Touring the Town

Have you ever been a tourist in your own town? This past week my aunt and uncle visited from Maine and we spent an entire day being ‘tourists’ in my parent’s small coastal town.

Southport, North Carolina is home to not one, but tow Nicholas Sparks films: “Safe Haven” and “A Walk to Remember”. Since my family moved there in the summer of 2020, Hallmark movie “One Summer” was filmed and released and film starring Mel Gibson, “Boys of Summer” filmed this past December.

My mother found this amazing small business who do what they call “Southport Fun Tours” around Southport. It is a 45 minute “fun-filled” ride through Southport’s historic waterfront district ( what my family likes to call “downtown”). So, the five of us climbed into this golf cart-like vehicle and rode around Southport stopping at historical and cultural sights, movie and tv locations, popular shops and restaurants, as well as fun facts about the nature unique to the North Carolina coasts.

Rev, our “tour guide” for the afternoon was the best tour guide for the job. He kept us laughing, engaged, and truly gave us an entertaining and memorable experience.

After our tour, we tooled around some of our favorite shops like what I call the Christmas Tree Shop, which is actually named “Christmas House”, but the adorable green, red, and white colored victorian home has Christmas trees and decorations adorning every square inch of the house’s interior all year round. It’s truly one of my favorite places downtown!

I call it the Christmas Tree Shop because it reminds me of a store my family and I used to go to when we visited family in Maine. Similar to the Southport icon, this store spread Christmas cheer for all who entered and always made me smile. Unfortunately, the store caught fire when I was around 10 years old and the owners decided not to rebuild, so Southport’s store reminds me of my fond memories and goodies there.

We then walked down to what my father would proudly say is his favorite spot downtown which is called the American Fish Company. While you have to be a “member” to go in… the membership only costs $1 and everyone is welcome! A family favorite for its pristine views right on the tip of the marina, AFC (as us locals like to call it) is located right where the Intercoastal Waterway meets the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River.

With all of the views to see from marsh, boats, the Cape Fear lighthouse, Bald Head Island and their lighthouse “Baldy”, you are never short of some good ole fashion fun.

The AFC is known for being the ‘home’ to “Ivan’s Fish Shack” which was the restaurant used for the film “Safe Haven”. The movie’s original Ivan’s sign hangs proudly on the side wall while you are walking in and the movie’s official movie poster hangs below it which is signed by both of the main characters played by Julianne Hough (known in the film as Katie) and Josh Duhamel (known as the local named Alex).

As we all sat along the railing looking out at the boats, my family and I all went through the different movies and tv shows that we learned about during our “Fun Tour” of Southport. I was amazed to learn that Southport has been used in as many as 300 different movie and tv scenes and have received its notoriety from films: “Safe Haven” (2013), “The Secret Life of Bees” (2008), “A Walk to Remember” (2002), “Summer Catch” (2001), “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997), “Weekend at Bernie’s” (1989) and “Crimes of the Heart” (1986).

Popular TV shows include: “Under the Dome” (2013-2015), “Revenge” (2011), “The Water Is Wide” (2006), “Dawson’s Creek” (1998-2003), “Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Wedding” (1998), and “Matlock” (1986-1995).

Overall, we all enjoyed our day and my parents and I loved being “tourists” for the day in our own town. I got a sense of appreciation that I hadn’t had before and learned a lot about the town’s history and culture. I recommend being a tourist in your city!!