Coastal Odyssey

Dock at Calabash

Varnamtown, NC

With a tank full of gas, an old-fashioned paper road map, and a spirit of curiosity and adventure as our compass, a good friend and I headed out on a day-long odyssey along the Southeastern North Carolina coast into South Carolina on a hot and humid July 28. We made no particular plan but to see where the road took us and who we might encounter along the way.


We drove over the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, leaving Wilmington in the rear view mirror with an open road ahead. We turned off Highway 17 South headed for the quaint town of Southport, an old fishing village and sleepy little town that is now North Carolina's Independence Day mecca. Before Southport, we took a detour on the road to Orton Plantation to look for alligators in Orton Pond. We spotted one small gator in the water just off the road. Down the road in Southport, we explored the quiet streets lined with historic homes shaded by graceful live oak trees, the waterfront that featured a welcome cool breeze off the river, and the Franklin Art Gallery housed in the old public school house in the town square. Old Southport is a great place to take a step back to a slower and more peaceful way of life of days gone by. From the waterfront in Southport, you can see both the oldest and newest lighthouses in North Carolina - Old Baldy, which is over 200 years old, and the Oak Island Lighthouse, which was built in 1958.

We enjoyed a tasty lunch at Taylor Cuisine Cafe, featuring Southern and coastal favorites like fried-green tomatoes, fried chicken, crab cakes, sweet potato fries and large glasses of ice-cold sweet tea.

Back on the road, we mapped out the course for Varnamtown, a fishing village on the Lockwood Folly River near Holden Beach. Along the Holden Beach road, we happened upon Mary Paulsen and her visionary art, her doll house village, her bottle houses and sculptures. It's the doll houses that catch your attention and lure you in, but it's Mary and her folk art that can keep you there for hours browsing her collection and just enjoying the gift of conversation with such a charismatic character. The 10th child of a Brunswick County shrimper, Mary has lived an interesting life.

You catch a glimpse of the doll houses as you drive by and something tells you that you have to turn the car around and see what they're all about. You just know that there is something special there. Mary built the labyrinth of doll houses to house her collection of over 6,000 dolls. Donations from visitors to her village have been used to feed thousands of hungry children. But, that was just the beginning of Mary's creative wonderland and ventures. Learn more about Mary at marysgonewild.com.

Just as she says God told her to build the doll houses in 1996, Mary tells the story of how God called her again in 1998 to paint happy, colorful pictures she envisions on old windows and most any other worn out material she can recycle into something beautiful. She says she has her visions first thing in the mornings. And, so she paints. She paints pictures as vividly colorful and whimsical as she is. Mermaids with bad hair days. Flowers. Birds. Fish. Watermelon bird houses. Suns. Moons. Geometric patterns. Jackson Pollock splatters. Whatever comes in her visions. They are spectacular. Mary and her art just make you smile. And, in the process, she helps the Feed the Children program and keeps a lot of junk out of the landfill. Once you meet Mary, you will never forget her or the experience of visiting her doll village and garden of wonders. You will want to go back to see her again and again.  If you go, remember that Mary only takes cash and "good checks."

We could have spent the entire day with Mary but, back on our way with a carload of Mary's treasures to take home, we finally made it to Varnamtown. It's the real-deal, old-time shrimping operation, and yet another step back in time with a glimpse into the rugged life of shrimpers, who labor to keep fresh, local shrimp on our tables. Most of the docks there have been lost to development of the area which is beautifully quiet and artistically scenic, so let's hope they can keep what's left going as part of our coastal heritage and a source of good, Atlantic coast shrimp.

After a stop for fresh summer bounty at Holden Brothers Produce on Highway 17, the map pointed us south of the border to the bustling waterfront at Little River, South Carolina. The docks there are as busy as Grand Central station with hordes of folks boarding the casino and charter fishing boats and eating and drinking in dockside restaurants along the waterway.

We finished our day of adventure with a seafood feast at the Dockside in Calabash, serving the best of Calabash style seafood, which never disappoints. There's always a crowd lined up for dinner at the Dockside, so there's always a good-long wait before you hear your name called for a table. The wait is actually part of the fun. It gives you time to lazily explore the docks and watch the fishing boats come in from the day to unload their catch and just enjoy the golden sunlight over the marshes at the end of the day.

No trip to Calabash would be complete for me without an after-dinner stop at Callahan's Nautical Gift Shop/St. Nick Nack's Christmas Shoppe - http://callahansgifts.com/. The shop is so long in size that's it's a great little walk after a big dinner, and filled with treasures and treats to browse and buy. From Hermit crabs to seashell souvenirs to fresh fudge in a multitude of flavors to fine gifts for the home and, of course, the thousands of Christmas decorations, it's a 35,000 square foot shopper's paradise.

Mary Paulsen with me in her gallery

Dockside at Calabash - my mom and I dined here several times a year for many years.

Fishermen bring in the day's catch.

Calabash waterfront

Casino ship at Little River, SC

Dockside hotspot at Little River, SC

Garland's Seafood at Varnamtown, NC

Gator in Orton Pond

Fellow Travelers

Mary's Doll House Village

Shrimp boat docked at Varnamtown, NC

Calabash Dock Cat

Water lilies in Orton Pond

I promised this young man that if he caught me a fish, I would take his picture. We both came through on our promise.

Mary Paulsen's gallery is full of happy treasures.

Waterfront at Southport

At this spot on the Southport riverfront, you are halfway between Nantucket and Key West.

My old friend Cathy and my new friend Mary

One of Mary's bottle houses filled with her art.

Varnamtown view

More treasures in Mary's garden

After a long day on the road and in the hot sun, we dialed in the soothing sounds of WHQR public radio (another Cape Fear treasure) for the hour drive on 17 North through the dark back to Wilmington. Our coastal odyssey was more than we could have ever tried to meticulously plan. On a lazy summer day like this, it's better to just let serendipity be your guide.

Mary Virginia

Click on any of the images to enlarge them and to view a slideshow of all photos.