The Pirates Are Coming!!!

The Old Baldy Lighthouse and Smith Island Museum of History on Bald Head Island are staging a weekend day pirate extravaganza event in conjunction with National Lighthouse Day. Read more

Descendent Buys Orton!

A direct descendent of Roger Moore, who built the original Orton Plantation home in 1725 is the new owner of the antebellum plantation house and the gardens!

Louis Moore Bacon, who now resides in London but was born in Raleigh, has purchased almost the entire 5,000-acre property – including the historic plantation house and its famous gardens – from the Laurence Sprunt family who have owned the Brunswick County landmark since 1884.

The Plantation and Gardens will close indefinitely on May 31st while plans for the future and other renovations are made. Hurry to see this incredible place while this years gardens are still available to you!

Current Orton manager David Sprunt, will retain that position, said the family has kept the land around the plantation’s pond.

He said he’s excited about the plans for the plantation, but it is hard for the property leave his family’s ownership after all of these years.

A press release states that Bacon is directly descended from Roger Moore, who built the original Orton residence in 1725. Bacon’s mother’s family has strong ties to nearby Wilmington.

Many are relieved to hear that Mr. Bacon has a reputation for buying historic properties such as Orton Plantation and keeping them in their natural state. Also the N.C. Coastal Land Trust holds conservation easements covering much of the Orton property. The executive director of the Land Trust states that Bacon is noted as a conservationist and a supporter of numerous environmental organizations.

Forbes magazine notes Bacon, age 53, is a native of North Carolina who manages several hedge funds and now resides in London, and the London Sunday Times notes that that he is the richest hedge fund manager in Britain having a nearly $1.7 billion fortune.

Orton Plantation, which recently opened for the 2010 season, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the gardens. Extensive renovations were made in the gardens to open up panoramic views to the Cape Fear River, remove competing vegetation, redesign and enhance the flower beds and restore and preserve the colonial rice fields.

Among the predominant species in the garden are live oaks, camellias, azaleas, flowering fruit trees, daphne, hydrangeas, crape myrtles, dogwoods, and colorful spring and summer annuals. Lawns and water gardens lend variety to the lush vegetation.

Plan to come spend a day at Orton Plantation! The gardens are in their glory right now! The historic landscape designed around the 1735 mansion and colonial rice fields overlooking the Cape Fear River and 20 acres of secluded walking trails surrounded by hundreds of acres of rice fields make Orton Plantation Gardens a wonderful place to visit.

One of the oldest plantations on the Lower Cape Fear and the only one with a manor house still standing, Orton has become a privately owned tourist attraction, celebrated for its elaborate gardens. In recent years, the plantation and its grounds have served as locations on a number of motion pictures.

The house and grounds are located at 9149 Orton Road S.E., Brunswick County just off N.C. 133, close to the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site.

Get directions click here!

Hours are 8am to 5pm March – August and 10am – 5pm September – November (except they close for Thanksgiving Day).

Surfing on Bald Head Island

This Summer discover surfing in an ocean all to yourself with surf lessons from Riverside Adventure Company. Learn the secrets that make surfing easy with personalized, private instruction from a seasoned pro. Its a great experience for kids and adults. Prices include board rental. Kids 11 year olds and younger need to set up private lessons.

Group lessons  for kids and adults 12 years and older are also available – more than three people in group lesson additional instructor will be present. Groups of two or more people need to book a  group lesson at least one day in advance. *

For more info: http://www.riversideadventure.com

$99 Take A Break!

4th of July At Bald Head!

Don’t miss this year’s 4th of July events at Bald Head Island NC! It all starts with a 4th of July Golf Cart Parade (Sunday, July 4).

Then on Monday July 5th  a fireworks cruise will start at 8pm at the Bald Head Island Marina.

A few days before last year’s Fourth of July my daughter said to me, ”Dad you’ve got to go see the Fourth of July Parade at Bald Head Island, last year it was like something straight out of a Normal Rockwell painting in motion.”

I had never taken the trouble to see the island’s Fourth of July Parades in the past. After all what kind of parade could a little town like Bald Head Island put on?

I decided to go see what it was all about. I went — and boy I was blown away!

The little golf cart floats passed in what seemed like an endless procession for the best part of an hour and they exhibited a high degree of creativity and imagination.

One had to wonder where all the golf carts came from.

It seemed as if the whole population of the island was in the parade and yet the crowd watching was six or eight feet deep along the entire route.

Patriotism is alive and well at Bald Head Island NC. It truly was straight out of a Normal Rockwell painting!

Bald Head In The Movies

A number of high profile movies have been filmed on Bald Head Island over the years. The following are three of the most famous. Next time you watch one keep an eye out for scenes from your favorite island vacation spot!

Weekend At Bernie’s was filmed on Bald Head in 1989. The film stars Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman as two friends who are invited for a weekend to a luxury island with their boss.

The boss gets shot and nobody seems to notice, except for the two friends.

In order not to become suspects of murder they treat the body as a puppet and make people believe he’s still alive.

The killer wants to do his job so when he is informed that the stiff is still alive he’s got to shoot him again, and again, and again.

The Butcher’s Wife, starring Demi Moore,  Jeff Daniels and Mary Steenburgen, was filmed in 1991 on Bald Head Island. In the film  a clairvoyant thinks she’s met her husband to be because she’s seen him in her dreams.

They marry quickly, and return to the husband’s (”the butcher”), home in the city.

She has a big impact on everyone she meets by anticipating their questions and actions and advising them on their love life.Her interference then brings her into contact with the real man of her dreams.

Another famous movie with scenes filmed on the island is Sleeping With The Enemy

Aquarist – Ft. Fisher Aquarium

Find out what it is like to be responsible for the aquarium critters. Read more

The Venus Fly Trap – Area Native

Known as a death trap for insects, the Venus Flytrap Read more