In the past our family has driven as far south as Richmond, Virginia. We have traveled by train all the way to Florida. Driving to North Carolina is a very easy drive as there are no toll roads and the speed limit for a good portion of the way is 70 miles per hour.

Our first stop was University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). This school is very close to the Atlantic Ocean and as a result it has a very different "feel" to it than many other schools. During warm weather, they usually are seen wearing "Rainbow Sandals"



The campus itself is small which lend the students to get around the campus on skates boards and bicycles.


The student body is made up mainly of Whites and they are BLONDE. We so sooooo many blonde heads it was funny. And the students are very fit. They are not out of shape here. I guess with the ocean so close by, they want to keep their bikini bodies

Here is the actual diversity breakdown of the student population"
African American 5%
Asian 2%
Hispanic 5%
International 1%
Native American 1%
White 83%
Unknown 3%

Wilmington itself is very flat, no mountains or hills. So, the Dean of the school a few years ago added some "hills" to the campus and made it an area where the students can gather as well. This place in the photo with the clock tower and pond, used to be a parking lot:


At UNCW, each of their Department Buildings, tends to have the "Georgian" style on the outside; however, once inside they have the feel of that department.

The Education build is like an old train station:





The Computer Science Information Building has a fully functioning stock trading room:


Their Nursing Building has computer patient "dummys" and the building can work as a fully functional hospital in the event of an emergency.


As the are close to the ocean, UNCW is also known for their Oceanography & Marine Science programs.

The original $17.5 million UNCW Center for Marine Science was completed in 2000 with a total of 75,000 square feet of net indoor space including:

  • Teaching auditorium for up to 150 individuals
  • Classrooms and marine science labs
  • Running seawater system which provides raw unfiltered and purified seawater at flow rates up to 600 liters/min.
  • Greenhouse with running seawater
  • Aquarium room and outdoor tanks with running seawater
  • 900-foot pier with docking facilities



In the spring of 2008, the 24,000 square foot addition was completed. This one-story addition with a second floor mechanical loft adds:

  • 37 individual offices
  • Five shops (Dive, Oceanographic Instrumentation with 7,000 gallon seawater test tank, Aquaculture and Boat Repair)
  • Four labs (Instrument Fabrication, Biotechnology (2) and NCNERR)
  • A dive compressor room
  • Conference room with full voice and data capabilities

In the summer of 2010, the $4.3 million 11,000 square foot Shellfish Research Hatchery was completed.

Outside of the campus, it is pretty much like what we think of as small to medium size town but more like a "beach" town. Most everything closed up by 10 pm, which is early compared to where I live. There was one place that was open late that we did go to, Slice of Life, it is more of a bar (or as they call it a "pub"), than a place to get pizza, HOWEVER, their pizza was pretty darn good and they are open until 3 a.m.!!

They also have a Sonic which not a lot of places have, we only have two in this area and neither of them are near us. It is an old style carhop drive in, with fast food, and it is VERY inexpensive.

Over all, the people of Wilmington were very nice. Everyone we meet was helpful and pleasant. We also noticed, no speed cameras or red light camera and people were not on their cell phones 24/7. When people were driving, no honking or aggressiveness either, that was nice too.