Bald Head Island Resort, Southport

If you are the kind of person who d rather paddle a canoe that careen about on a jet ski- there s a vacation destination designed with you in mind. And even though you don t have to travel halfway around the world to get there- it is an extraordinary departure.Barely two nautical miles off the southeastern tip of North Carolina is a semitropical island with a lifestyle as refreshengly novel as its name- Bald Head Island. But the distance is measured in more than miles. Steeped in history- flavored with legends- and brimming with natural beauty- it s about as far removed as you can get without a passport.With views that stretch from sunrise to sunset- over dunes and beach- river and ocean- maritime forest and a vast salt marsh- it s a setting that blurs the distinction between fact and fantasy. As a matter of fact- Hollywood has discovered this ready-made movie set over the past few years- and it isn t uncommon to see the occasional celebrity tooling about the island on a bicycle or an electric cart.