The Wayfinder
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The decision to visit Topsail Island, North Carolina, arose from the desire to avoid crowds.
My husband and I were planning a trip for our anniversary. We knew we wanted to visit a beach, so I started thinking of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. After some discussion, we decided to search up the coast for a beach that would be less frequented by large families and party people.
This is how we found Topsail Island.
The island didn’t have much to offer other than clean beaches and sparkling ocean. This was perfect for us. We wanted nothing more than to sit on the sand and wade in the water.
After a little research, I discovered the Bed & Breakfast at Mallard Bay in Hampstead. We would be the only guests, since the B&B only has one suite. And our plan was to have no plan. We would head to Hampstead and see where our vacation would take us.
The bed-and-breakfast was a sweet little house on stilts, tucked about 10 minutes outside of town by the bay. Phoebe Hood is the owner and operator of this B&B and has been for decades.
This was the first time either my husband or I had stayed at a bed and breakfast. We were a little nervous, but any fear we had of awkwardness over being the only guests at the B&B dissolved because Phoebe was just that good.
Phoebe is a welcoming, accommodating, and generous host. We enjoyed talking with her over breakfast every morning and truly felt at home.
Aside from a tasty, homemade breakfast every morning, Phoebe offered several other amenities. Below the home, there is a small sitting area with a hot tub, hammock, and beautiful view of the dock on the bay.
There is also a storage room filled with anything one might need at the beach — umbrellas, chairs, boogie boards — all available to use at no extra cost. We sat on the deck one clear night to watch the stars. I enjoyed reading in the sunroom that overlooked the bay.
In the guest bedroom, Phoebe keeps a folder with pages of fun day-outings and directions to some of her favorite places. She has thought of just about everything to make her guests’ visits to the area as easy and comfortable as possible.
She even added a sweet, special touch for my husband and me: an anniversary card was placed on our dresser the day of our anniversary, which fell on the third day of our stay.
I can’t recommend this bed and breakfast enough. The home and location are beautiful, and Phoebe is the perfect host. Honestly, all other bed and breakfasts may be ruined for me as the Bed & Breakfast at Mallard Bay has set the bar incredibly high.
Although Hampstead is technically on the mainland, there are plenty of places to stay on Topsail Island.
Topsail Island rentals are popular because they often put you right on the beach. North Topsail Beach is one of the less crowded stretches, but staying in Surf City means you’re within walking distance of many tourist attractions and restaurants.
You won’t find high rise or luxury hotels around here, so a quaint cottage-style beach house or B&B is the way to go when you’re looking for the perfect place to stay.
My husband and I discovered The Fractured Prune, a donut shop that fries your donuts fresh and lets you customize the toppings. Sadly, the Topsail location has since closed, but you can still find one in other cities up and down the Eastern seaboard.
We also visited a taco stand called Shaka Taco at Phoebe’s recommendation. The taco stand uses fresh ingredients from local farms and fishermen.
We’d heard about the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation Center, so at our first breakfast with Phoebe, my husband asked if she recommended it. Her reply was, “I work there. Yes, I recommend it!”
Phoebe and other volunteers work to preserve endangered sea turtles. They watch over nests in the late evening hours during which baby turtles are most likely to hatch. The volunteers build ramps in the sand down to the shoreline to help the baby sea turtles scoot to the ocean.
“If you’re walking on the beach this evening,” Phoebe told us, “maybe I’ll see you.”
Later that night, I sent Phoebe a text asking her where she was. She replied, letting me know that the next nest over had just hatched and that they would release the babies when the sun went down. We made it just in time to see the tiny turtles set loose in the sand.
Watching all 130 hatchlings make it safely to the ocean was an inspiring example of the ways the Topsail Turtle Project is preserving the sea turtle population. The volunteers that staff the turtle hospital rehabilitate sea turtles that have been injured by boats, cold-stunned, or are suffering from any other ailment. They stressed that they would never turn away a patient. By rescuing and returning these turtles to the ocean, they increase the chance of the species’ survival.
When visiting the turtle hospital, you enter a room filled with tanks. Each tank is labeled with the name of the patient. Interns stand among the tanks and explain the medical history of different turtles. The center only charges $7 for a regular-priced admission ticket.
The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation Center is a great and inexpensive experience.
Venus fly traps are native only to a 75-mile radius around Wilmington, North Carolina. Unfortunately, many of the wild native plants have been poached. To battle this poaching problem, Stanley Rehder propagated and preserved the carnivorous plants for around 25 years. Thus, the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden has become a sanctuary to North Carolina’s Venus fly trap population.
Rehder had an affinity for carnivorous plants in general, so the garden is also home to pitcher plants and sundews. My husband and I made the 30-minute drive to Wilmington from Hampstead to witness the plants firsthand. Neither of us had ever seen these plants in nature.
Unfortunately, our trip was during the offseason for the plants; many of them appeared to be dying on our visit, but Phoebe let us know that they flourish in the late spring and early summer.
Topsail (pronounced Top’sl) Island is a 26-mile-long island just off the southeast coast of North Carolina and is divided into three sections — North Topsail Beach, Surf City, and Topsail Beach. It’s about a three-hour drive southeast of Durham, or four hours by car from Charlotte.
There isn’t much to do on Topsail other than sitting on the beach, which is perfect if you want a truly relaxing vacation. There are the usual piers to fish from, ice cream shops, and lunch spots found in beach towns.
Just as we had hoped, the beaches were not overcrowded. The sand was clean of any trash. The water was clear of floating debris. Our closest neighbors were far enough that we felt we had our own private location.
If you’re like me, sometimes a vacation doesn’t feel like a vacation when you are concerning yourself with sightseeing and filling every moment with activities. This is where my desire for a vacation full of nothing but sand, sun, and waves was born.
So, for me, this was the perfect vacation because we did nothing but sit on the beach for days with a few beautiful moments of turtles and carnivorous plants sprinkled throughout.
My husband and I had no plan, and it was glorious. At times I didn’t even know or care what time it was. This is a luxury I don’t get during a routine week.
Next time you need a vacation from reality and restrictions, take a trip to Topsail Island, North Carolina.
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Jessalyn Inman has always loved writing and visiting new places. A few of her other favorite things include hanging out with her cats, watching true crime documentaries, and playing roller derby.
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