Claymont, Delaware

[BirdsInNC]

Born at Abington Memorial

1984 baby. We lived on Ivy Street in Warminster off County Line road until we moved to Calabash, North Carolina (called the Seafood capital of the world) in spring of 1986. So I've spent most of my life down here but seeing as how most of my family is from eastern PA (mostly Montco/Bucks county) I've rooted for the Iggs since I knew what a football even was. Moved across the state line to just outside North Myrtle Beach a few years back. Went to West Brunswick High School in Shallotte, NC.

[Drama Queen]

I had a friend who worked at the Brunswick Nuc. plant. He ended up with cancer and died. He thought the two were related and I tend to agree.

Anyway, you live in a nice area that has grown since you were a kid. Wilmington has doubled in size. The downtown area wasn’t nearly as vibrant as it is today.

[BirdsInNC]

I had a friend who worked at the Brunswick Nuc. plant. He ended up with cancer and died. He thought the two were related and I tend to agree.

Anyway, you live in a nice area that has grown since you were a kid. Wilmington has doubled in size. The downtown area wasn’t nearly as vibrant as it is today.

Sorry to hear about your friend. I too can't help but think that people who work at those places that get sick like that is a result of the plant. I see that plant up the river each time I go to Southport which is a nice little town at the mouth of the Cape Fear.

Wilmington has really turned into something awesome in the last 15 years or so. Hip place. Reminds me of Asheville but on the coast. Cool music scene, multiple breweries. Front Street Brewery is a cool spot that I like to hit when I'm up that way which isn't nearly often enough.

Myrtle Beach is alright. I prefer Wilmington but it's where I live so it is what it is. The population around these parts has really taken off in the past 10+ years, for better or worse. Minus the Highway 31 bypass around North Myrtle and Myrtle, there hasn't been any new roads built so it's getting pretty congested. Can't complain this time of year, though. Summer crowds haven't gotten here yet so it's not too bad, beaches aren't too jammed just yet, and the weather is nice. As long as we can get through this hurricane season without anything like Florence last year, I'm a happy camper.

[Drama Queen]

Wilmington would be my first choice if I were to move. I’ve always had a fondness for the small-big town vib.

Still have a friend that lives there. He moved from Ohio and never left (he did small club comedy acts and was a radio personality for real estate).

Is Southport still a picture perfect town along the water? It felt so isolated from wilmington back then.

There are so many beach festivals and such throughout the year. As you can tell, I have many fond memories of the area. I was down there when Hurricane Hugo hit Myrtle beach. Lots of damage but hurricanes weren’t as prevalent as you are seeing now.

We use to drive to Myrtle all the time. Fortunately you can go to Wilmington any time you want and even community if the roads have improved.

[Dim Bulb]

seriously, how can you fuck that up?

Corleone, Italy

what a maroon.

[BirdsInNC]

Southport is indeed still a picture perfect town right on the river. Especially this time of year, between the live oak trees everywhere and the azaleas blooming. Nails the quaint old time southern town vibe to a T. My girlfriend likes rummaging through antique shops for stuff (I admit, I do too) so there's plenty there for just about anyone really. Couple of really cool places to eat. The Fourth of July parade and fireworks show is a HUGE draw. There's the ferry that you can take across the Cape Fear over to Fort Fisher to check out the fort itself or the aquarium that's over there. Southport is still pretty isolated from Wilmington, takes a good 30-40 minutes to get there but surrounding areas are getting built up a lot just like here around Myrtle. From where I'm at it's a solid hour, hour and fifteen to Wilmington. But it's 90% wide open four lane highway up 17 to get there. I have some time off coming up so I think a trip up is in order.

Lots of festivals in the area this time of year, especially going into summer. In Myrtle the Sun Fun festival is kinda the official kickoff of the summer season along with Memorial Day weekend. Last year the Blue Angels stopped in town around this time and I remember eating at one of my favorite German restaurants on their patio listening to the Angels practice. Nothing like bratwurst, hefeweizen and afterburners screaming less than 500 feet overhead!

Hugo did a number on this area, moreso even down in Charleston. Some of the worst I've seen was Florence just last year. It didn't do so much wind damage here as it did flooding. We were fortunate where we are, but lots of people only a few miles inland closer to the Waccamaw River were not. I thought the flooding after Floyd in 1999 was bad. This took the cake.