- Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend", everyone.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel.

And this week, we are celebrating coastal vibes with visits to Wilmington, New Bern, and Corolla.

I'm on the Wilmington Riverfront, one of my favorite places to visit, and it's expanded now with a new park and amphitheater.

We'll explore more throughout the show.

But first, I wanted to show you where I spent the night.

Check out these glamorous houseboats here at the Cove.

I had a wonderful experience and wanted to share with you a little bit of my weekend in Wilmington.

[bright vibrant music] For Coastal Vibes, Wilmington is a choice city, and recent developments helped me put together a first-class weekend escape.

At the center, overnight stay at The Cove Riverwalk Villas.

- It is a houseboat community.

We tend to refer to them as villas though, because as you can see it's a little bit different than what people usually think of when they think of a houseboat.

We think of it as luxury living on the water.

And when you enter into the houseboat, you'll find an open concept living space.

So there's dining space as well as a living space and the full kitchen.

Beyond that, there is the queen bedroom with an attached full bathroom, which does include washer and dryer as well in every unit.

And then up the stairs, you'll find another very nice spacious living space.

And off from that space there is the primary bedroom with the king bed and another full bathroom off from there.

- [Deborah] The interior design and decor are impeccable and they didn't forget the exteriors.

Designed for gathering with friends or taking in the sunset solo.

At the Cove, you're within walking distance to lots of Wilmington River walk attractions like the Convention Center and Live Oak Bank Pavilion Amphitheater, which has fantastic music concerts and shows.

And the Wilson Center of Cape Fear Community College, a technologically advanced performing arts center, featuring Broadway style theater and national touring acts.

The Wilmington River Walk is a paved 1.75 mile stretch, lined with eateries, shops and attractions.

About three blocks south of the houseboats, you'll find a gorgeously coastal venue for hot breakfast and more.

- Well, you know, we do a lot of the traditional Southern classics, but we updated a little bit.

When they're coming for breakfast, they want grits, and they want 'em to be good.

And so we do stone-ground grits that come from a mill right over the border in South Carolina.

And then they're gonna want things like, you know, bacon and sausage.

We have blueberry oatmeal pancakes, which are probably our most popular dish.

Comes with a little walnut butter, a little syrup in your choice of sides.

- [Deborah] And I have to say their hand-stirred sangria with the marinated fruits just bursts with flavor.

- We're not just a breakfast place, although we do a lot of breakfast, we do a lot of brunch on the weekends, which is really popular.

We do have a little bit of something for everybody.

- [Deborah] The Basics is located on Front Street in the Cotton Exchange.

So after breakfast, it was easy to do some exploring and window-shopping.

With charming 19th century style brick facades and open air courtyards, you can meander through this historic district and find handcrafted gifts, jewelry, treats and more.

[upbeat music] [vibrant music] I'm not sure if the purpose of my stroll was to burn off a few calories or work up an appetite for lunch.

Either way, on a visit to the coast, fresh catch is a must.

I ambled over to Anne Bonny's Bar & Grill, a long-standing favorite since 2017.

- We are a floating casual restaurant on a barge on the Cape Fear River.

We do, we're very family friendly.

We have a casual menu, everything from great burgers and wings to calabash seafood and crab cakes.

So plenty of variety.

- [Deborah] I tried their crab cake, and boy, did it deliver!

- We have a specialty frozen cocktail list that we are known for, which is definitely a big attraction here for us.

- This is their Mango sunrise, sweet, tangy, cool, refreshing, just right on a hot day.

Probably good on a cold day, too.

The view of the river from Anne Bonny's whet my appetite to see and learn more about the Cape Fear.

An afternoon cruise on Wilmington Water Tours was just the ticket.

- The boat's name is the Wilmington and we named her in honor of Captain John Harper, who ran a steamship to Wilmington.

We run trips basically on the hour, every hour all week long.

We run north up behind the island, Eagles Island here on the even hours and south by the ports on the odd hours.

And we have Sunset Cruises with live music, specialty cruises tomorrow we have a wine tasting, so we just really try to mix it up.

- [Deborah] Our trip really gave different views of Wilmington's River Walk, the amphitheater and marina.

So impressive.

Captain Doug also shared interesting insights on the Cape Fair River itself.

- So this is the Cape Fear River, and it's the largest river in North Carolina.

It covers 9,000 square miles in North Carolina.

From here downstream, it's about 25 miles to the ocean, like Southport, Bald Head.

And then as you go up river, it goes all the way to Raleigh and Greensboro and Fayetteville.

[upbeat music] - [Deborah] After the boat tour, I found the perfect spot to cap the night.

Social Casa de Tequila is right on the riverwalk and features a covered balcony overlooking the water - Being a lover of tequila.

It was something that was missing downtown.

There was a lot of whiskey bars and bourbon bars, but there wasn't an actual, just a tequila bar you could go and find some nice high-end tequilas, Tequila's made with a blue agave, so that makes people happy.

People have a good time when they're drinking it.

It brings people together, it's a lot of fun.

- The vibrant murals and theme are a tribute to Lindsay's Cuban roots and her father who recently passed.

If you're lucky like me, you'll stop by on a night when she's opened the bar to a Latin dance meet-up.

Whether you're dancing the night away or exploring the many offerings along the river walk, you'll discover Wilmington's just the place to catch those coastal vibes.

To reserve your luxury living on the water at The Cove Riverwalk Villas, go to covewilmington.com for information and links to the basics and Bonny's Bar & Grill, Wilmington Riverboat Tours and Social Casa de Tequila, or the other places we featured in and around the Wilmington Riverwalk.

Go to wilmingtonandbeaches.com or find the links on our website.