Bird Island & the Kindred Spirit Mailbox

Posted byChristi IfferganPosted inNorth Carolina, South CarolinaTags:, ,

A friend took me on a tour of Bird Island today. It was a beautiful day and we walked over 5 miles!

Bird Island

If you aren’t familiar with Brunswick County, you may have read about it in a book by Nicholas Sparks. https://www.ncbrunswick.com/blog/post/nicholas-sparks-tour-nc-brunswick-islands/

Turtle Nest

We visited the Kindred Spirit Mailbox on our walk. If you aren’t familiar with it, Atlas Obscura describes it:

FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS, a small black mailbox printed with the words “Kindred Spirit” has graced the shores of Bird Island.

Although no one knows the identity of the real Kindred Spirit, visitors have used the mailbox to express their hopes and thoughts, and have even stopped the development of the island with their handwritten pleas.

According to most stories, the Kindred Spirit Mailbox was first erected after the Kindred Spirit saw a mirage of a mailbox on the shore during low tide. Although the vision wasn’t real, they were inspired to plant a mailbox with a communal notebook so that visitors could leave proof of their having been there. Use of the mailbox quickly caught on and visitors flocked to the island to sit on a nearby bench, look out over the water and write their own personal message inside the mailbox’s journal.

We sat on a bench and left our own messages in one of the notebooks. My wish is to treasure each day & those we love and to follow your dreams!

Published by Christi Iffergan

Hi! I am Christi, a full-time RV traveller since August 2021. I have always loved to travel, but COVID-19 put a stop to that. I was fast approaching 50, my condo was being placed up for sale and I was ready for a major change. Originally from a tiny town in rural Southwest Virginia, I am the mother to one son and a rescue Shih Tzu, Cappy. For the last 20 years, I worked in public library systems around the Charlotte & Myrtle Beach areas. I met some amazing people and made great friends along the way. Follow along on my adventures as I travel the US. I hope that our paths will cross one day!

8 thoughts on “Bird Island & the Kindred Spirit Mailbox”

  2. I’ve almost visited it for the last 22 years! Gotta get there someday, so I can leave my own personal message!🤞👍

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  3. Sweet story !
    On Sat, Oct 2, 2021 at 8:11 PM Camping with Christi wrote:
    > ciffergan posted: ” A friend took me on a tour of Bird Island today. It > was a beautiful day and we walked over 5 miles! Bird Island If you aren’t > familiar with Brunswick County, you may have read about it in a book by > Nicholas Sparks. https://www.ncbrunswick.com/” >

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    1. We used the beach access at 40th Ave. If you take a right onto the beach, you will walk onto Bird Island and will see the Kindred Spirit mailbox on the right toward the end of the beach. There is a sign giving the distances to each spot you may want to visit. It has two benches where you can sit and write in one of the journals.

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  5. I took my nieces dolphin watching, we went passed Bird Island, it looked beautiful. Hopefully one day we’ll go to the island.

    I love your blog

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