This Wilmington bucket list gives area's attractions a larger audience
The joke used to be that any sort of fashion trend was moribund for five years before Wilmington found out about it.
I don't know if that applies to "Thing To Do Before You Die" books or bucket-list travelogues, which have been staples of the travel industry for a long, long time. Still a Wilmington bucket list is long overdue, and Amy Conry Davis has come up with one.
A veteran travel writer for Southern Living, Lonely Planet and other publications, Davis has been visiting the Lower Cape Fear since she was growing up on Camp Lejeune. As they said in "The Music Man," she knows the territory, and "100 Things to Do in Wilmington, North Carolina Before You Die" shows she's done her homework.
Davis goes past the obvious big attractions, like the Battleship or the movie studio, to highlight as many of the smaller points of interest as she can. She focuses on New Hanover County, though she's willing to stretch her boundaries for things like the Fort Fisher-to-Southport ferry ride or the Beasley Sea Turtle rescue center.
Her text is divided into sections for dining, entertainment, sports and recreation and serious culture. Suggested itineraries include kid-friendly attractions, stuff for arts and music lovers and "Romantic Wilmington."
As a resident since 1978, I found it hard to argue with any of Davis' choices, which break down ever to yoga centers and food trucks. About the only thing I might have added to her list would be a day of fishing, or just quiet contemplation, on the Kure Beach Pier.
Another issue is the format, which Davis or her editors are keeping short and bright. As a result, some great stuff gets little space. Davis mentions "the Wilmington Greek Festival" and "The St. Stan's Polish Festival" in passing but provides no details on when they happen or where.
One thing that struck me, though, is how Wilmington is changing, and how hard it is for writers like Davis to keep up. Had her book been written a decade ago, for example, she almost certainly would have included a page on the Cape Fear Serpentarium downtown. Sadly, its flamboyant owner, Dean Ripa, was shot dead in 2017, and his large collection of snakes and other reptiles was put up for sale soon afterward.
Davis quite properly included an item on the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History. At this writing, however, the town of Wrightsville Beach has repossessed the historic cottage housing the museum, and its future is uncertain.
On the other hand, if "100 Things" had come out 10 years ago, it would have had nothing on the phenomenal development of the Soda Pop District or the art colony rising up around the Brooklyn Arts Center.
More: Wilmington's Soda Pop District is thriving. Here's a look at what's ahead.
Like post-season basketball debates, books like Davis's are bound to spark some disagreements. In the meantime, though, she won't steer tourists or newcomers -- or even some old-timers -- too far wrong.
Book review
100 Things to do in Wilmington, North Carolina Before You Die
By Amy Conry Davis
Reedy Press: $18
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Book review: 100 Things To Do In Wilmington, NC Before You Die
