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My wife and I enjoy a day at the beach without kids. We head down in the morning and have a quick lunch before we hit the beach. We bring our chairs and umbrella, books and iPods, and enjoy the afternoon on the beach. We usually head to the area near the pier at Kure Beach so there are restrooms nearby. At the end of the afternoon we have dinner in one of the local restaurants and then head home. Makes for a wonderful day.
I have done the Kure Beach-Fort Fisher day beach trip many many times...great memories, good times
The Wilmington area is close enough for day trips. 2.5 hours to get there roughly.
I remember that getting to the Outer Banks used to be a long drive when I was young, but thanks to highway improvements along that stretch it's 3.5 ish hours now to get to say, Nag's Head. Just a bit much driving for a day trip but still close enough for weekend overnights. Atlantic Beach is about 3 hours. These are Chapel Hill times. From Raleigh you lose twenty minutes on the times.
My wife and I enjoy a day at the beach without kids. We head down in the morning and have a quick lunch before we hit the beach. We bring our chairs and umbrella, books and iPods, and enjoy the afternoon on the beach. We usually head to the area near the pier at Kure Beach so there are restrooms nearby. At the end of the afternoon we have dinner in one of the local restaurants and then head home. Makes for a wonderful day.
Yup...Kure Beach for us too! Except I have to bring my 6 and 2 year old along. We've been going down almost every other weekend for the last two years...somehow the stars align and I almost always manage to find at least one spot in the first lot passed the pier. Only once did I have to go one more lot down, which was not a problem.
We'll arrive by 11...beach till 2...grab an early dinner (just discovered Fish Bites off Carolina Beach Rd) then home by 8, the latest.
With any luck though, we'll be out towards the coast permanently...sooner rather than later.
So for a beach lover like me, you're saying this is NOT NOVA where the traffic can be extremely stressful and that the beach is much more accessible (meaning you can have it for a day trip)?
2.5 IS 2.5 hours?
Which beach do you recommend for ease of access and time from CH?
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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You all are making me anxious to take my kids on a surprise daytrip to the beach! Growing up in PA, we used to go to the beach all the time for the day (under 1 1/2 hours away), but since I've lived in DC, we NEVER went for the day. It was nearly impossible there because the traffic pushed the travel time to 3 1/2 to 4 hours. 2 1/2 hours is totally doable! Maybe next weekend. :-)
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hudlander
So for a beach lover like me, you're saying this is NOT NOVA where the traffic can be extremely stressful and that the beach is much more accessible (meaning you can have it for a day trip)?
2.5 IS 2.5 hours?
Which beach do you recommend for ease of access and time from CH?
Correct. THIS IS NOT NOVA! We went to Wrightsville last summer and the summer before that (not for the day, though). I remember thinking how short the trip seemed. Last year we did not go on the weekend, although I think we did the first time we went. I don't recall any traffic. You will be very pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic around here. You do not have to plan your life around rush hour traffic, weekend beach traffic, getaway Friday traffic, mid-day traffic, or Saturday traffic. It's a nice change of pace.
Correct. THIS IS NOT NOVA! We went to Wrightsville last summer and the summer before that (not for the day, though). I remember thinking how short the trip seemed. Last year we did not go on the weekend, although I think we did the first time we went. I don't recall any traffic. You will be very pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic around here. You do not have to plan your life around rush hour traffic, weekend beach traffic, getaway Friday traffic, mid-day traffic, or Saturday traffic. It's a nice change of pace.
So instead of hitting the beach 1-2 times a year, I can and people in this area DO go casually whenever?!
Which beaches are best?
Also, are there beach/surf clubs in triangle that do trips? As an outsider this would be great so I meet people and don't go solo.
Just be aware that a major highway reconstruction project will soon be starting on I-40/I-440 south of Raleigh that could really snarl attempts to get to southest NC beaches from the Triangle. When that starts, all bets are off in terms of travel times.
You can get to Wrightsville Beach in 3 hrs from Chapel Hill w/o going through Raleigh. I'm not too worried about Crawleigh, personally.
True. What's unknown is what impact Crawleigh is going to have on alternate routes. Hopefully it won't be much.
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We've been going down almost every other weekend for the last two years...somehow the stars align and I almost always manage to find at least one spot in the first lot passed the pier. Only once did I have to go one more lot down, which was not a problem. 
