Since we have an annual pass for Airlie Gardens (in order to get us into Selby Gardens) we figured we should take an overnight trip to Wilmington to visit Airlie too.
We left Durham on a mid-April Friday afternoon and were in Wilmington 2.5 hours later. Our first stop was Broomtail Craft Brewery, where I had a blackberry gose sour, and Leandra surprisingly liked the râppé peppermint imperial stout. It was a nice afternoon so we sat outside at their picnic tables.
Next up was Perla Raw Bar, known for their happy hour oysters where Leandra got her $1.50 oysters, from Topsail, and paired them with sparkling cava. I had fries and the fuego margarita, which balanced earthy jalapeno with sweet pineapple, and not too spicy. As a bonus, it turned out I accidentally ordered the regular non-truffle fries which were not on the menu, but cheaper!
Our third stop was Wendy’s House Wine Shop & Cafe, a small shop where we put together a small board featuring an everything bagel-flavored Gouda cheese, taralli crackers, and a French chocolate bar. We paired all of that with a Spanish rose cava. The shop is in a small house, so they had several living room sitting areas, each with a cozy vibe. The lady helping us was very nice and the outside seating area looked welcoming too. We would return on a future trip.
On Saturday morning we headed over to Airlie Gardens. It was a beautiful morning to walk around amongst the live oaks, and most of the azaleas were in bloom. Unfortunately, we were underwhelmed compared to our 2007 visit, as there were few flowers besides the azaleas (no bulbs), and the grounds were more wild than we remembered.
On our way back to Durham we stopped at Howling Cow Ice Cream – they were out of cones, so we settled for cups. Chocolate chip mint and howling hot chocolate for me, and the 4H campfire s’mores for Leandra.
For our overnight we used a free night certificate at the Residence Inn by Marriott Wilmington. It was located only 2 miles from the gardens, and close to the restaurants and brewery we had picked out. We had a quiet room on the end of the third floor, with a separate living room, kitchen, and bed area. Breakfast was also pretty good, with biscuits, eggs, and sausage, plus other cold options.