Best Beach in North Carolina

There are many beach communities in North Carolina - Outer Banks, Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Topsail... the list goes on. I have had the opportunity to visit many of these beaches, and I've finally picked my favorite... Kure Beach! Never heard of it? Exactly.

While I absolutely LOVE the Outer Banks, it took me literally 3 hours to go 5 miles on the way to our beach house on my last visit. No thank you! Wilmington and Carolina beaches are well-known and I've found that they often become quite crowded during the summer months (winter months are a whole different story!).

Kure Beach is located on Pleasure Island (I kid you not, that's what it's called). This is an island near Wilmington and is home to Carolina Beach, Fort Fisher and, of course, Kure Beach. Now I'll add this note here - it's pronounced kurr - ee beach, not "cure." #LocalInsight

The reason I've landed on Kure Beach as my favorite beach is for several reasons. Let's start with parking. If you want FREE, UNLIMITED parking, Kure beach is for you! Just look for spots near the pier! That's the key - stay near the pier. Not only, is there parking, but you can also stop in the pier for a convenient bathroom, any forgotten items (towel, sunscreen, sunglasses) and some seriously delicious ice cream. It's the perfect spot!

The beach is nice and comparable to other good ole Carolina Beaches, but the convenience found at Kure beach really seals the deal for me. I actually lived and worked on Pleasure Island for a summer, and I tried all the beaches in town. Time and time again I found myself heading over to Kure beach for easy parking and a nice, relaxing day in the sun. If you are ever in the area, check it out! Even the hotels and beach houses are a smidge cheaper (but by no means cheap) than those in the surrounding area. It's honestly a lovely place to spend a vacation and I highly recommend it!

If you'd like some recommendations for other travel ideas, I'd love to help! Shoot me an email at
Malena@MilesIntoMemoreisTravel.com or visit my website at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Visiting the World's Oldest Bookstore

As a book lover, I'm constantly on the hunt for beautiful bookstores wherever I go. While researching our trip to Lisbon, I stumbled across the ultimate bookstore! The Chiado Livraria Bertrand is the oldest bookstore in the world! It even holds a Guinness World Record! This location opened in 1732 and has since become the largest bookstore chain in Portugal. I must say it was magical.

Here I am with the sign out front!

Tired, sweaty but excited! I had the time of my life wandering through the stacks of books and of course, came away with a few to add to my collection. The set up of the store was really neat! It had multiple rooms that stretched back kind of like a tunnel. It ended with a pretty gorgeous little cafe. As a book enthusiast, it was a pretty awesome experience. I highly recommend stopping by if you get the chance!