Hi, everyone. This thread is a spin-off from another thread in the budget folder. It seems that MANY posters on this board are interested in a several-week driving trip across America, which would expose the children to a cross-section of American culture, national parks, etc.
I propose that anyone who's interested post the most important "must sees" in their own home states. Hopefully this will help everyone plan great trips tailored to their family's interests and budgets. I'll start with North Carolina Highlights (working west to east):
North Carolina is divided into three geographic regions. The moutains, which are to the far west are home to Great Smoky Mountains Park (spans the NC/Tenn border). Those of you from out west will be interested to know that our "age-old mountains" are absolutely nothing like your "newborn Rockies". Our mountains are not so tall and majestic, and they're covered with much thicker tree growth. You'll find fewer waterfalls and almost no bare rocks protruding towards the sky. The primary activities in the Great Smokies are hiking, horseback riding, and perhaps canoing. 1/2 a day is enough for this National Park. $20 for the whole carload to enter the park for the day (unless you have the $50/all year pass -- a good deal).
Morrow Mountain, which is in the Piedmont, is the oldest mountain in all of North America. It's also very small compared to the other mountains; the theory is that it has erroded over the years. While there, be sure to visit the Crane house. It's a reconstruction of a site where an 1800s-era doctor lived with his wife and two spinster daughters. You can see the old house, the doctor's herb greenhouse, and a smaller house, which he built for his daughters once they were grown. He must have lived a pretty good life in that beautiful clearing on top of the mountain.
You can find plenty of companies to take you white water rafting in the NC mountains, but to tell the truth, the better rapids will be found across the Tennessee border.
Cherokee (name of the town) is a popular mountain vacation spot. When my mother was a child, everyone used to go there to visit the Indian reservation. They had hiking, native crafts, etc. Today they still have all that, but they've added Harrah's Casino. I'm not sure that improved the quality of their lives, but it certainly added to their revenue.
While you're in the mountains, you can visit Biltmore House in Asheboro. This is the largest private home in America, and it was built by George Vanderbilt (grandson? of Rockefeller who made his money in railroads?) around 1900. It is a beautiful mansion. One ticket allows you to tour the main floor and parts of the second level; they're constantly restoring more and more. While this is interesting, the basement (separate ticket) was much more interesting to me. There you can see the huge kitchens, the servants' quarters, the laundry rooms, the indoor swimming pool, and the bowling alley. Vanderbilt was one of the first environmentalists, and his forests and gardens are not to be missed. The onsite cafe is overpriced. Tickets for both the upstairs and the downstairs will run you $25 per person. I've never been at Christmastime, but I understand the candle-light period decorations are wonderful. If you go in April (during the Azaela festival), you absolutely must go early-early-early in the morning. We literally could not go into the house, and it was not fun. Vanderbilt didn't have anything to do with it, but the Estate now boasts a winery. Located on the property but some distance from the house, you can taste (and buy) local wines. This is an attraction worth seeing; expect to spend half a day.
Also in Asheboro, you can see Thomas Wolfe's house. No big deal.
Before you leave the mountains, you might want to visit Chimney Rock -- a minor attraction, very touristy. If you were a Dirty Dancing fan, you can see the hotel where the movie was filmed in Lake Lure, NC. You'll find campgrounds but no hotels in this area.
The central part of North Carolina is called the Piedmont, which literally means "gently rolling hills". Our largest city, Charlotte, is found in the far southern end. Charlotte has a few museums: The Mint Museum (art), Discovery Place (children's science), the Charlotte Nature Museum (children's nature). But to tell the truth, I wouldn't drive from out of state for any of them. You can find very similar places in every state.
If you're looking for amusement parks, you can visit Paramount's Carowinds on the NC/SC border just outside Charlotte. It's a mediocre amusement park on the level of Six Flags. We live 30 minutes away, so we have season tickets, but it's certainly not Disney or Cedar Point. If you plan to visit 1-2 amusement parks as you travel cross-country, Carowinds will not make the top 10 list. They do have a very nice water park, which is included in your ticket. Visit mid-week and look for discount coupons at Harris Teeter grocery stores, Bojangles fast food restaruants, or on Coke cans.
We have one big water park: Emerald Point in Greensboro. It's a nice water park for the whole family.
The most unique thing you'll find in the Piedmont is Charlotte Motor Speedway (located in Concord, NC -- go figure). Nascar is king here. You can camp cheaply across the street from the Speedway, and there are several Nascar-themed museums next to the Speedway. Also, Kannapolis, the town next to Concord, is the birthplace of Dale Earnhardt. He may be gone, but his influence lives on in this one-horse town.
Be sure to enjoy some barbeque while you're here -- we do have the best. We consider "the good stuff" to be Lexington style, which is a bit drier than some people make it. The pinacle of good barbeque is Gary's BBQ in Kannapolis --it's a hole in the wall and you can eat for $5-7 per person. Tate our locally brewed soft drinks: Sundrop, Cherry-Lemon Sundrop, and Cheerwine. They'll make you wish you were a Tarheel 'cause you can't get them outside the NC Piedmont. Drink one with a moon pie, and you'll look like a native.
Kings Mountain is worth a visit. It's the site of a Revolutionary war battle. There's a nice little hike and a momunent.
Raleigh is the captial city of NC, and it's located in just about the center of the state. The Natural History museum is worth a visit (2-3 hours). Several other museums in the area are nice, but not so outstanding as the Natural History one. The capital building in Raleigh is nice but not outstanding amongst those of other states.
Coastal NC is called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because the outer banks are not as safe as they appear (for ships, not people). You can visit the Wright Brother's Memorial at Kitty Hawk, the site of the first-ever airplane flight. It's a one-hour stop. The adjacent Elizabethan gardens are very nice and are worth another hour. If you go to the Outer Banks during the summer, you should try to see the outdoor drama The Lost Colony, which is the story of England's first (failed) attempt to colonize the new world. Pre-dating Jamestown, the colonists --including Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the new world -- all disappeared when Sir Walter Raleigh's ships and emergency supplies were delayed by two years. Several theories exist as to what may have become of the 30-odd people whom Raleigh left behind, but no one knows for certain. The drama is shown in the evenings, and it's been going on for several decades now.
If you're interested in military history, you might visit the USS Wilmington, which is permanantly anchored in -- you guessed it -- Wilmington. You can tour the battleship inside and out. While in town, you might enjoy a visit to Fort Fisher aquarium, which is newly refurbished and very nice. Shrimp and seafood, of course, are the things to eat.
The NC beaches themselves are not so spectacular as the ones farther south, and you won't find much in the way of development here. Most NC beaches are quiet, family type places. Most people head to the Redneck Riviera, Myrtle Beach, or even farther south to Hilton Head, etc. "The place" to eat in this area is Calabash. You'll find at least four places that claim to be "the original" Calabash -- I don't know which is telling the truth.
That's what comes to mind right away. I'll be glad to answer questions about any of the above, or tell about anything else I may have neglected in NC.
Who's going to share his or her state next?
I propose that anyone who's interested post the most important "must sees" in their own home states. Hopefully this will help everyone plan great trips tailored to their family's interests and budgets. I'll start with North Carolina Highlights (working west to east):
North Carolina is divided into three geographic regions. The moutains, which are to the far west are home to Great Smoky Mountains Park (spans the NC/Tenn border). Those of you from out west will be interested to know that our "age-old mountains" are absolutely nothing like your "newborn Rockies". Our mountains are not so tall and majestic, and they're covered with much thicker tree growth. You'll find fewer waterfalls and almost no bare rocks protruding towards the sky. The primary activities in the Great Smokies are hiking, horseback riding, and perhaps canoing. 1/2 a day is enough for this National Park. $20 for the whole carload to enter the park for the day (unless you have the $50/all year pass -- a good deal).
Morrow Mountain, which is in the Piedmont, is the oldest mountain in all of North America. It's also very small compared to the other mountains; the theory is that it has erroded over the years. While there, be sure to visit the Crane house. It's a reconstruction of a site where an 1800s-era doctor lived with his wife and two spinster daughters. You can see the old house, the doctor's herb greenhouse, and a smaller house, which he built for his daughters once they were grown. He must have lived a pretty good life in that beautiful clearing on top of the mountain.
You can find plenty of companies to take you white water rafting in the NC mountains, but to tell the truth, the better rapids will be found across the Tennessee border.
Cherokee (name of the town) is a popular mountain vacation spot. When my mother was a child, everyone used to go there to visit the Indian reservation. They had hiking, native crafts, etc. Today they still have all that, but they've added Harrah's Casino. I'm not sure that improved the quality of their lives, but it certainly added to their revenue.
While you're in the mountains, you can visit Biltmore House in Asheboro. This is the largest private home in America, and it was built by George Vanderbilt (grandson? of Rockefeller who made his money in railroads?) around 1900. It is a beautiful mansion. One ticket allows you to tour the main floor and parts of the second level; they're constantly restoring more and more. While this is interesting, the basement (separate ticket) was much more interesting to me. There you can see the huge kitchens, the servants' quarters, the laundry rooms, the indoor swimming pool, and the bowling alley. Vanderbilt was one of the first environmentalists, and his forests and gardens are not to be missed. The onsite cafe is overpriced. Tickets for both the upstairs and the downstairs will run you $25 per person. I've never been at Christmastime, but I understand the candle-light period decorations are wonderful. If you go in April (during the Azaela festival), you absolutely must go early-early-early in the morning. We literally could not go into the house, and it was not fun. Vanderbilt didn't have anything to do with it, but the Estate now boasts a winery. Located on the property but some distance from the house, you can taste (and buy) local wines. This is an attraction worth seeing; expect to spend half a day.
Also in Asheboro, you can see Thomas Wolfe's house. No big deal.
Before you leave the mountains, you might want to visit Chimney Rock -- a minor attraction, very touristy. If you were a Dirty Dancing fan, you can see the hotel where the movie was filmed in Lake Lure, NC. You'll find campgrounds but no hotels in this area.
The central part of North Carolina is called the Piedmont, which literally means "gently rolling hills". Our largest city, Charlotte, is found in the far southern end. Charlotte has a few museums: The Mint Museum (art), Discovery Place (children's science), the Charlotte Nature Museum (children's nature). But to tell the truth, I wouldn't drive from out of state for any of them. You can find very similar places in every state.
If you're looking for amusement parks, you can visit Paramount's Carowinds on the NC/SC border just outside Charlotte. It's a mediocre amusement park on the level of Six Flags. We live 30 minutes away, so we have season tickets, but it's certainly not Disney or Cedar Point. If you plan to visit 1-2 amusement parks as you travel cross-country, Carowinds will not make the top 10 list. They do have a very nice water park, which is included in your ticket. Visit mid-week and look for discount coupons at Harris Teeter grocery stores, Bojangles fast food restaruants, or on Coke cans.
We have one big water park: Emerald Point in Greensboro. It's a nice water park for the whole family.
The most unique thing you'll find in the Piedmont is Charlotte Motor Speedway (located in Concord, NC -- go figure). Nascar is king here. You can camp cheaply across the street from the Speedway, and there are several Nascar-themed museums next to the Speedway. Also, Kannapolis, the town next to Concord, is the birthplace of Dale Earnhardt. He may be gone, but his influence lives on in this one-horse town.
Be sure to enjoy some barbeque while you're here -- we do have the best. We consider "the good stuff" to be Lexington style, which is a bit drier than some people make it. The pinacle of good barbeque is Gary's BBQ in Kannapolis --it's a hole in the wall and you can eat for $5-7 per person. Tate our locally brewed soft drinks: Sundrop, Cherry-Lemon Sundrop, and Cheerwine. They'll make you wish you were a Tarheel 'cause you can't get them outside the NC Piedmont. Drink one with a moon pie, and you'll look like a native.
Kings Mountain is worth a visit. It's the site of a Revolutionary war battle. There's a nice little hike and a momunent.
Raleigh is the captial city of NC, and it's located in just about the center of the state. The Natural History museum is worth a visit (2-3 hours). Several other museums in the area are nice, but not so outstanding as the Natural History one. The capital building in Raleigh is nice but not outstanding amongst those of other states.
Coastal NC is called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because the outer banks are not as safe as they appear (for ships, not people). You can visit the Wright Brother's Memorial at Kitty Hawk, the site of the first-ever airplane flight. It's a one-hour stop. The adjacent Elizabethan gardens are very nice and are worth another hour. If you go to the Outer Banks during the summer, you should try to see the outdoor drama The Lost Colony, which is the story of England's first (failed) attempt to colonize the new world. Pre-dating Jamestown, the colonists --including Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the new world -- all disappeared when Sir Walter Raleigh's ships and emergency supplies were delayed by two years. Several theories exist as to what may have become of the 30-odd people whom Raleigh left behind, but no one knows for certain. The drama is shown in the evenings, and it's been going on for several decades now.
If you're interested in military history, you might visit the USS Wilmington, which is permanantly anchored in -- you guessed it -- Wilmington. You can tour the battleship inside and out. While in town, you might enjoy a visit to Fort Fisher aquarium, which is newly refurbished and very nice. Shrimp and seafood, of course, are the things to eat.
The NC beaches themselves are not so spectacular as the ones farther south, and you won't find much in the way of development here. Most NC beaches are quiet, family type places. Most people head to the Redneck Riviera, Myrtle Beach, or even farther south to Hilton Head, etc. "The place" to eat in this area is Calabash. You'll find at least four places that claim to be "the original" Calabash -- I don't know which is telling the truth.
That's what comes to mind right away. I'll be glad to answer questions about any of the above, or tell about anything else I may have neglected in NC.
Who's going to share his or her state next?
