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Surf City – Thursday, April 13th

Posted on July 9, 2023January 23, 2026 by Emily

Thursday morning, we awoke hungry and I knew of the perfect spot for all of us. Next to Daybreak Donuts was a lovely little bagel shop that I had been wanting to try, Sunrise Bagels. So while my mom and the boys went to get donuts, I ordered myself a bagel.

Shoreline Bagel – Bacon, Egg, Pepperjack Cheese, Jalapeno, Cream Cheese, Layer of Tots, Jalapeno Cheddar Bagel

While my bagel from Sunrise Bagels was absolutely delicious, we encountered a different tale when we returned on Friday, which is shared more about in another blog post.

But as we ate our donuts and bagels, we drove around the island for a bit. We really only had one objective for that day, which was to visit the touch tank at Ecological Marine Adventures. It’s something that I had been looking forward to taking my eldest son to do.

While I had originally wanted to take the boys to the Aquarium at Fort Fisher, I realized that would be about an hour-and-a-half trip, something I wasn’t exactly thrilled about at this time. So I found the touch tank as an alternative. Since we arrived a little bit early, we made our way across the street and browsed the racks at Wings.

Caleb chose a rather unconventional souvenir.
While we waited in line for the touch tank, our senses were enveloped by the sweet scent of nearby mock orange wafting about on the warm breeze.

EMA teaches kids of all ages about the ocean through hands-on experiences. The touch tank was small but perfect for my boys, complete with the opportunity to touch marine wildlife, view reptiles, and play.

Afterward, we had hot dogs from Hot Diggity Dogz. To be honest, the hot dogs were not good, but that was probably just us and our taste buds. We are used to a different type of hot dog (the smaller ones).

Returning back to the beach house, we spent more time at the beach before my eldest son engaged in some vacation schooling. I have a lot of various ocean/beach-themed resource materials and so I brought a portion of them with me. So we took some time to learn about sea shells, sea turtles, and pirates while eating plate of fresh veggies and hummus.

For supper, we ordered from Max’s Pizza. The last time we went to Surf City (in 2019), we ate out at Max’s Pizza and it was so delicious that I knew we had to order from them during this trip. So we ordered a cheese pizza and a ham and cheese sub.

And guess what?

It was just as delicious as I remembered.

After filling our bellies, we spent the rest of our evening playing board games. The beach house had Candyland, which made Caleb perfectly happy and content until bedtime.

Locations Mentioned:

Sunrise Bagel Co.
303 S Topsail Drive Unit B,
Surf City, NC 28445

Ecological Marine Adventures
106 N Topsail Dr,
Surf City, NC 28445

Max’s Pizza
602 A Roland Ave,
Surf City, NC 28445

Category: Detours

Hi, I’m Emily — the creator behind Nothing to Do HKY.

My family and I moved to Western North Carolina in 2021 from the coast, drawn here by the mountains, the slower pace, and the feeling that this was a place meant to be lived in — not just passed through. We now call a six-acre patch of land home between Lenoir, Morganton, and Hickory, where we’re slowly building a life surrounded by gardens, animals, and a deep appreciation for the seasons.

Nothing to Do HKY began as a way to explore our new home, but it’s grown into something more: a love letter to Western North Carolina and the everyday beauty of life here.

This is a place to celebrate backroads and small towns, gardens and trails, local food and community gatherings — the simple, meaningful things that make this region feel like home. My hope is to help both locals and visitors fall in love with where they live (or where they’re visiting), and to see Western North Carolina not just as a destination, but as a way of life.

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