In this E-dition:
March 4, 2010)

- The smallest house on Pleasure Island
- My quixotic fight against China (revisited)
- Exciting stuff on Carolina Beach Road
- Friday is the registration deadline for Low Tide Run
- This weekend on the Peninsula
- Be a tourist in your hometown (free stuff to do) 

Yes, that's all there is
Have you been wondering what this thing is on 6th & Harper? (I know you have.) It's going to be the smallest house in Carolina Beach at a grand total of 350sf. That's smaller than my kitchen and dining room! (And I don't have a big place.)

Can they do that? Yes they can. NC building code requires that every house have a kitchen and bathroom, but the minimum size requirement is only about 220sf. Besides, who are we to tell someone how big their house should be?

I say good for them - they won't have to worry about relatives visiting that's for sure. There are actually three lots on that corner and the small home aficionados who are building the tree house have apparently bought them all. I've been told that they will someday build more little structures and connect them with breezeways. It takes all kinds to make the world go around.

The Sea Witch is coming back
I promised you details about the Sea Witch, but I have to apologize. They won't give them to me. They hope to open within a few weeks and they have been booking bands for the summer. That's all I know.

Made In China
You may not know that we were all ready to send our January edition to the printer before we decided to take SCM out behind our shed and shoot it. My finger was on the send button when we got some bad news that forced our hand.

Anyway, you may recall that I have a thing about buying poorly made Chinese crap. We even wrote a nice article about trying to get through the holidays without buying Chinese plastic stuff. (For our January edition.)

Read it here.

Big Happenings on Carolina Beach Road


That's Harris Teeter in the background. This construction project on the corner of sanders Road and 421 is something that is in very short supply around here. I'll give you a hint:

It starts with a "W."...... And it ends with an "algreens."

The other project under way is right next to the Ten Mile Post (you know, the place that sells shell). This one will be a Jehovah's Witness Church.

They have an interesting business model. They pay no one to build the church.

All of the expertise and labor is donated by their members. (Engineering, grading, concrete, electricity, you name it). That may explain why the progress is slow, but you have to admire their plan.




10K or Bust
After being a course monitor every other year, I have finally decided to man up and run in the Steve Haydu LoTide Run this March 13. It's given me something to think about other than how crappy the weather is.

I suggest you do the same. It's become one of the most successful events on the island, it's fun and it supports a great cause. The money raised is used to give financial support to people fighting cancer.
Click here for a history of the event.

You'd better hurry up. Tomorrow is the last day to avoid paying a late registration fee. (I hate those.)

If you enjoy running or biking, I suggest checking out www.mapmyrun.com It provides an easy mapping system to measure just how far you've been running.

This weekend on the Cape Fear Peninsula
Believe it or not, it's actually going to be nice this weekend. Yahh!

Friday, March 5 – Divine Wines' weekly free wine tasting from 4-7pm.

Fish Fry at the American Legion (behind the Food Lion).

I'll be at the Drive By Truckers show at the Greenfield Amphitheater. You've gotta love some gold old southern rock. Check the Penguin for details.

Sunday, March 7 – Be a Tourist in Your Hometown Day couldn't have better timing. Its supposed to be quite nice on Sunday. You can do just about every cool local thing for free. Here are my recommendations:

Airlie Gardens - If you've never walked through this place, you're missing out. Go.

Battleship NORTH CAROLINA - Same story. It's cool.

Ghost Walk of Wilmington - It's unbelievable how popular this tour is. You have to make a reservation.

Wilmington Trolley - They're offering a shuttle service in downtown Wilmington. Take the trolley from the Battleship to the Train Museum. Enjoy the ride.

Wrightsville Beach Scenic Tours - My good friend Joe Abbate (the Cape Fear Naturalist) runs this ship. He'll teach you alot as you circumnavigate Wrightsville Beach.

Wheel Fun Rentals - Duke Hagestrom wouldn't miss out on this fun. He'll let you take a paddleboat out on Carolina Beach Lake for free.

Picture of the week
We went to the Moore's Creek Battlefield last weekend for their annual commemoration and caught this Redcoat doing something very "Un-Revoltionary-War-Periody."
(He was embarrased when he saw our camera.)