We had a lot of correct answers come in right under the wire. The winner of the drawing is DENISE MERRITT with QuickTrainer, a QuickBooks consulting company dedicated to everything QuickBooks. If you need help with this software (setup, implementation, one-on-one training, data cleanup, quarterly and year-end reviews), they are the folks to call.

Blue Moon is one of our favorite gift shops in town. What’s not to love? It’s filled with more than 100 retail spaces all under one roof with local, regional and national artisans, retailers and craftsmen. From baby items and jewelry to tropical clothing and hand-painted furniture. Where else can you do all of you Christmas shopping in one place?

Can you guess where Bud recently visited? Email us the correct answer, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for an iTunes gift card. Contest closes at 12 p.m. on Friday. Good luck!

With a correct guess of FORT FISHER, our random drawing winner for the iTunes giftcard is KRISTIN MAGNE. Congratulations!!

Here’s a little info from the NC Historic Sites on one of Bud’s favorite summer hangouts:

Until the last few months of the Civil War, Ft. Fisher kept North Carolina’s port of open to blockade runners supplying necessary goods to Confederate armies inland. By 1865, the supply line through Wilmington was the last remaining supply route open to Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. When Ft. Fisher fell after a massive Federal amphibious assault on January 15, 1865, its defeat helped seal the fate of the Confederacy. Visitors are invited to tour the remains of the fort’s land face featuring an impressive reconstruction of a 32-pounder seacoast gun at Shepherd’s Battery. Shaded by gnarled live oaks, a scenic trail leads tourists from the visitor center past the gigantic earthworks and around to the rear of the fort. Guided tours and wayside exhibits provide historical orientation. Other exhibits include items recovered from sunken blockade runners.

At the dawn of the American Civil War, the Confederacy took control of a neck of land in southern North Carolina near the mouth of the Cape Fear River and constructed what was to become the largest and most important earthwork fort in the South. Two major battles were fought there, and many Union soldiers received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their gallant participation in that fighting. Today only a few of the mounds remain, since much of the fort has been eroded by the ocean.

Approximately ten percent of Fort Fisher still stands along with a restored palisade fence. All tours of the grounds begin in the visitor center. This recently renovated facility contains an audiovisual program that presents the history of the fort. New exhibits are currently being designed for the visitor center. The North Carolina Underwater Archaeology headquarters is also located on the property.

Hours of Operation
April 1 – Sept. 30
Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday 1-5 p.m.

Oct. 1 – March 31
Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Closed Sunday and Monday and most major state holidays.

Admission
There are no admission fees, but there is a suggested donation at some special events.

This seaside spot I love the most,
With live oaks and the occasional ghost.
Sunburned tourists and locals playing host
Make the trek to this historic outpost.
Where am I?

Correctly guess Bud’s location in the comments, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for an iTunes giftcard. Contest ends Friday (9/4) at noon. Apparently, we’re having issues with leaving comments, so email me, comment on Facebook or DM/@ me on Twitter.