” I don’t wanna be anything other than what I’ve been tryin’ be lately, all I have to do is think of me and have peace of mind.” – Gavin Degraw
Hello, Hello Everyone!
On June 8th, 2018 ( I know that was a long time ago), I took a trip to Wilmington, NC; otherwise known as One Tree Hill to the amazing fans out there. Now, most of you know that I grew up in North Carolina and only recently moved out here to Alabama. I started watching One Tree Hill with my mom who was a fan and got hooked. I decided to start from Season One, Episode One and watch from beginning to end. I have now considered myself a HUGE fan and really hope to go back one day to visit. Even though it was a while ago, I realized that I had not documented that trip on here so I thought I would show you some pictures and share my experience. This was the day that I was in charge of our little vacation.
The first stop that we made after just taking it all in was the Black Cat Shoppe which you will also know as the record shop. If you are an OTH fan, you will recognize the photo on the right, this is the wall where you saw Peyton looking at records often in scenes. This shop, in general, is really cool and there is a lot of cool items in here including One Tree Hill merchandise including one of the items that I was determined to get which is the Lucas Scott Grey Hoodie with Keith Scott Body Shop logo on it. You’ll see it in a picture later in the post.
Walking through downtown Wilmington was so much fun. Every corner we turned, we saw a filming location like this one above which is The Dixie Grill which is also where Brooke and Sam ate in the show. Below is a picture of the infamous “bar” that Nathan gets thrown out of that ruins his basketball career at the beginning of the series. What I thought was so funny is that this just happens to have the number 23 on the window which happens to be Nathan’s basketball number.
Another place that I loved seeing is the “corner of Front and Grace” (Right) which is also the same corner of the first Karen’s Cafe and then Clothes over Bros storefront (Left). I wish that “Clothes over Bro’s” was turned into an OTH merchandise store for nostalgic reasons but there were plenty of those all around the town. I really wish that there wasn’t so much construction so that these pictures were a little better.
One of the spots that I was the most excited about seeing is the “Naley bench”. I have actually seen this before I even knew that One Tree Hill was a thing so it is kind of crazy to think that I have seen this and most likely sat on it not even knowing what it was or how important it was to some people. I loved seeing all of the signatures and OTH quotes that fans have written and seeing where everyone was from and the distance they traveled to come experience the same thing that I was made it feel like such a community.
Now you can see the hoodie! The plan was to buy the hoodie and take a picture on the bridge that they feature in the intro with Lucas Scott. I am so glad that I got to do this. Just like the Naley bench, fans have put quotes and signatures on the bridge. I love seeing this.
I was also able to look up the filming locations of all the houses of the main characters. On the left is Brooke Davis’ house with the famous red door. In the middle is Haley’s house which is also directly next to Peyton’s house which is on the right below. Also below those pictures are Lucas Scott’s house and the door to Lucas’ bedroom ❤
This trip was hands down one of the best days of my life and I can’t wait to go back and visit and possibly find some more One Tree Hill treasures. I have made a gallery of the rest of my pictures. In the gallery is the church that Brooke and Julian got married in, the “river court”, pictures of merchandise that I got (not all is pictured), and the One Tree Hill Way street sign, and more.
Let me know below if you are a One Tree Hill fan and whether or not you have visited “One Tree Hill”. It was one of those times where my anxiety took over but I am proud of myself for putting that to the side as much as possible in order to enjoy this day.
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