State

9 Getting away from it all is made easy when visiting these choice coastal inns. By Carol Timblin Just as lilt- sun COmcs up over Boyne Sound, ВоЫ>у Gill puts copies oi l he daily newspaper in protective plastic bags before hanging them on the doors of guest rooms at the Harborlight Guest House Bed & Breakfast in Cape Carteret. A few miles eastward in historic Beau¬ fort, innkeeper Jimm Prcst lays out milk, eggs and other ingredients he’ll use in making his famous orange pecan waffles at the Langdon House. At The Docksidcr Inn in Kurc Beach. Kip Darling brews up a special blend of coffee. Guests gather for breakfast in the second floor sitting room at the Tranquil House Inn in Man- ico. To the north in Duck, some guests at the Sander ling Inn Resort walk briskly on the beach, while others lounge in their luxurious rooms. It's morning on the North Carolina coast, and daily activities are well under way at a number of seaside inns. Guests looking for the ultimate vacation check into these places for many different rea¬ sons. Maybe they're looking for the right setting for romance. Perhaps they simply want a quiet place. Maybe a room with a view or breakfast in bed will satisfy their needs. They’ve all come to appreciate lux¬ urious accommodations and innkeepers who enjoy spoiling and pampering their guests. North Carolina has several coastal inns whose primary business is fulfilling dreams. Here’s a closer look at five sea¬ side inns whose owners do an outstand¬ ing job of providing memorable overnight stays. The Docksidcr Inn Though it has the look of a typical sea¬ side inn, some miraculous transforma- tionsare in progress at The Docksidcr Inn at Kurc Beach. When Kip Darling, a for¬ mer insurance executive from Chicago, purchased the 34-room property in 1986, the first thing he did was replace the somewhat dour original decor with bright blues, grays and mauves. all of them sug¬ gestive of a nautical theme. He chose white wicker furnishings for the inn and hung framed nautical prints from the his¬ toric colonial Mystic Seaport in Con¬ necticut. Working with A Southern Season spe¬ cially gift shop in Chapel Hill. Darling launched a new line of "Captain's Cabins" last year. These cabin rooms come with amenities such as hair dryers, terry cloth robes and imported toiletries, along with "breakfast in bed.” Actually, the gourmet meal is pre-stocked in the cabin prioi to a guest's arrival and then restocked each day. It features gourmet baked goods, fruits, imported jams, fresh juice, bottled water, selected teas and the Docksider's special blended colfees. This year. Darling is working with a landscape architect on upgrading the exterior of the inn. Flowers arc being planted everywhere, and an old empty lx>at even promises a profusion of blos¬ soms. He's also introducing an express check-in card for repeat guests. With plans for more upgrades in 1996, includ¬ ing a new telephone system, Darling says his goal is to offer "concierge-level" guest rooms. Meanwhile, the host stays busy acting as a concierge himself, arranging everything from dinner reservations to fishing char¬ ters to tee times for his guests. Harborlight Guest House Bed & Breakfast Though the Harborlight Guest House Bed & Breakfast lias been in operation lot only a year and a half, it has quickly become a favorite of ВЯ-В connoisseurs. Bobby and Anita Gill, former residents of Raleigh, searched from Cape May to Key West Indore finding an old building that they've miraculously converted into their "dream ВЯВ." Ixxalcd near the old ferry landing on Boguc Sound, the build¬ ing once housed the 1 lailnu light Restau¬ rant. When the bridge to Emerald Isle replaced the ferry, business at the restau¬ rant fell off. and it became an apartment house. "The building was in terrible shape when we saw it: it was dark, gloomy and musty," says Anita Gill, a former o|jerat- ing room nurse whose effervescent per¬ sonality serves her well as an innkcc|>cr. “But we saw its potential, and within two Cape Carteret's Harborlight Cunt House B<rl CS* Breakfast Пмо.оилпу ,4 Hob.lijMl Guol llutr Bel A h-r.H.,1 The StatfAlurch 1995 17