Hit the beach! There are several beaches to choose from: Wrightsville Beach (my personal favorite), Carolina Beach, and Kure Beach. Wrightsville and Carolina Beach are crowded in the summer, but there are always good views and good times. Carolina Beach has a board walk with an arcade, several restaurants, an ice cream shop, and a pier. Wrightsville Beach has two piers, one owned by a restaurant, the Oceanic, and the other is a public pier. The original wooden public pier was destroyed by a hurricane in '98 or '99 and has since been rebuilt with cement pilings. This pier also has an arcade for those interested.

One of the great things about this area, the Cape Fear Coast, is you can easily go back and forth between two entirely different experiences -- historic riverfront of Wilmington and the three beaches mentioned above. Wilmington has many tours and such. The area is home to the Battleship North Carolina, Fort Fisher Historic Site, a great state aquarium (also in Ft Fisher) and the carnivorous plant, Venus Flytrap.

For a day of family fun check out Jungle Rapids Fun Park . Jungle Rapids includes go-karts, a miniature golf course, kids jungle, arcade, rock climbing wall, laser tag, and a water park. The water park includes a wave pool, toddler zone, a "lazy river," a half pipe, and a water slide. The dry park (everything except the water park) is open year round. The water park is open from the end of May through Labor Day. Phone ahead for hours and prices. tel: (910) 791-0666.