Our Beach Place: Quirky Carolina Beach: Floating convenience stores, donuts and more

One thing that drew us to Carolina Beach was its "feel" as an old beach town. You can still walk a little ways to a run-down (yet charming) little store for the necessities and there's that perfect mix of old and new.

Apparently

I'm not the only one who feels that way.

This beach still has a bit of an old school flavor, especially at night [says the Daily Reflector].
Wednesday night there was a DJ blasting oldies at the boardwalk, while children rode the carnival rides and about 100 adults played cash bingo just a few feet from the beach.

Oh, and don't forget Britt's Donuts.

This places rocks.
Open since 1939, Britt's Donuts has the best donuts I have ever tasted.
This unassuming spot was probably my favorite shop or restaurant that we visited.
It is just a simple counter with a very simple menu.
They have donuts, coffee and soda. That's it. And it's not a bunch of different flavors. It's one flavor: glazed.
So don't order a chocolate filled or something like that. Just say, "I want two donuts and a coffee." Better yet, make it a half dozen.
We went there Wednesday night and we just had to go back Thursday morning before we left Carolina Beach. Britt's Donuts is awesome.

In addition, there's just enough quirkiness in Carolina Beach to keep you on your toes.

Case in point: The Bait Barge, a floating convenience store.

Yes, a floating convenience store.

If you’re a boater and frequent the waters near Carolina Beach Inlet, you’ve likely noticed the Bait Barge [says the Island Gazette]. It’s a convenient location where boaters can buy live bait, ice and other necessities.

Owner Nick Kintner was informed by the Division of Coastal Management earlier this month that state law considers his operation a “floating structure” and regulations prohibit it from staying in one location more than 30 days.

Kintner said he wasn’t aware of that law and didn’t intentionally try to violate the rules. To resolve the situation, Kintner registered the floating bait shop as a vessel.

The Bait Barge sells both live and frozen bait for all types of fishing.

In addition to ice and bait, they also sell snacks, beverages, sun block, and many other items.

The entire Bait Barge is run on electricity that is self generates through solar panels and windmills. They run business hours every day of the week opening at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and on weekends they open early at 6:00 a.m. Barring inclement weather the Bait Barge will be open and available as your convenient bait shop on the water.

The Bait Barge accepts credit and debit cards and they hope to be an asset to all of the water loving people in our area. Stop by the bait barge for all of you bait and supply needs the next time you are on the water.