The Town of Holden Beach has completed the Olden Holden Bike Tour! The tour consists of three different bike routes, totaling approximately 20 miles, each with its own special beauty and history. Along the routes, you will find numbered signs, which signify special points of interest.

Click here to view a copy of the brochure for the bike tour.

Holden Beach is quickly becoming a “Bike Friendly” town. We have put together a pleasant historical tour for you to enjoy by bike. We are affectionately calling this the “Olden” Holden Bike Tour. We hope you enjoy the

history and wonderful views of Holden Beach, as you pedal to the East End, the West End, and all that lies

between. Bike on!

Explore the beauty and history of Holden Beach as you tour the island by bike. There are three different bike

routes, totaling approximately 20 miles, each with its own special beauty and history. They are marked on

the map in pink, blue and orange.

The pink route, on the east end of the island, is a 3 1/2-mile loop and includes most of the historic points

of interest and bicycle access to the beach.

The blue route, in the middle of the island, is a 5-mile scenic loop with views of the waterway and marshlands. Here you can enjoy glimpses of water birds, deer and the occasional dolphin.

The orange route, on the west end of the island, is a 10-mile loop dotted with parks, butterfly garden, fishing areas, and bicycle access to the beach.

Numbered signs correspond to special points of of interest on the map.

Here are just afew examples:

ELIZABETH, BENDIGO, AND RANGER SHIPWRECKS: Three Civil War Blockade runners sank off the coast. Detailed information is printed on three separate stone tablets along Ocean Boulevard East.

THE OLD HOTEL: was the first building on the beach besides the fishery. Built in 1926 by Mr. John Holden, Jr. for visitors, it had a dining room where his wife did the cooking.

COAST GUARD LOOK-OUT POINT: During WW II, 20-25 men patrolled beach by horseback on the look-out for German Submarines. Several US Merchant Marine ships were observed being torpedoed and set

afire. A German submarine was caught near Wilmington. There was even a story that a German U-Boat came into Shallotte Point and bought gas!

OLD FERRY: In the 1930s it was only large enough to carry one car and was pulled across the waterway by hand on a cable. The operator caught the cable with a notched wooden pole called a “jack stick” and pulled the ferry across. In 1946, the second ferry held two cars and was powered by an old car engine. The steel cable that held it on course had to be lowered for each boat that came. Long lines of cars backed up in the early 1950s’ weekends. The cable had to be raised by hand and was extremely heavy.

For more information please call the Brunswick County Parks & Recreation Department at: 910.253.2538

Here are the programs, schedules and fees:

TENNIS LESSONS
Ocean Isle Beach Park

(Five minutes from The Winds)

$30/hour private rate
Semi-Private Group Rate:
$40 for 3 people
$5 /each additional person per group

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AQUAZUMBA
Mondays & Wednesdays
January 2 – April. 30, 2012
Time: 8am-9am
Outdoor pool
Free of charge to Winds Guests

This is a “pool party” workout for all ages. You’ll learn safe, effective and challenging water-based workouts that integrate the Zumba formula and philosophy into traditional aqua fitness disciplines. Outdoor Pool weather permitting.

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WATER AEROBICS
January 2 through April 30, 2012
Monday thru Thursday
9:30-10:30am
Outdoor Pool weather permitting
Free of Charge to Winds Guests.

Click here to go to Discount Coupons that you can print out and use for a 15% to 20% discount at The Winds Resort Beach Club.

Nick Thomas is a little bit of all of us; believable, lovable, tough when need be and sensitive. He is a man who got a second chance at life after hitting bottom and turned his life around.

And life was good, that is until one fateful day the walls of his life came crashing down and he finds himself framed and wanted for the murder of his estranged ex-wife.

Nick has no choice but to go underground and try and find the real killer before the police find him. The Nine Irony is also a romantic story about a beautiful and trusting love between Nick and his soul-mate Chris who helps him through this fast paced ordeal.
Pick up your autographed copy and join Tom’s loyal fans. You won’t be disappointed!

Buy It Here! $14.95

To check in simply log on to your mobile facebook and click places, scan for HoldenBeachNC.com and hit check in. Tag your friends that are with you too!

Your favorite site HoldenBeachNC.com has joined the facebook craze! On our facebook page you can find links to our articles, other sites and comments from some of our readers. ‘Like’ us on facebook and discover a whole new way to connect to the coastal way of life!

Check out our facebook page!

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Here is a link to a video from WRAL TV in Raleigh NC:

http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/travel/video/9793967/#/vid9810263

Wikipedia says:

Agave americana, commonly known as the century plant, maguey, or American aloe (although it is in a different family from the Aloe), is an agave originally from Mexico but cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant. It has since naturalized in many regions and grows wild in Europe, South Africa, India, and Australia.

The misnamed century plant typically lives only 10 to 30 years. It has a spreading rosette (about 4 m/13 ft wide) of gray-green leaves up to 2 m (6.6 ft) long, each with a spiny margin and a heavy spike at the tip that can pierce to the bone. When it flowers, the spike with a cyme of big yellow flowers may reach up to 8 m (26 ft) in height. Its common name likely derives from its semelparous nature of flowering only once at the end of its long life. The plant dies after flowering, but produces suckers or adventitious shoots from the base, which continue its growth.
Cultivated varieties include the “marginata” with yellow stripes along the margins of each leaf, “medio-picta alba” with a central white band, “medio-picta aurea” with a central yellow band, “striata” with multiple yellow to white stripes along the leaves, and “variegata” with white edges on the leaves.

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Check out Islands-Art.com for some unique books by nationally renowned local authors and artists.

The works of the writers include romance Novels, Mysteries, History and fun. All have ties to this very special place along NC’s Coast.

Jacqueline DeGroot Romance Novels

Islands Art brings you novels by renowned local Romance Novelist Jacqueline DeGroot.

Jacqueline’s books take place right here on the beaches of Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle – with many local landmarks as back drops.

Sit in your beach chair and lose yourself in a Jacqueline DeGroot Romance Novel!
Click Here To preview 8 of Jacqueline DeGroot’s best:
Jacqueline DeGroot Romance Novels

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Tom Rieber’s “The Nine Irony”

For men there’s the latest in the Nick Thomas Mystery Series “The Nine Irony” by local author Tom Rieber. A powerful. suspense driven thriller!

Nick Thomas is a little bit of all of us; believable, lovable, tough when need be and sensitive. He is a man who got a second chance at life after hitting bottom and turned his life around. And life was good, that is until one fateful day the walls of his life came crashing down and he finds himself framed and wanted for the murder of his estranged ex-wife.

Nick has no choice but to go underground and try and find the real killer before the police find him.

Click here to preview:
Tom Rieber’s “The Nine Irony” – A Nick Thomas Mystery

Miller Pope’s Book Of Pirates

For kids of all ages there is Miller Pope’s series of Pirate Books. Richly illustrated in full color and historically accurate, Miller’s pirate series are engrossing and entertaining. With nearly 150 original illustrations, this volume is sure to please and inform pirate fans of all ages.

• Race for Riches: a history of the origins of piracy
• Greed and Gold: a pirate’s life aboard ship and in battle
• Tools of the Trade: weapons, vessels, and pirate culture
• Rogues and Raiders: profiles of pirates through history
• Other Pirates, Other Times: the past and future of piracy
• A Roster of Infamy: a list of pirates and their vessels

Click here to preview:
Miller Pope’s Series of Pirate Books

Tales OF The Silver Coast

Hard Cover or Soft Cover Edition – A Secret History Of Brunswick County – From the earliest days of European exploration to the golf courses and beach resorts in this fascinating and fast-growing region, Brunswick County has attracted settlers, invaders, and visitors of all descriptions.

In these pages you’ll read about Steve Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate,” who hid his ships in Brunswick’s moss-draped creeks but unfortunately underestimated the ebbing tide; “Mrs. Calabash,” who’s said to have lent her name to the famous sign-off for Jimmy Durante’s classic radio shows; and Topsy the Elephant, who swam for the Brunswick riverbank after breaking loose from circus handlers in the 1920s.

Click here to preview:
Tales OF The Silver Coast

The History Of Ocean Isle Beach

Written to preserve and bring to life the history, character, and charm of Ocean Isle Beach is for people of all ages to enjoy the rich history of this area, from the lives of Cape Fear Indians to the explorations of Verrazano.

This book illustrates and describes the exploits of Ocean Isle Beach pirates, the rise of large plantations, our Revolutionary War fighters, the salt mills, the dueling matches, the Civil War wrecks, the Prohibition years of Ocean Isle Beach liquor smuggling, the 1920’s Ocean Isle Beach dance hall, the World War II shipwrecks here, the hard work of Mr. Odell Williamson (founder of Ocean Isle Beach), and the town’s public servant individuals today.

Click here to preview:

The History Of Ocean Isle Beach

Sunset Beach – A History

A full history of Sunset Beach NC with stories from many of the “old timers” who were eye witnesses to events. Some are funny, some are shocking – all are fascinating. No true Sunset Beach Lover should be without this book!

This is the second collaboration between Author/ Illustrator Miller Pope and celebrated novelist Jacqueline DeGroot. World renowned nature photographer Ken Buckner’s photos are used through out the book in addition to the photographs and illustrations of Miller Pope.

Click here to preview:
Sunset Beach – A History

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Divers had planned to bring up the second-biggest artifact on what is thought to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge however they discovered it was too well-attached to some of the other items in the pile of ballast, according to the project director, Mark Wilde-Ramsing. So they pulled up another anchor instead that is the third-largest artifact and was most likely the anchor for the ship.

The anchor, which is 11 feet, 4 inches long with arms that are 7 feet, 7 inches across, was covered with a mixture of shells, sand and other debris that has been attracted by the leaching wrought iron. Its estimated to weigh approximately 2,500 to 3,000 pounds.
The size of the anchor is typical for a ship the size of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, with the two other anchors probably used in the event of an emergency, like a storm.

Archaeologists were planning to remove the second-largest anchor, which is 13 feet long with arms that are 8 feet across, from where it is located on top of the ballast pile. But found it to be too well-attached, so the divers went in from the side instead retrieving the “everyday anchor”. This means that in the future other dives may require going in from the side of the shipwreck rather than the top.

Divers are continuing to work for four days next week, then they’ll decide how best to move forward. The dive team hopes to recover all the artifacts by the end of 2013.

North Carolina state officials are hoping the anchor as well as the other artifacts will attract tourists. The shipwreck was discovered in 1996, causing world wide attention. The largest exhibit of artifacts from will be on view at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort starting June 11.

The timing of the recovery of the anchor couldn’t be better for North Carolina tourism interest in the shipwreck. The Disney film “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” starring Johnny Depp was just released earlier this month featuring both Blackbeard and the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

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The state of NC is going to round up all the goats on three islands near Holden Beach, NC,  Ocean Isle Beach and Sunset Beach, NC and sell them off.

For as long as anyone can remember, a herd of goats have called these uninhabited islands near Ocean Isle Beach, NC & Sunset Beach, NC home. During the day, they flop down in the sand underneath trees to rest in the shade.

According to one long term area resident these goats have been there since before Hurricane Hazel in the mid 1950s! Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith said she’s seen goats on those islands for more than 25 years.

Since the islands were created when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Intracoastal Waterway, the N.C. Department of Administration determined the islands were state-owned land and put up signs calling for the goats’ removal.

Update: Responding to the deluge of calls and emails in support of the herd, The state has responded decided to the deluge of calls and emails and all of you who are signing our petition and decided to hold off on its plan to have the goats rounded up and taken off the spoil islands near Ocean Isle Beach.

Gordon Myers, executive director of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission says he thinks the most prudent thing would be to postpone any action as there is so much interest in this. “There’s no reason to be hasty.”

Instead state officials are going to hold a public meeting in the area to get more feedback and lay out their case more clearly as to why they think why the goats need to go. It has yet to be scheduled.

Please keep your friends signing the petition (below) as the fate of the island goats has not been decided yet!

SIGN THIS PETITION & HELP STOP THE MADNESS! SAVE THESE POOR DEFENSELESS GOATS FROM BECOMING SOMEONE’S DINNER!

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There’s no better way to enjoy juicy strawberries this time of year than by picking your own.  It’s a fun way to get family and friends together for a good old-fashioned time.

Holden Brother’s is located at 5600 Ocean Hwy, Shallotte, NC. (910) 579-4500

Indigo Farms is located at 2000 Highway 57 North, Little River, SC. (843) 399-6902

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