80 degrees? I need to be at the beach!

It was tough to do yard work in Raleigh today knowing that the weather was perfect -- especially when we could be at the beach.

Hopefully this warm weather will stick around. And let us know if you want to enjoy the ol' Beach Place.

Whatta sunset!

Special thanks to Renae again, or I would never have seen this. Enjoy!



Oh, and if you want to enjoy these types of sunsets, just let us know!

Pleasure Island among best beaches in the state

According to Yahoo, Carolina Beach is among the best beaches in North Carolina. (Well, duh!)

"Back on July 1, 2010, Yahoo contributor Tricia Sabol wrote an article titled 'The Best Beaches in North Carolina' and she chose the beaches of Pleasure Island as the best in the state. The three beach areas of Pleasure Island were lumped into one due to their close proximity to each other," writes Carolina Beach Today.

Ms. Sabol noted in her article that because North Carolina is filled with so many wonderful beaches that it can often be difficult for visitors to chose one for their vacations. To help them out, she came up with her list of the top three in the state and here is what she had to say about naming the beaches of Pleasure Island as her top pick:

This is my pick for the best beach area in North Carolina. I have lumped Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Fort Fisher into one entry because of their very close proximity to one another on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. This area is less commercially developed than nearby Wrightsville Beach, so there are not many great options for shopping. However, what you will find at Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Fort Fisher are fewer crowds, gorgeous beaches, and a very relaxed atmosphere.

Both Carolina Beach and Kure Beach have small fishing piers, and Carolina Beach even has a small boardwalk with an arcade. A visit to Britt's Donut Shop on the Carolina Beach boardwalk is a must!

'Welcome to Pleasure Island'

Our friend (and Realtor) Renae Perrett, has put together a lovely video on the beautiful Pleasure Island, which you can view on YouTube. Nice work, Renae!

As Renae says, if you have "six minutes to relax, sit back and enjoy." Indeed.

CB trying to resolve 'road diet' problem

"Last year the Town of Carolina Beach trimmed down it's main road from four to two lanes. The 'road diet' for Lake Park Blvd. has caused some huge headaches for people," said WWAY. The CB town council recently met to talk about possible solutions.

The road diet not only did away with lanes of traffic. It also added a dual purpose turn lane, bike lanes and diagonal parking spaces. Severe congestion problems, safety of bicyclists and small business sales suffering are just a few of the problems the diet has caused.

Book now for great summer deals

It may be freezing around these parts, but if you want to plan ahead for your summer getaways, start planning now.

For one thing, we may be willing to offer cut-rate, early-bird specials on the ol' Beach Place. Be sure to check out our VRBO.com site -- you will see that the calendar is WIDE OPEN for '11. Let us know when you'd like to go to Carolina Beach, and we'll easily work with you on a good rate.

Happy vacationing!

No more 'Cape Fear Coast?'

There's a move afoot from Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach to move away from the branding of "Cape Fear Coast." But it has received some push back.

Tourists want to plan a vacation using easily accessible information, and those who loyally choose to vacation on Pleasure Island want things to stay familiar, said Judy Randall, owner of Randall Travel Marketing, told the Star-News.

She suggested the town spend less time focusing on re-branding the area – despite the ongoing mission by the county's three beach towns to phase out the "Cape Fear Coast" logo to better identify each town.

Town boards in Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach each adopted a joint resolution this month that addresses desired changes to the way the Cape Fear Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau markets and promotes each town.

The resolution, which came out of a meeting Nov. 18 of the three towns' mayors and other representatives, states the towns' leaders believe the CVB's marketing and public relations efforts "may not effectively represent the respective beach communities in their best possible light and could hamper their full potential for their growth and development in tourism."

The resolution recommends phasing out the term "Cape Fear Coast" as the official brand name for the three beaches and placing each beach name along with Wilmington in official logos and marketing materials.

But Randall, who works out of Charlotte, said research showed most people vacationing in the area refer to the area collectively as "Wilmington."

Someone sitting on the beach, she said, won't necessarily say they are in Kure Beach or Carolina Beach but will say they're in the Wilmington area if asked.

Councilman Dan Wilcox argued that the issue to bring the names of the beach towns to the forefront of advertising campaigns was not about creating a slogan but about recognizing the beaches' identities.

"When we talk about branding we're talking about our name as the beach and being advertised as Carolina Beach, not a subsidiary of Wilmington," Wilcox said.

The joint resolution is awaiting signatures of all three beach towns' mayors and will be submitted to the CVB and other agencies for consideration.