Wrightsville Beach/ Raleigh, NC

After our hotel problems, the time Wrightsville Beach was a nice change of pace. Weather was hot and sunny, ocean was warm, waves were big, and the beach was huge. I wish I brought a bigger beach towel with, but my $5 one bought from Walmart was sufficient for laying on with a book. Some things to note if you plan on visiting this beach:

-Parking sucks. We looked for parking for at least 45 minutes before giving up and parking far away. When we got back to the car later on, even the far church lot was completely full and people made up spots. Everything on the island is pay-for parking, and by 11:30am, there was no parking to be found anywhere within a mile of the beach. So, either get there early, pay the $20 on some guy's lawn when you see it available, or be ready to walk.

-There are people everywhere! The beach has to be a few miles long, but it was quite crowded. Towels, beach umbrellas, and chairs every few feet.

-There were no showers or bathrooms readily available for the public.

I also made the mistake of buying spray on sunscreen. This was a mistake, because once I applied it everywhere, I layed on my towel and it must have come off in some places. I even put it on twice. The front of me is fine, got just a little color which is tan, not red. But my back and shoulders look diseased. It's super red in big random splotches. Sigh. I'll have the worst tan in the world.

Another fun fact for this weekend, 4 hotels in two days from Friday to Saturday: Wyndham, America's Best Value Inn, Baymont Inn, and Holiday Inn.

The Holiday Inn in Raleigh by the Crabtree Mall is very nice. Big rooms, really comfy bed, a couch, free internet, good fitness center, outdoor pool, saunas, business center, and a restaurant/room service. I haven't gone wrong with a Holiday Inn yet.