Even as we told ourselves “It’s only water,” Tropical Cyclone Eight was powerful. There was A LOT OF WATER in Wilmington and the surrounding area during our 48-hour sojourn. Our sneakers were wet for nearly three days after the storm, and we had a bag of wet clothes that we carried around for five days until we got home. Note to self: bring extra sneakers during hurricane season!
The Hotel Fiasco
But first I need to talk about the hotel we stayed in. It was a Hilton and usually we don’t have a problem with the Hilton chain. However, the fact that the hotel was texting me at 8:28 a.m. before we had even checked into the hotel begging me to share my experience of staying there, kind of pissed me off. Roughly three hours later (11:45 a.m.), I received another text asking me how my stay was going so far. Since we still hadn’t checked into the hotel yet, I decided this wasn’t a good sign.
The Hotel Ballast looked nice from the outside, had ample parking, and they had a restaurant, a bar, and not one, but two young men who were there simply to valet your car. Since I hadn’t seen a valet since before COVID, this I thought was a sign of a hotel trying really hard to up the guest experience. (I was wrong.)
When we checked into our room, we had a glimpse of the Cape Fear River, and the U.S.S. North Carolina that we planned to visit before we left the area. It also took us nearly 10 minutes to find the switch that opened the blinds so we could see the aforementioned view.
Then I looked around the room and realized we didn’t have a single piece of furniture or luggage rack to put our suitcases on. At this age, I’m definitely not scrouging around on the floor when I need some underwear, so I went out into the hallway and found a housekeeper.
Between google translate and a co-worker, she was able to deduce that a luggage rack was needed and apparently gave me one from someone else’s room. (Sorry, whoever got that room next.) Lynn and I thought about going out for a walk and prior to leaving, I went to the bathroom. After I washed my hands, I realized that the sink was clogged. I called the front desk and after a few minutes I was told I could move to another room. But I had to go down to get the key. No one was bringing it up to me, nor was there any offer of help with our luggage.
So, we packed up the few things we had already unpacked, and I went down to the front desk to get the new key. Luckily, our new room was on the same floor, so it wasn’t a total hassle but an inconvenience. We also had the foresight to take the luggage rack with us, and low and behold, the new room already had a luggage rack, so now we had two. Which is the exact amount of luggage racks I expect to find in a room anyway. Since we had figured out how to open the blinds in the last room, we thought we were in good shape.
Finally, when we went out for our walk (and figured out how to get to the restaurant for dinner), I was feeling a bit angry at Hilton. By the time we got back, the hotel robot had already texted me again (3:34 p.m.) asking how the stay was going. Well, at least this time I had something to complain about. I mentioned us having to switch rooms, our lack of a luggage rack, and not being able to find the switch to open the blinds. I also went onto the Hilton website and realized that they were offering a lower rate with breakfast than what we were paying. Obviously, I thought that needed to be mentioned in my complaint as well. I quickly received a text from the front desk apologizing for the room, and an offer of a $25 food and beverage voucher for our “inconvenience.” This apparently would be at the front desk for me to retrieve when I wanted it. I was also told that a luggage rack would be sent up as well. I decided not to volunteer that at this point we now had two, which in hindsight was a good thing, since the promised luggage rack was never delivered to our room.
Four hours later (7:25 p.m.), we received another text message asking us to text them when we checked out. Did I need to remind them that we had just arrived and were staying two nights? I decided to ignore the rest of the messages until this actually happened.
Dinner at Seabird
At the helm of Seabird in Wilmington, N.C. , are Dean Neff and Lydia Clopton. Chef Neff was named a finalist in this year’s Outstanding Chef category by the James Beard Foundation at their annual awards ceremony. It had been on my list of restaurants to try for a few years so the anticipation on my part was really high.
I expected the food to be good. I didn’t expect the food to be exceptional and the service to be extraordinary. Apparently, other people in Wilmington must think this restaurant is over-the-top good too, since even on a Sunday night the restaurant was packed.
We had oysters to start. And two pieces of cornbread topped with sorghum that were so large and dessert-like that I needed to ask what they were.
The smoked catfish and oyster pie interested me, and I asked our server, Sean (a CIA-trained grad himself), how it was made. Apparently, the pie topping wasn’t your traditional puff pastry, but dough that was made out of gnocchi. This gave the dish a thick crepe-like taste, but I thought it was clever and a fun starter.
Swordfish Schnitzel?
Yes, I knew about the dish. Yes, we were going to order it. Was the hype worthy? Absolutely. Perfectly fried (but not greasy), this is the dish most home cooks aspire to make. If, of course, you live in a coastal area that has access to fish this fresh.
After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and proceeded to get alerts about the tropical storm warning as well as a flood watch. Were we prepared? Other than not having proper footwear, I can say that we were. I mean, the streets look wet but not under water, right?
In the Morning
We woke up to torrential rain. We went downstairs for breakfast clutching the $25 food and beverage voucher I had retrieved the night before. There we were met by a skeleton staff trying to accommodate all the guests whose plans were thwarted because of the storm. There were a lot of people sitting around, looking at their phones, I guess wondering what they should do instead.
We ordered a couple of omelets, really good cheddar grits and English muffins. We had planned to spend the day at Wrightsville Beach, but apparently that wasn’t an option. We listened to the rain hit the glass windows of the hotel and decided to go see a historic mansion instead.
The Bellamy House Museum
Was it underwhelming? Yes. Were we told by the museum staff that they were closing in 45 minutes because of the storm, but we could see the house anyway? Yes. We walked through the rooms and looked at things. And then we tried to get a glimpse of the garden but got soaking wet in the process. I did take quite a few pictures of the kitchen. And I loved the menu for a Christmas dinner circa 1850’s. Probably because our Red House was also built during that time period. But I don’t think I could have made all that food!
Visiting the house and the gardens took less than half an hour and it wasn’t even noon. We looked at the radar and realized that the storm was moving out of the area, so we decided to go to Wrightsville Beach and be on the lookout for flash floods, etc.
Wrightsville Beach
We drove down to the beach and even got out of the car and got pummeled a bit by the wind. There were other idiots who were doing the same thing, so I didn’t feel I was a particularly special idiot. Here’s Lynn trying to not be blown over. And the waves hitting the pier, which I thought was kind of romantic, actually.
After driving up and down looking for things to do on Wrightsville Beach (there wasn’t much in my opinion and I’m glad we didn’t stay there), we decided to get Thai food for lunch. Something hot and spicy after this rainy weather was in order. Luckily, we found a place that was open, and the chicken pad Thai and green curry (also with chicken) were simple and hit the spot with the bad weather we were having.
The U.S.S. North Carolina
I think we were one of four people on the huge battleship that day. We tried not to fall on the decks that were quite slippery as the wind constantly blew all around us. We quickly went inside the ship and navigated the steep stairs. I probably took about 100 pictures and thought about having to cook for nearly 2,300 men on a daily basis. Really, the numbers are staggering regarding the amount of bread that was baked, cakes that were made, and dishes that were consumed. Look at that giant mixer and all the attachments in the locker!
What was particularly interesting touring the ship was that it was its own small town. There was a barber, a butcher, a cobbler, a laundry room, tailor, a post office and a store. Not to mention a dentist, doctor and everything in between. Here are some of my favorite shots from the ship, particularly the shot of the old-fashioned typewriters.
And let’s not forget about the bathrooms. And how there wasn’t an inch of privacy. Maybe it’s different for guys, but maybe not. And what about the bunk beds????
After we navigated getting off the ship and listening to our shoes squeak as we walked, we headed back to the hotel. During lunch we had received an email from the restaurant we had booked for dinner telling us that because of the storm they weren’t going to be open that evening. So, we had to make other plans. Since it was also a Monday, this proved to be a little tricky.
Luckily, we found a restaurant, Circa 1922, that was open, and we had a decent steak dinner after many days of eating fish. Well, we didn’t forgo fish entirely since we ordered half a dozen oysters to start, a salad, two filets, and even crème brûlée for dessert.
Remember the street shot I had taken earlier? Were the streets now flooded on the walk back to the hotel? Absolutely.
During the two days we were in Wilmington I quizzed many of the people I met on how they liked living there. I got an overwhelming positive response, but truthfully, Wilmington was a bit underwhelming for me.
That said, I’m glad we went. And I loved the photograph of us that the U.S.S. North Carolina team members encouraged us to buy.
Hilton Update
When we got home, I took the time to write their corporate headquarters about our stay in Wilmington. Did I mention that on the last day we were there our parking card was somehow deactivated so we couldn’t get into the parking lot? And a line of cars that was behind us had to back up? And that Lynn had to walk up the ramp of the hotel and speak to someone at the front desk to have the card reactivated? Should I mention that perhaps the valet guys, instead of waiting around to park a car, could have maybe worked inside the hotel dealing with customer complaints (like no luggage racks, clogged sinks, and how to open the room blinds in under 30 seconds.)
After receiving my email, Hilton Guest Services promised to deposit lots of extra points into our Hilton Honors account within 24 hours. They also said they would send us a check for one of the nights we stayed there. Three days later, no points had been deposited in our account. And, since most hotels would have just issued a credit card refund, instead of sending us a check, I questioned why this was being handled this way. Eventually, the points were received, but as of this date, the “check is still in the mail.”
Tomorrow, we return to Richmond (where our vacation abruptly ended three years ago) and will wrap up our trip on Fenwick Island.
Until our next “Let’s Go” adventure.
