You are so lucky to have been saved from your original plan, Serendipity42 - I don't think Gretchen (or GoTravel or Brian or . . ..) would ever have forgiven you for going to Wrightsville or anywhere east of the river.

Good luck with the Agility Championships - will watch for your clever little dog.

Do you really have that much problem with your passive aggressive issues?
I took the trouble to look back and I did not see that you suggested anything SPECIFIC in Wrightsville. I became concerned that they did not know that "the beach" and "Wilmington" were not necessarily the same thing, among other things.
I think Wrightsville is charming when you know what it is.
Our new dear friend, the OP, has really solved "our" problem, and found their very own beach!!Kudos to their inclusive attitude!!

Thanks everyone for the bypass ideas, that helps tremendously.

Go Travel - sorry for calling you a scrooge. All of you have helped give me a better idea of the whole NC/SC beach areas & have helped in making our decision. If you remember, our original idea (way back last June when we first thought about going) was to go to the Outer Banks. That was quickly shot down when the good fodorites here told us how far that would be & what hassle it was getting there (traffic, etc). So by deciding on the southern beaches we 've already compromised from our original plan. We feel pretty good about Oak Island & are really looking forward to visiting this wonderful state. If any of you ever plan a trip out to WA I hope I can be of as much help.

Serendipity 42

<i>My</i> passive aggressive issues? Are you kidding me?

I gave up on specific recommendations when I saw how heavily the wind was blowing from Charlotte. No point, and not worth arguing. HKP offered what I probably would have, and her comments were refuted pretty quickly.

I think Serendipity has managed to come up with a good plan, but I give her extra credit for knowing when area-chauvinists aren't listening to her and for making clear what her priorities are.

It all works out.

Have a great time. The Southeast coast beaches are really special, with a lot of charm.
Don't judge us by Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle BEach!! NMB used to be Ocean Drive, the home of the shag, and just a little double row of houses!!
Don't forget to have some fried oysters--the best in the world are done on this coast!!

Even some chauvinism about fried oysters? Relentless. I'm fond of Chesapeake style, but *shrug* - if you believe something's the best in the world, you probably enjoy it more, whether it is or isn't....

You are really carrying this too far. Since they are in the area, and are from a very fine seafood area of the country, with truly elegant and delicious oysters, I thought I would recommend that they try a Calabash area specialty. I LOVE to do that when I travel(maybe you prefer to do the same old same old) and the breading (or lack thereof) is MUCH better around here. FRied seafood often gets a bad rap because it is a nugget of cornmeal wrapped around a shrimp or oyster--NOT true down thataway.
I am sorry you are so exorcised about a DISCUSSION of beach areas, and now beach food. You might like to hit the ignore button for my name--I think there is one on this site.
You are making something out of nothing. These good folks have been able to make a decision based on their need for a pet friendly place, desire to kayak, etc. I'm sorry YOU are so disappointed they didn;t choose &quot;you&quot;.
And I guess since you prefer the Bay, you don't really know much about this lower coast after all. I actually have the &quot;best&quot; crabcake recipe also. It might even be yours from the Bay. Idon't mind.

Who fries oysters ? For the best, check out Ella's in Calabash or http://www.brunswickcountychamber.or...r-festival.cfm Y'all just need to stop...

<i> I'm sorry YOU are so disappointed they didn;t choose &quot;you&quot;.</i>

Wow, Gretchen, that is precisely the mindset I detected in you - and when I see it in posts like this or anywhere else, it always strikes me as odd and a bit of bullying to earnest posters with genuine questions.

You seemed so very invested in promoting whatever your suggestions were and disparaging others' ideas. It's not enough to offer suggestions and let the OP make up her own mind, you have to have won the persuasion game.

It's one thing to say &quot;this beach might be good for you - it's like this and this and this.&quot; But to go on to quibble with others and say &quot;no, that's a terrible place no matter what you think of it&quot; or &quot;no, you're wrong it's not like that&quot; so that it becomes more a debate comparing place A with place B -- that tells me you're very invested in persuading the OP that YOU are the expert, not others, and that YOUR suggestions are the REAL right answer.

As I said earlier - it's like this scenario: OP says something like &quot;we're interested in going to London...&quot; and then Responder says &quot;I really think you'd like Paris better.&quot; Someone else says &quot;well, here's an idea about London.&quot; Responder says &quot;that's wrong - London's not as good as Paris and here's why.&quot; Then another poster says &quot;you can go to the British Museum&quot; and Responder says &quot;but it's not as good as the Louvre and here's why.&quot;

Relentless is the word, and chauvinism - in its original meaning - is also the word. You have been to a place and come to love it, Gretchen. You are proud of the area and want to share it with people. That's fine. That's great. Sharing is why we come to Fodors. Persistent persuading begins to be a problem. Dismissing others who want to share, too - also a problem.

Just ask yourself - honestly, not for your next last-word post accusing me of what I see in you - how disappointed you would have been if Serendipity had said she didn't want to go south of Wilmington. You'd have failed to persuade her.

I really had no dog in this race other than to give Serendipity the space to get good advice without feeling she has to apologize to someone if she doesn't want to take their advice.

For what it's worth, I think she WILL be happy at Oak Island (or wherever), and she'll enjoy the oysters (IF she likes oysters), and I'm happy for her. And I hope her dog does well. It's okay with me if she doesn't go to Wrightsville (or London or Paris).

And you did give her some good information from which she'll benefit - but for you it's winning the argument that's the real prize. And you really hate that I called you on it.

soccr - Y'all - a Southernism that is inclusive of ALL participants. Is it really necessary to have the last word on an anonymous forum ? You must be a barrel of fun to travel with but at least you're are always right... Which is somewhat difficult when dealing w/differing peoples opinions. Think about it.

We ate at Ella's in October. It used to be one of our favorites back in the 60's-80's when we went to OD, OIB.
Do you ever remember that Jimmy Durante ended his show with, &quot;Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are?&quot; He ate at Ella's.
Back &quot;in the day&quot; we also liked Dockside--but before it burned down. Too &quot;modern&quot; now!! We have heard from a local that the place on the corner as you turn to go down toward the docks is very good.

Ella's is my fave for a bucket of oysters. We tend to steer clear of the fried stuff.

I have no idea what the reference to &quot;y'all&quot; is as part of this thread. (And I'm well aware of what it means, thank you very much).

meanwhile: Are Gretchen and SAnParis2 joined at the hip? Go ahead and have YOUR last word - whichever - I think Serendipity is all set, which is all that was originally the question.

And by the way - the whole point of what I was saying is that Y'ALL seem to care about being declared &quot;right&quot; about where Serendity ends up. Y'all are masters/mistresses of projection and needing to be right. I'm right about that - I don't care about who's right about beaches.

Everyone go stand in the corner.

Serendipity, good luck with the championships and enjoy your visit. Too bad you won't have time to come a little further north - see the mountains and the Piedmont - but compared to Seattle, you'll LOVE the weather.

San, we love the raw too, and had probably the best oysters we've ever had this past fall--local around Pawley's.
But have to have the fried at least once during a visit to the beach!
By the way, try the Argentinian red shrimp at Trader Joe's. They are terrrific--a little like langoustines. VERY seasonal and have just arrived. They will disappear soon.

Sounds like the Royal Reds we get in Key West, like little lobsters almost.

I looked them up and they seem to be slightly different species. But the Royal reds look delicious.

http://www.krustagroup.com/verproduc...id=494&idgr=49

While you are at Oak Island, I think you would enjoy downtown Wilmington. It has a wonderful historic district with gorgeous houses in all sizes, live oaks, a walk along the river, historic houses to tour or just drive by and gawk at. Jackson's Big Oak BBQ on S Kerr St is one of our favorite BBQ places. There's a park, Green something, with lakes and azaleas which might be in bloom during your visit.

My first trip to the area was almost 2 years ago. We fell in love with it and after several trips down there, we liked it well enough to buy some land. That first trip was in April; weather was pretty good, not good enough for swimming, but coming from Boston, 65 feels pretty much like beach weather.

Second trip down, we rented a house in Oak Island thru VRBO. Ocean was about 1 street over and marsh about 2 streets. Restaurants were pretty limited. There was one there we liked--it had Turtle in its name; place was dive-like, but the food was very good. We mostly drove over to Southport to eat. Someone mentioned Provisions; I prefer Fishy Fishy which is right next door. Margaritas on the patio were great. Have a great trip