Been Beachin' It-- Part 3-- A Day at Topsail and a Godwin

Topsail Beach-- Day 2

We went to several local souvenir places in Topsail Beach. These are not your huge Wings-type stores, which they have several in nearby Surf City (where there are two girls for every boy according to Jan and Dean).

There is also a great old gas station general store called Godwin's that has been in operation since the earliest civilian occupation of the island. The present owner is the son of the original one. His father ran it for 30 years and Danny has run it for 32.

This store has living quarters above the gas pumps and reminds me a lot of he famous Lucille's in Hydro, Oklahoma, on Route 66. This place looks exactly as it did originally. As Danny Godwin says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Liz said the place reminded her a lot of the deli her father operated in Chicago, right down to the shelving.

We spent a lot of time out on the beach and constantly had to retreat, eventually to the dunes, as the tide was coming in.

We ate that night at the Sea Breeze Inn, one of the oldest restaurants on Topsail Island. This is the second building to house it. The original one was the old military mess hall. Part of the place is over the sound and there are great views of it. They had some of the best hush puppies I've ever tasted and seafood is done up Calabash-style.

Like I Said, a Good Day at the Beach... --RoadDog