Growing up an only child to a single parent who worked two jobs most of my childhood, I had to find ways to entertain myself. Often my imagination would take me to far away places where I could be anything and I had fairies and rock-stars as friends but when I returned to my reality, the television is where I found comfort. Over the years, I found myself in many characters in my favorite shows, or I imagined being part of the perfect family or being friends with the cool kids going on all of their adventures with them. Finding comfort in television has stayed with me into my adulthood and I still get stolen away into fairytale lands or quaint little towns where everyone and everything is perfect. When my favorite characters have troubles, I know everything will work out just right and I know they are always there when I need them.
Sometimes in life, you get lucky enough to connect with someone through a shared interest and I have been blessed beyond measure to get to share my real life time and many adventures with my friend Kelli. We have been known to spend hours analyzing our favorite characters, creating new scenarios, sharing tears and laughter (especially while watching Les Mis or trying to figure out Peyton Sawyer’s hair) and creating top ten lists with each other. The shared interest in television is not what makes us friends but it is like the icing on the friendship cake. Little did I know that the thing that sweetens our friendship like a little sugar on the rim of your favorite beverage would take us on so many journeys.
A few years back we took our girls’ trip with our three other best girls (you will hear all about them in future posts) to Southport, NC because we wanted to see the place where the movie Safe Haven was filmed. It didn’t take long and Southport became part of our souls. There is something in the haunting trees, the salt filled air and the whispers of a time long forgotten that wraps around every fiber of my being and I feel completely at peace. Last year we visited Beaufort, Charleston, and Port Royal, SC where we were able to visit the Gullah restaurant featured in the Netflix show High on the Hog. I will save details on that trip for later because it deserves a post all of its’ own. Through our shared connection, other passions have been born including Kelli’s love and talent for creating content and my rejuvenated excitement for writing and traveling. Consequently, our common love of history and research has been nurtured as well and if either of our careers don’t work out, we found out we have major private investigating skills. I’m talking above FBI level here.
Our most recent adventure took us to Wilmington, NC where one of our favorite shows, One Tree Hill was filmed. We had been listening to the Drama Queens podcast hosted by the actresses Hillary Burton, Sophia Bush, and Joy Lenz and wanted to try some of the recommended places that they loved while living in Wilmington. We also wanted to visit more filming locations that we did not get to visit in depth on a previous trip. Additionally, we visited some Dawson’s Creek filming locations and went back to South Port to see the grave yard (Old Smithville Burial Ground) in A Walk to Remember. The verdict is still out on if this is the correct grave yard after applying our above mentioned investigative skills but even if it is not the right filming location, it is worth the trip anyway. On this trip my favorite small screen town came to life. Weather it be on our walk down the River Walk, chatting in front of Tree Hill High, standing on the River Court, signing a brick at Tric, or eating at Hell’s Kitchen, we experienced all that is One Tree Hill. The quiet small town, the friendship, the drama, the laughter, the strife…we heard it all, we felt it all and I can not wait to go back because after all, there is only One Tree Hill.
I am forever grateful that two girls with a common love became friends and that that friendship has taken them to places only found in story books. And when those two girls are home again and tucked away in their beds, they can turn on their favorite t.v. show and know that their favorite characters will always be there for them but more importantly, they will always be there for each other……
For details, recommendations and our commentary on all of our favorite places and things to do in Wilmington please visit:
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The Write Times 