Because Wilmington, North Carolina, is very much a resort area offering beautiful beaches and opportunities to participate in water sports to your heart's content, visitors naturally hope for warm, sunny weather. But lack of cooperation from Mother Nature doesn’t necessarily mean the fun is over. On a rainy day you can leave that hotel room behind for a day full of activities -- all while staying dry as a bone.

Museums

The Cape Fear Museum (capefearmuseum.com) has a very eclectic collection of items in exhibit, including war ration books, handbills from 1930s theater shows, toys and dolls from the 1940s, clothes and other personal belongings of local residents of centuries past and even travel and commerce-related items.The Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts (bellamymansion.org) provides beautiful gardens to explore, but you can skip them on a rainy day to enjoy the indoor exhibits, which include original furnishings and items, as well as the original slave quarters and a reproduction of the carriage house that originally stood in the property. Take an umbrella for walking from building to building.

Family Fun

If you’re visiting Wilmington with children, the rain needn't affect their fun. Pay a visit to the Children's Museum of Wilmington (playwilmington.org), whose interactive exhibits keep them not just dry, but busy. At the Forest Friends Toddler Treehouse, toddlers can play dress-up, climb, crawl and explore. Involvement in the Research Center allows children to predict the weather, play with sound waves and learn about basic physics principles. Youngsters will also enjoy exploring the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial (battleshipnc.com), which saw action during World War II. To avoid the outdoor decks when it rains, simply explore the inside of the ship, where you can visit the gun turrets, the officers’ deck and the crew’s quarters. Photos, documents and artifacts are in exhibit.

Outdoor Fun

Not all rainy day activities have to be indoors. A good way to enjoy the city when it’s raining is to hop aboard a Wilmington Trolley Company car (wilmingtontrolley.com). Their narrated tours last 45 minutes and take you past mansions, museums, civil war shipyards and even locations used to film famous TV shows and movies. A number of cruises also tour Cape Fear, rain or shine. Cape Fear Riverboats (cfrboats.com), for example, offers dinner and lunch cruises, sunset cruises, narrated tour cruises and even a murder mystery cruise. The historical, three-story cruises have plenty of indoor space to keep you dry.

Other Indoor Attractions

The Cape Fear Serpentarium (capefearserpentarium.com) offers a unique experience for those who aren't squeamish. Exhibits include more than 80 different species of snakes, crocodiles and great lizards, such as the blackthroat monitor, which can reach up to 50 pounds. The serpentarium is home to some of the most venomous snakes in the world, including the king cobra, the eastern green mamba and the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. For something less frightening, try the Wabi Sabi Warehouse (wabisabiwarehouse.blogspot.com), a one-of-a-kind artist space for sculptors, painters and media artists. Although many artists have set up installations in the gardens, you can skip those during rainy days and head inside to see artists at work. There’s also a small movie theater within the premises: Jengo's Playhouse offers independent films and digital projections.

About the Author

Sarah Dray has been writing since 1996. She specializes in health, wellness and travel topics and has credits in various publications including "Woman's Day," "Marie Claire," "Adirondack Life" and "Self." She is also a seasoned independent traveler and a certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant. Dray is pursuing a criminal justice degree at Penn Foster College.