit Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher – located at 1610 Ft. Fisher Blvd. South at Kure Beach – was a Confederate fort during the Civil War.

Until the last few months of the Civil War, Fort Fisher kept North Carolina's port of Wilmington open to blockade-runners supplying necessary goods to Confederate armies inland.

By 1865, the supply line through Wilmington was the last remaining supply route open to Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. When Fort Fisher fell after a massive Federal assault on Jan. 15, 1865, its defeat helped seal the fate of the Confederacy.

It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Admission is free.

Visit the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher

The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

It is a family-friendly place where you can see eels, a gliding stingray, sharks, an albino alligator, baby sea turtles and a family of otters playing in a waterfall.

Tickets are typically $12.95 for adults, $11.95 for seniors 62 and older and $10.95 for children ages 3-12. Children ages 2 and younger are free.

Become a sandcastle architect

The cold sand molds like clay, which is perfect for sculpting an epic fortress.

Challenge your group to a sandcastle showdown with moats, towers and a seaweed throne for the winner.

Plus, you might find a souvenir that washes ashore.

Beachcombing

The items that wash up on the beach vary throughout the year.

Winter is generally the best time of year to find shells due to strong onshore winds and occasional powerful nor’easter storms.

The calm ocean typical of the summer does not usually bring many shells onto the beach.

Gather around a fire

With regulations, fires are allowed on beaches in Nags Head and along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. For example, Nags Head requires permits.

However, they are not allowed in Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills.

Check with your municipality about its beach fire rules before building one.

If you are allowed to make a beach fire, get the marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate and graham crackers to make S’mores. Also, grab a cup of hot chocolate, a sweatshirt and some blankets.

Carolina Beach State Park, located 12 miles south of Wilmington, is under new leadership.

Crystal Lloyd has been named the new park superintendent, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation announced Monday.

Sponsor Spotlight

PBS North Carolina’s State of Change initiative examines the impact of climate change on coastal and inland communities across the state and how communities and individuals have responded with innovative solutions. Read more at pbsnc.org/stateofchange.

Lloyd, previously superintendent at Falls Lake State Recreation Area in Durham and Wake counties, fills the role after longtime superintendent Chris Helms’ retirement in April.

A native of Creedmoor, Lloyd has a bachelor’s in parks, recreation and tourism management from North Carolina State University.

She joined the division working as a seasonal employee at Falls Lake State Recreation in high school, continuing to work for parks during the summer, including at William B. Umstead State Park. She became a ranger in 2012 at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, then transferred to Falls Lake in 2015 before eventually being promoted to superintendent in 2021. She also co-hosted a podcast called “Ask a Ranger” that tackled the various aspects of the division’s mission as it relates to the work of field staff.

“Crystal has a unique perspective of division operations, moving her way up from seasonal positions to park ranger and to park superintendent,” said North Carolina State Parks Director Brian Strong. “We are excited to have Crystal at Carolina Beach State Park and the years of experience she brings as a superintendent will be invaluable as she stewards the unique natural and recreational resources of the park.”

The park superintendent leads the operations and administration at the park and has responsibilities that include staffing, training, law enforcement, planning, natural and cultural resource management, interpretation and education, and visitor services.

Sponsor Spotlight

Learn how your referral results in a $525 donation to the North Carolina Coastal Federation. Wilmington-based with extensive professional experience, I provide hands-on service tailored to your needs. Serving coastal southeast NC, let my experience guide you through buying and selling your homes. thecoastalrealestategroup.com | 910.679.6072

Carolina Beach State Park is home to the carnivorous Venus flytrap, and habitats like Sugarloaf Dune, a 50-foot dune that once served as a navigational marker for river pilots, and three limesink ponds that each feature a unique plant community. The park’s marina provides access to the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

OUTER BANKS, N.C. (CN) — The first of two homes on the verge of collapse on a stretch of the North Carolina Outer Banks prone to extreme erosion was demolished Wednesday by the National Park Service.

Funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the service purchased the Rodanthe homes last month as a part of a pilot program to combat erosion on the Outer Banks, which are particularly vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise.

Five homes have collapsed in Rodanthe since 2020, with the most recent collapse in March 2023. Past collapses have caused highway closures, over 10 miles of debris and an expensive cleanup process — the service's Cape Hatteras National Seashore program has stepped in multiple times to carry out additional cleanups and restore the beaches.

The removal of both threatened properties is contracted to cost $72,500 and the land will be open for public use after the beach is restored. Clean-up includes removal of the house pilings, as well as the houses’ septic tanks.

The beach house demolished Wednesday had formerly been owned by Eric Saks, who had named the building “Mermaid’s Kiss.” Saks, who had bought the property in 2021, was the one of the first homeowners to sell to the National Park Service.

“It's important to us that this iconic house, which has been a part of our lives, is removed safely to avoid any harm to our precious coastal ecosystem,” Saks wrote in a post on Facebook. “While this decision came with a significant financial loss and a heavy heart, we believe it's a step in the right direction for the environment we're so passionate about protecting.”

David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, helped to coordinate the sale of the homes and was present at the demolition Wednesday.

“It’s a pilot project, so something we’re trying out to mitigate the impacts of these threatened structures to the resources of Cape Hatteras seashore and our visitors,” said Hallac. “The work to remove the house today went very well. It was successful, it was done very safely, and they may actually take the second house down tomorrow. They’ve planned this very carefully in ensuring that this happens at low tide and that the wind and wave conditions are matching their criteria to get this done.”

According to Hallac, these threatened homes can have an impact on the seashore and visitors long before they fall into the sea.

“Pieces and parts can fall off the houses anytime because they've been hit by waves. The houses are in the middle of … a habitat that's used by shorebirds and sea turtles. And even when the house is in reasonable condition, the septic systems, the septic tanks and the drain fields oftentimes get exposed or break open and cause public health threats," he said.

Once the house collapses, it can create a large debris field that could take weeks, if not months, to clean up.

“This situation occurs in a much more controlled manner. The debris can be removed in a short period of time by professionals on the beach very quickly," Hallas said.

Demolition of both homes and beach restoration are expected to take no more than 30 days. The two homes being demolished had been prioritized as they were closest to the ocean and had a high possibility of collapse.

One of the goals of the demolition is to evaluate the feasibility of a larger program addressing threatened oceanfront structures.

“We are interested in considering scaling the program up to acquire more homes and restore those beach areas,” said Hallac. “But we want to carry this pilot project out completely first, analyze how everything went, and learn what went well and what can be improved.”

Categories / Environment, Regional

(CN) — A Virginia couple that sued a North Carolina county over access to their vacation home lost their bid to get the case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Joseph and Linda Blackburn lost access to their secondary home in Dare County, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic; starting on March 20, 2020, a public health order temporarily barred nonresident landowners from entering the county.

In their lawsuit, the Blackburns argued the order was tantamount to a governmental seizure of their personal property without compensation, setting up a debate over how Covid-related travel restrictions stack up against the Fifth Amendment.

But lower courts rejected the claim, and on Tuesday the Supreme Court declined to grant a writ of certiorari to hear the couple’s appeal.

The court offered no explanation for the decision.

Dare County announced the restrictions on March 16, effectively giving nonresident property owners four days to get to their properties if they wanted to quarantine in the county. Since the Blackburns did not arrive by March 20, they were unable to access their beach house until the order was partially lifted 45 days later.

Absent a physical intrusion on the Blackburns’ property, however, the restriction did not constitute a governmental taking of property, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals found. Plus, since the order was temporary, it could not possibly deprive the Blackburns of all the property’s economic value — a benchmark often used to measure encroachments on property rights.

Lawyers for the Blackburns pushed back in their Supreme Court brief, arguing Dare County had still encroached on the couple’s rights to enjoyment and use of the property. The right of enjoyment and exclusion are among the so-called “bundle of sticks” that typically define property ownership, the attorneys argued, and the ability to enjoy and use one’s property is just as central to the idea of property ownership as the potential economic benefit.

Therefore, the Blackburns said, to deprive a property owner of those rights amounts to a taking of the property.

“At a fundamental level, the ability to enter upon one’s property for personal use and the right to prohibit others from doing the same are the two basic tenants of property ownership,” the brief says. “To take one is to take the other, and both should be considered per se takings under the Fifth Amendment of the United States.”

Dare County attorneys meanwhile argued legal precedent is clear that a “taking” of property can't occur without physically occupying or appropriating property.

The county also highlighted in its brief that the limitation was temporary, and local governments routinely restrict access to areas in times of emergency. Even outside a global pandemic, natural disasters or violent incidents, like bomb threats or active shooter situations, often require road closures or other measures that may limit access to properties.

“Persons owning property in those affected areas have suffered no appropriation or invasion of their property, and such temporary restrictions have never been considered a per se taking,” the county’s lawyers argued.

The Fourth Circuit’s decision in this case has been upheld and cited in other cases, many involving conflicts over Covid-19 restrictions, county attorneys noted. In Golden Glow Tanning Salon v. City of Columbus, for instance, the Fifth Circuit ruled that the closing of a tanning salon due to Covid regulations didn’t constitute a seizure of property.

Courthouse News reached out to attorneys for both parties for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

Categories / Courts, Economy, Government, Health

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (WECT) - The Town of Carolina Beach announced Tuesday that it is ending parking enforcement early this year.

This means that the town-operated lots and on-street parking will be available for free through Dec. 31.

“Parked vehicles should abide by all other parking rules such as time limits, space constraints, and residential right of way restrictions. As in prior years, parking remains free in January and February, and paid parking/enforcement will start back up March 1st. Visit https://www.carolinabeach.org/visitors/parking for more information about parking in Carolina Beach,” a town announcement states.

For the most part, there are two types of parking lots and spaces in Carolina Beach: the ones operated by the town and the ones operated by a private company called NC Parking.

Earlier this month, NC Parking announced that it would not be charging for parking in its lots in Carolina Beach from November through February. Carolina Beach Mayor Lynn Barbee says this prompted the town to reconsider its parking rates for November and December.

“To be consistent, if they’re not going to charge, I think the position of the town was we don’t want to charge either,” said Barbee.

The town charges $2 per hour or $10 per day in November and December for the spaces it operates. In March through October, the town charges $5 per hour or $25 per day.

Town leaders met with neighbors and local business owners last week to discuss the future of paid parking in the beach town.

‘It’s crisis mode’: More than 100 people attend input meeting on future of parking in Carolina Beach

Jerry Hebert owns Buzz’s Roost and The P.I.T on the boardwalk. He says the cost of parking during the offseason has taken customers away from local businesses.

“Some of these restaurants down on this on this boardwalk- in year two of this parking- are down literally $500,000, maybe more,” said Hebert. “That’s a lot to pay for one person or one business.”

Hebert is hopeful the town’s decision to offer free parking for the rest of the month will help. He also hopes it will spark a longer discussion about allowing parking permits for non-residents during the offseason.

“We’ve seen business jump up a little bit since NC Parking changed to free parking for the offseason and we’re hoping that the town lots will also do the same thing,” said Hebert.

Barbee expects the discussion about how to best move forward with paid parking to continue in the coming months.

“It’s a source of revenue that the town needs to cover the costs that are associated with our visitors,” said Barbee. “But how you solve it, there’s a lot of different ways just like any problem.”

Barbee says raising parking rates could be one way to address the issue.

“I think that has to be on the table,” said Barbee. “I don’t know that that’s the whole answer. You know, I don’t think it has to be. I mean, there are just a lot of options. But yeah, I think rates will have to be back on the table again.”

Barbee says the town uses parking revenue to pay for town projects and maintenance.

Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.