North Carolina Visit

Getting ready to head for North Carolina on vacation. So far, plans include touring the Outer Banks, visiting lighthouses, museums and such........and driving a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's just boyfriend and me......so don't need any "kiddy-related" stuff. Any suggestions about things/places to see/go on the coast, on the parkway or in between?

Backroads of North Carolina is a beautiful, well written book that breaks the state down by zones. It's on our coffee table...

It's been so long since I've been to the Outer Banks that I don't have a bit of advice other than take your time and enjoy the sights. Years ago, we drove from Kitty Hawk to Ocracoke. We took three days to do it, and we all have great memories. The beaches are beautiful. That was over 20 years ago, though, so I don't remember any specifics about anything except lighthouses and ferries.

There is a LOT of ground to cover between the Outer Banks and the Blue Ridge Parkway. People don't realize how long it takes to get from one end of the state to the other. From Murphy to Nags Head is 8 1/2 hrs and that's on the Interstate with no stops.

If you're into NASCAR at all, there is a mecca of activity around the Kannapolis/Concord area near Charlotte Motor Speedway. Many of the NASCAR teams have their garages in that vicinity. See https://www.tripsavvy.com/nascar-teams-in-charlotte-584205
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is in uptown Charlotte. Charlotte Motor Speedway also has the NASCAR Racing Experience where you can drive a race car on the track at Charlotte.

The Biltmore

I second this! I enjoyed the Asheville area when we visited there a couple of years ago.

The scenic drive around Mt. Pilot is nice.....

The Biltmore -also apple picking in the area. Nearby is the Omni Oak Grove Hotel which will treat you like a princess especially if you owned (rather than worked) in a bank. Like Jim mentioned the NASCAR museum is fascinating. Mt Aire in the northern part of the state was the basis for The Andy Griffith Show.

Sept. 30 - Mid November the Carolina Renaissance Festival https://www.carolina.renfestinfo.com/ (near Charlotte)

Have fun

I'm off!! Thanks everyone.

The trip was awesome. We flew into Charlotte, where I got to see my first NFL football game in person....panthers/steelers.....nosebleed section. We went to the NASCAR museum but due to time constraints, didn't go in. We drove to the coast...Wilmington....where we stayed in a cute cottage fairly close to the beach. We went to the beach....toured the USS North Carolina (supremely interesting!!). Then we drove up the coast to Cedar Island and took a ferry to Okracoke and messed around there, visited the lighthouse. The planned trip to drive up the Outer Banks was going to take too long so we took a ferry to Swan Quarters and then drove across the state to Salisbury where my daughter lives. From there, we drove up to Roanoke so that Joe (BF) could visit Black Dog Salvage....was actually fun! Then we spent a couple of days driving south on the Blue Ridge Parkway, ending up in Asheville, where we visited the Biltmore. THAT was absolute amazing!

Wow, that is quite the trek. Good for you. You say you saw an NFL game, but you saw a preseason game 4 which hardly bears resemblance to an NFL game. More like a semi-pro game.

Weeeeell....go ahead, flyboy......dash my high by saying it wasn't real. LOL

But yes, I knew it was pre-season....tickets were only $20 and it didn't resemble games I watch on the tube......stadium not very populated.

But still....I was there at a real stadium watching two real teams.

The only way I would come close to thinking about shelling out big bucks for a "real" game, would be to watch the Cowboys.

You had an "NFL Experience" and that's a good thing. I've been to pre-season games too. Sometimes that's the only opportunity I might have. I was just poking fun.

Yes, I knew you were jesting.

Did you go thru the winery at the Biltmore? They have the best grape juice ever! Along with some very nice wines.

I didn't try the grape juice , but the wines were awesome.....had two bottles shipped back to Texas.

I had a young one the first time I visited the winery. Grape juice puts Welch's to shame.....

Biltmore is amazing, the gardens too. House is almost 180,000 sq. feet.

Going through the first time asked the attendant what size bed was in the main bedroom because it seemed so small. Her reply - "King size, but it seems small because the bedroom is 40 foot length, 30 foot width and a 20 foot high ceiling."