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By Root 592 0

half-million azaleas you see today were landscaped. Wandering through the butterfly garden and past the swans swimming under weeping willows on the lake, you’ll see why many a Southern belle chooses to get married here. If you’re here on Friday night in summer, stop in for a jazz concert ($8), and don’t miss the springtime azalea bloom. Just down the street is the New Hanover County Arboretum, which has been known to house the carnivorous plants on occasion. But wandering through the manicured native plants and peaceful Japanese garden recreation is the real reason to stop in.

WHY GO with a staid daytime history lesson when you can learn about the past, see ghosts and drink beer at the same time? For a murderously good time, head out in the evening on a Haunted Pub Crawl. To relax over dinner, head downtown to Deluxe. Chef and Wilmington native Keith Rhodes has won the Best Dish competition at the North Carolina State Fair not once but twice for locally sourced dishes, which include the likes of North Carolina blueberry and white chocolate bread pudding or buttermilk-fried calamari with sweet and sour apricot preserves.

After all that fear, you might want to relax at the Graystone Inn, a turn-of-the-century mansion turned B&B in the heart of the historic district. Fourteen-foot Corinthian columns, a mahogany library and a breezy veranda round out the romantic guestrooms.

On your second day, take a stroll along the Riverwalk in the heart of the historic district. Within Wilmington’s 300-block historic district, there are 19 mansions open to visitors. Plan on spending at least an hour at the Cape Fear Serpentarium, an indoor reptile zoo quite unlike any other place in the world. A skull and crossbones marks each resident’s deadly rating, from 1: the beaded lizard (painful local effects) to 5: bushmaster (survival is unlikely, lasting debilitation). After reading owner Dean Ripa’s harrowing description of one of his four nonfatal bushmaster bites (most people don’t survive one), check out the other five-skullers, like the forest cobra and black mamba, and a 340lb anaconda that could swallow a grown person whole.

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“Wilmington is a great place to live. Between the beach, the historic downtown and the university there is something here for everyone. But my favorite is the food. There are enough restaurants here that you would never have to learn how to cook. My favorite place is Sweet & Savory Bakeshop and Café. [It serves] the best sandwich in town whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner.”

Mike Polito, Wilmington, NC

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Heading southeast on Hwy 421, stop in at Carolina Beach State Park where visitors can access some of the area’s best fishing, camp under giant oaks and walk along the Venus Flytrap Trail. The half-mile loop is the best place to see the flytrap in its natural habitat, and lucky visitors might find an insect in the plant’s clutch. There are also examples of the two other carnivorous plants - the Bladderwort and the Pitcher Plant.

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WILMINGTON’S FILM CENTER

Opened in 1858, Thalian Hall is downtown Wilmington’s one-stop shop for performances, events, foreign films, city hall and, of course, ghost legends. As one of the top movie production locations in the USA, Wilmington takes its film seriously. In mid-November, Thalian Hall plays host to the Cucalorus festival and every Monday to Wednesday at 7:30pm, the Cinematique series showcases foreign, independent or notable films for the local culturati.

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Leave the deadly flora for killer fauna at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, home of sharks, poisondart frogs, alligators and various animals of mass destruction. Although the aquarium isn’t vast, it’s packed with information and is a great spot to picnic. It’s also near the Civil War site Fort Fisher (also supposedly haunted) and the Southport Ferry, which transports pedestrians and road trippers to the scenic village of historic Southport, where antiques shops, restaurants and a maritime museum provide a perfect backdrop for a lazy day of loafing.

Alex