Welcome to my blog!

Durham Bulls

SC State Capitol Bldg.

Intro.

Hi! And welcome to my blog. Thanks for joining me. I thought with my first blog I would start out by telling you about me, my blog, and what to expect. I hope you will keep reading.

I am a native Carolinian, technically! OK I was born in and spent several years in England. But I was a military brat and my parents are native North Carolinians, so I consider myself one. I am proud to be a G.R.I.T.S. (girl raised in the south) and proud of my heritage. My family dates to this area for about 200 years. Other than a few years when I lived in NY (I was in college), I have lived my life in North or South Carolina.

I have a passion for travel. I have been traveling since I was 6 months old. I am lucky enough to live in such an amazing and beautiful state and I have a lovely neighbor in SC (and it is about an hour away) so we often take local weekend trips. If were not taking trips, then our weekends are spent exploring restaurants, events, and places. We love seeking out new places and revisiting old friends.

So I love sharing my home state and my lovely neighbor that make up the Carolinas. We have so much here to enjoy. We have these centuries’ old cities that still look the same as when they were first developed, where one of the most enjoyable things is just walking down the street and marvel at historic old homes. Many of these homes can be visited during annual tour of homes found through out the year. While many others now serve as B&B’s.

Our mountains provide year round beauty. In the spring the forests are alive with scrumptious wildflowers. Summer brings its own beauty and relief from the sweltering summer temperatures in other parts of the Carolinas. The fall is when the mountains really shine. People come from all over to watch as the natural spectacle that happens every year when the leafs change color and celebrate their last hurrah before winter moves in. Winter in the mountains is the place for outdoor lovers. Ski slops are filled with those who love the fun snow delivers. If skiing ain’t quite your thing, then try intertubing,. No skills required. Nature’s lovers should know there around 500 waterfalls in the Carolinas. Most of theses stunners can be visited with little or no effort required.

The coastal cities of the Carolinas are amongst our most beautiful and oldest cities in the states. Our original state capitals were here (New Bern and Charleston). Today they are sun and fun capitals offering miles of sandy beaches for sun lovers and golf fans flock by droves to enjoy some of the best courses in the country. Here you will find some amazing seafood.

In the middle of the state you will find charming small towns and modern metropolises. Our small towns often remind visitors of  The Andy Griffith Show. Our large cities are full of sky scrapers reaching for the Carolina Blue sky. They offer up endless entertainment and dining options.

Speaking of food, foodies will love us. You can enjoy some down home county cooking featuring recipes that have been passed down for generations and Nuevo southern cuisine. There are many top chefs and renowned restaurants. And then there is our BBQ here in NC. We have the best BBQ you will ever taste. In NC pork rules over beef. We have two distinct BBQ styles though both start out by cooking the meat over fire pit for hours. Eastern or Lexington style is a vinegar based sauce while Western is a sweet tomato based often sweetened with molasses. Lexington NC (the BBQ capital) even has a celebration every October. Love vino? We have plenty of that too. We have several hundred wineries including the largest in the country on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC. We even have our own wine country in the NC piedmont.

NC waterfall

I hope you enjoy my blog and enjoy finding out the places that I love. Whether you are new to our state, just visiting, or have been here a while..I hope you will find something new to enjoy. Please feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.