A Safe Haven in Southport, North Carolina

The quaint town of Southport, North Carolina sits at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. During the American Civil War the Union forces blockaded the coast of the Southern States. Blockade runners, usually under the cover of night, would try to get through the blockade undetected by the Union ships and deliver much needed supplies to Confederate states and forces. And they were paid a pretty penny for their exploits. Many of them built large homes in Southport, which remain to this day. You can take a golf cart tour of the town learning it's history - and of it's current attractions. 

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Southport is known for having one of the largest Independence Day Festivals and Parades in the Southeast - it's small population swells to 40,000 or 50,000 people.It's the port for the ferry to Bald Head Island - a no cars, resort style island off the coast of North Carolina. And Southport is home to some very popular seafood restaurants  - there's dockside dining at Fishy Fishy Cafe, the Frying Pan located on the Southport Yacht Basin, the Yacht Basin Eatery and probably, the most popular, Yacht Basin Provision Company. Named the #1 Seafood Dive in North Carolina by Coastal Living Magazine, be prepared for a wait to eat at this very casual seafood restaurant. You enter through the kitchen where you place your order and pick your drinks from the refrigerator, pay and then find your seat at plastic tables dockside. 

And if the history, the beauty, the water and the seafood aren't enough to draw visitors to Seaport, in the summer of 2013 Hollywood came calling. Many tv shows and films had been filmed here but Safe Haven, a film adapted from Nicholas Spark's book of the same name, really brought the tourists. Almost all of the movie was filmed here and in the nearby Brunswick Islands and you can visit all the film sites. Starring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough, the movie used many structures that were already built (and built one that they burnt down). You can view the Safe Haven film exhibit at the town museum and there is a filming location board by Fishy Fishy restaurant detailing all the sites.

I loved Southport. It's quaint, pretty and even though it's touristy, the residents are full of southern hospitality. There are so many new places to see in the world that I often don't feel the need to return somewhere - but I'll be back Southport. I can't wait!

This post is part of a link-up with: Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox, The Weekly Postcard at Travel Notes, Weekend Travel Inspiration at Reflections Enroute and Beyond and Weekend Wanderlust at A Brit and A Southerner!