No summer would be complete without a trip to the beach and this year’s beach of choice was Wilmington. I had never been to a North Carolina beach and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. North Carolina beaches had always been described to me as a good place to go if you couldn’t make it somewhere nice. Ignoring this fantastic regional marketing, I headed out there anyway. I had a friend who’s from there show me around and it was a weekend to remember... from what I remember. Here’s a daily breakdown of my trip along with a couple tips; take notes, or don’t.

The Friday afternoon drive from Charlotte isn’t too bad until you hit the ever-growing Wilmington traffic. Then a boat ride around the islands is followed by BBQ chicken and beers to round out a start to a great trip. After a long drive and only a few hours in the sun, all we wanted to do was pass out and get ready for whatever was to come. The next day is when things really get exciting.

Saturday is the big one out there so we had to pace ourselves. A short boat ride out to the island and we found the beach covered with people. For my fellow early risers (you know, before noon), be sure to head out first thing if you go or it can be hard to anchor the boat with all the other boats who will be out there by early afternoon (when the hangovers wear off).

Once laying in the sun and walking around to meet the locals had lost its charm, we headed out to ‘skurf’, basically wakeboarding with a surfboard. Three guys trying and two hours of riding and we almost got up off our knees and into the full surfing position. We also checked out Wrightsville Beach. A string of bars and beach houses lead to a packed beach with hundreds of people soaking up the sun and having a good time. If you enjoy large crowds of half-naked, good looking people running around drunk in the sun, then this is the place for you.

Once we had our fill of the sun, we came back to get ready for the nightlife I had been hearing about for months from my friend/tour guide. Wilmington has a ton of bars and cool spots to hang out on Saturday night. I was told that everyone had been at the Wrightsville Beach bars Friday night and that every Saturday night Wilmington downtown was the move.

We went from punk dive bars to basement dance clubs, complete with cages and all the drunk antics that are to be expected. There is something for everyone down there and everyone is welcome as I saw every possible stereotype out that night, all drinking together and trying to go home with someone.

Sunday we didn’t even wait for the hangover to subside, we just started drinking and went out skurfing first thing. One of us actually got up on our feet and it was impressive. I definitely recommend skurfing. Just be sure to buy a foam board from Costco, don’t use the shortboard we used as it makes it much more challenging. The rest of the day was the usual hanging with a group of girls we met and drinking at the beach and on the boat.

Honestly, what else is the beach for? We had such a great time that we didn’t even leave until Monday. Other than catching the flu and barely making it back to Charlotte alive, it was a great trip. If you get the chance, I highly recommend a trip to Wilmington.