With a LOT of rain in the forecast, I kept this ride open-ended in respect to direction and course. Our mission- head towards where it IS NOT RAINING and go to lunch. That led us out towards Castle Hayne from the Circle K to pick up Holly Shelter Rd. and jump on 40w. We exited on 210 and made a ralphy and then another immediate right to snake back parallel to 40 and do a 5-mile loop on Martin Marietta Access Rd. , Rebecca Kennedy and Moore Town to bring us back onto 210. We followed 210 into Hampstead.
We headed back towards Ogden on 17 and made a louie on Scotts Hill Loop Rd. This ... loop... led us back to 17 where we made a right and then quick left on Sidbury to take us back into Castle Hayne. We made our first rest stop there after a little more than an hour of riding.
Back on the bikes we headed back up N. Kerr to Blue Clay Rd. and jumped onto MLK heading toward Wrightsville Beach. We went into Wrightsville beach and did a loop around the island and took in the sights (Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral). After crossing the drawbridge we made an immediate left on Airlie Rd along the intracoastal. Beautiful scenery! Damn!
We had to start to push south at this point to finish off the ride and get to Winnie's by 12:30. A left on Military Cutoff took us to Greenville Loop Rd., Masonboro Rd. and Myrtle Grove Rd.. At the intersection of Carolina Beach Rd. , we headed toward Carolina Beach. We made a right before Snow's Cut Bridge onto River Rd. and followed it allllll the way down through River Lights to the Shipyard. I could smell burgers as we headed down Burnett Blvd. and pulled into the bottle cap littered gravel parking lot of Winnie's.
Winnie's is voted the best burger in Wilmington. None of us had ever been there , so we decided to wait for a seat inside and take in the whole experience. This place was jamming! Folks pulling in for take-out orders, other groups waiting for tables, people coming and leaving because the wait was too long. We got seated after about 30 minutes and bellied up to the bar. We placed our orders pretty quickly and continued to chat about work and world happenings.
While we were there, IT NEVER SLOWED DOWN. A constant stream of To-Go orders being packed in shopping bags and the phone ringing for more orders. We finally got our food after about 30 minutes. Well... it was totally worth the wait! Best Burger I have had in Wilmington for sure! I had the Trailer Park(fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese), Kenny had the BBQ Bacon Cheese, and Ditch had the Station Wagon(onions, mushroom, and garlic aoli). Everything was fresh, hot and delicious. We all agreed that for what it costs, it should be!!!
That concluded our day. 95 miles to travel some of the local area and have a great lunch. It was good to see Kenny Keel and catch up . Thanks for coming out today Cruisers!
'Till the Next Ride...
rePete
First Officer
SCRC PC 162