Way back in July, I set plans in motion for a big surprise. I had airline miles I needed to use before they expired, so I decided to fly to Wilmington to surprise Jackie. I colluded with her husband Pat to pull it off; I was so excited to spend some time with them.
The time for my trip finally arrived a few weeks ago. However, it was extremely unfortunately timed with the arrival of Hurricane Michael. I flew out of NOLA on October 11, the same day that Hurricane Michael was pushing its way up the east coast. Since I was flying through Charlotte, we ended up getting grounded in NOLA for two hours. The CLT airport was shut down while the storm passed through. I was supposed to have had an hour and a half layover before my flight into ILM, but since we were so late, I lost that cushion. Luckily, my second flight was also delayed: CLT was a nightmare; EVERYTHING was delayed or cancelled. However, even though I ran through the airport in an attempt to make it, I still missed the flight by 10 minutes. TEN MINUTES!!! The airplane hadn’t even left the gate yet; it was still sitting there. But since they had closed the doors already, they couldn’t let me on. Incredibly frustrating. So I had to waste 6 hours in the Charlotte airport. I got delirious around the 4 hour mark.
Pat had been tracking me the whole time and knew what was happening. I was able to catch the very last flight to Wilmington that night, but (shocker!) it was also delayed. I didn’t arrive until almost 1am. This unfortunately meant that Pat had to get creative about why he needed to go out after midnight, but Jackie is no fool. She figured out that someone was coming in and kind of expected it to be me. So the surprise didn’t quite work out like we planned, and it took me forever to get there (SEVEN HOURS extra), but I’m still so glad I went.
We obviously went straight to bed when we got back to their house, but the fun commenced the next day. Pat sadly had to get up and go to work, but Jackie and I took it a little easy Friday morning. Then I tagged along to a working lunch with her and her friend Mariah. We drove around town a bit afterwards (so many changes!) and went back to the house to nap. It was so very nice not to have any responsibilities.
That evening, once Pat was home from work, we took an Uber downtown. Wilmington now has SO. MANY. breweries and beer-related places. We started out at Pour, where you can sample however much you want of whatever you want. It’s all self-service and tied to your credit card. Really cool place!
Next we walked over to Beer Barrio for a Fresh Mex dinner. And more beer. Then we hit 3 breweries in fairly quick succession: New Anthem, Ironclad, and finally Edward Teach. All the beer.
We caught an Uber home (complete with the driver’s dog, Mooshu), ordered pizza, and played a racing game that is currently Pat’s prized possession (in addition to the multiple pinball machines he already had). Kenny was very jealous when he got the pic I sent; it’s apparently his favorite arcade game, “the right version and everything!”
We were very lazy the next morning and didn’t leave the house for lunch until after 1. We grabbed burritos at Flaming Amy’s, drove through UNCW’s campus so I could see the latest changes, and then went to yet another brewery, Bill’s Front Porch (by the same owners of the volleyball complex where Jackie and I met!). LSU played Georgia that day and I embarrassed Jackie and Pat with how I watch football in public. Namely, I don’t hold back and still yell at the tv. With strangers all around us. It was fun!
We left at halftime and headed back to their house. I finished watching the game (LSU won!!!) while the two of them rested. Then we went to another brewery, Skytown, for dinner.
Sunday was my last full day in Wilmington. Jackie and I left Pat at home and went to see A Star Is Born around lunchtime. It was phenomenal. Then we picked Pat up and went back out. We had an early dinner at Wrightsville Beach Brewery and then dropped by Mad Mole Brewery before heading back to the house.
My flight out on Monday wasn’t until the afternoon, so Jackie and I were able to grab lunch before she brought me to the airport. One of my favorite Wilmington restaurants, Cafe Phoenix, isn’t open anymore, but a new place, Platypus & Gnome, occupies the same space. It was very good!
Fortunately, I had no issues whatsoever getting home. I even ran into an old childhood friend in the airport! She had been in Wilmington for the weekend, too. So random. And I witnessed an amazing sunset as I flew out of Charlotte and headed home to my boys in NOLA.
Thank you, Jackie and Pat, so very much, for letting me come visit. I had a wonderful time with y’all!
