Biking Carolina Beach
Carolina Beach is so cool. Especially this time of year, when the crowds have gone and the place resumes its laid-back, do-your-thing residential feel. I think residents there perpetuate a certain, vague bad rap in order to keep it all to themselves.
Our family went for a bike ride this Saturday morning, our purpose to follow the Island Greenway out of Carolina Beach State Park as far south as it would go — and on advice from a Christmas-gift outdoor NC adventure book of dubious authority (It pointed us to the Cottage restaurant, which is kaput (?).
We knew the trail wouldn’t take us far but, with the kid buggy on the back of my bike, we wanted not to take high-speed but scenic Dow road on the west side, or Lake Blvd., and felt like exploring a little bit anyway.
If the Island Greenway people have their way, and I hope they do, the mile or so of walking and bike path that goes south from the park would continue on all the way to Fort Fisher. Some friends of ours, who own the Ocean Grille and Tiki Bar, are fighting for this eventuality, along with a lot of people on Pleasure Island.
The Army has said it would provide much of the land on which this greenway would run, so you’re already 65 million dollars (sic!) ahead if you go with the project, according to the bookmark/flyer I picked up at the incomparable 2 Wine Guys / The Grind cofee shop, but it’s not at all a done deal.
Residents fear that having a bike path will somehow abet crime in the area, which seems silly to me. There are Various Other Reservations as well. But wouldn’t that be great. The whole area would benefit from the separated, island-long path, and you could almost go car-free from WB to CB (by way of Park Ave bike paths, River Road, CBSP, Island Greenway) — even get on the Southport Ferry and head onto the mainland.
In the meantime, the bike path in Carolina Beach feeds into the neighborhoods just west of Lake Shore Road, the main drag. We tooled through neighborhood after neighborhood as we wended south, sometimes heading out to Lake and onto the bike paths to connect roads that wouldn’t otherwise. It’s just a great area — such great funkiness.
We got back to the car and went to El Zarape. Which was a mistake. Place sucks.
And we heard as much from the woman at The Grind, who grimaced when we said where we’d been before we stopped in for an apres repas espresso and a bottle of wine (the recommended Independent Producers’ Merlot from Washington State, which I’m deep into already this evening and loving), and suggested for next time: Michaels, Deckhouse, Jack Mackerels — anything else!
Carolina Beach is cool. I was down there a couple of weeks ago, and it seems to have the feel that it had in the late eighties and early nineties (when I first moved here).
I think its because the ridiculous “developers” driving around in their Hummers, knocking down beach cottages and putting up plastic McMansions with granite everywhere are gone. (of course, these “developers” are crying that the taxpayers need to bail them out, because they spent all of their money on Hummers)
Now the regular folks are back in the restaurants, on the bike trails, enjoying the area because its a nice place to LIVE!!!
Maybe we should have a “Grove Project” get together at a local joint sometime, drink a beer or two.
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I really enjoyed your post and appreciate you bringing attention to the Island Greenway initiative. The trail system is gaining community support and recently the Carolina Beach Town Council gave a green light for the project to move forward. Unfortunately, a few naysayers have the ear of the Kure Beach Council. But their concerns are being addressed and I imagine that they too will be on board as the public support continues to build around this project.
The Grind is a pretty cool place, huh? In the next couple of months they are going to being serving food (more of the tapas style) and I suspect they will really become one of the Carolina Beach hot spots. Good wine with good food equals a very good night for me
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Sorry you picked another loser restaurant in CB, Ian. El Zarape is fast fuel, a tiny step above Taco Smell. As someone who works in CB, I can vouch for Jack Mackeral’s, Freddie’s, A&G, Frank’s Pizza, and in the warmer months, Trolley Stop. The Black Horn at the boardwalk isn’t bad either. Try the pork “wings”. And by the way, The Cottage is long gone, and not lamented, at least not by me.
I’m all for the Island Greenway Initiative, if for no other reason than it may make Wilmington look twice at its pathetic biker-unfriendly posture.
I’ve heard of Not In My Back Yard for, say, a cement plant. But a bike path? C’mon.
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Three other hidden gems in Carolina Beach:
1. The library at the corner of Cape Fear and 3rd — a pint size version of other New Hanover County libraries. Unfortunately, the best librarian, Kip, was just tranferred to Myrtle Grove after 12 years in CB.
2. Blackburn Bothers Seafood (written about several times in these pages before)
3. Max’s Barber Shop at 915B Bennet Lane. Don’t let the name fool you. Max is a woman and offers a no-frills, old fashioned haircut experience for mostly men. Her ample space is nearly barren, but her accoutrement is all barber shop throw-backs. A regular cut is $15, a shave $5. Both are good enough to ignore the slightly cheaper chains.
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Chris – GP Meetup! That sounds fun. How about that bar where you grab your drinks out of the walk-in yourself (Pelican something?)
CBToday – Love the Grind. More and more. I think you’re right they’ll be the spot before long. They’re definitely onto something there.
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Here’s an update on the bike/walk path plans for Pleasure Island, from Carolina Beach Today:
Island Greenway Update
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