The final day of our trip also happened to be our second wedding anniversary and more important IT DID NOT RAIN!
I begged and pleaded with my hubby to at least take me to ONE NC lighthouse I hadn’t seen so we went off to see Oak Island Lighthouse. We then followed that up with stopping at Orton Plantation and finally Poplar Grove Plantation. That was a perfect anniversary for me!! We ended the day with our final day of visiting my husband’s uncle who lives in the area before heading back to our hotel.
All in all it was a good vacation but I’m going to have to make sure to put in an order for no rain next time!
Oak Island Lighthouse is one of the newest lighthouses in the United States, being built in 1958. It’s definitely one of the most unique lighthouses I’ve ever seen. The lighthouse is made up entirely of concrete which was colored when it was poured so it will never need repainting. It is also the second brightest lighthouse in the world, following one in France. Finally this lighthouse does not have stairs inside but instead it has multiple ladders – which is why I chose not to climb it (you can’t take pics inside and can’t climb to the top w/o an appointment). It was a very interesting stop and I’m glad I got to see it!
I love Sea Oats. I wanted them in my bouquet for my wedding but there’s that pesky law about not picking them and I just didn’t have time to grow my own (or the climate). Ah well, I guess I’ll just have to keep taking pictures of them!
Our next stop was Orton Plantation which sits on the Cape Fear River and is one of the only surviving plantations left on the river (most were burned during the Civil War). As I’ve said before, I love old homes and when they’re done up so pretty – well it’s hard not to love them! This plantation is still a private residence but the gardens are open to the public – and they are stunning. For the movie & television fans out there, you may like to know that this plantation is also featured in Firestarter, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, A Walk to Remember, Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill.
The Scroll Gardens which overlook Cape Fear River.
The Crooked Bridge – there is an old belief that ghosts and evil spirits could only move in a straight line, so the owners built this bridge crooked so that any evil spirits that were following them would fall into the water and die.
There are a lot of birds, animals and insects on the plantation but this one is the one that held still the longest. They sure don’t make spiders like this in Ohio – thank god!
Luola’s Chapel which was featured in A Walk to Remember as the place where they got married. It has been used a lot in movies…. I love it! Does anyone getting married here need a photographer?? 😉
The one thing I think I love more than the houses themselves are the gorgeous Live Oak lined driveways that lead to the estates in the south. The Spanish Moss is a lovely touch too!
Our next stop was Poplar Grove Plantation. It was just moments before they closed so I took only a few quick shots before enjoying the tour!
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Awesome work Corey, Makes me want to go visit NC.
[…] floored when I discovered that my grandparents had visited the same plantation near Wilmington that I had a year before and had taken an image of it from almost the same angle as I had. There are multiple angles to […]