North Carolina

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Introducing North Carolina

It’s trailer parks next to McMansions in North Carolina, where the Old South stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the New South. From the ancient mountains in the west to the sandy barrier islands of the Atlantic you’ll find a variety of cultures and communities not easy to stereotype.

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The state is a patchwork of the progressive and the Stone Age: Asheville was named the ‘New Freak Capital of the US’ by Rolling Stone, while cohabitation was technically illegal until 2006. The Raleigh area has the highest concentration of PhDs in the country, yet North Carolina routinely ranks 48th in education. Important industries range from tobacco and hogs to banking and nanotechnology.

Most travelers tend to skirt through the business-oriented urban centers of the central Piedmont, instead choosing to stick to the scenic routes along the coast (via the islands of the Outer Banks) and those through the Appalachian Mountains, especially along the unforgettable Blue Ridge Parkway.

So come on down, ya’ll, grab a plate of ’cue and watch the Duke Blue Devils and the Carolina Tar Heels battle it out on the basketball court where college hoops rival Jesus for Carolinians’ souls.

Last updated: Jan 12, 2011

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Thorn Tree forum discussion

Recent posts

  1. zeldasdad avatar
    Re: Fall Foliage Road Trip from Florida to Maryland

    by zeldasdad 13 September 2011

    >1. So far, I'm looking drive from the Smoky Mountains (Newfound Gap Road 33 mi) through Blue Ridge Mountains (Blue Ridge Parkway - 469…
  2. Happenstance1201 avatar
    Fall Foliage Road Trip from Florida to Maryland

    by Happenstance1201 13 September 2011

    Hi! I've been on several road trips to Florida from Maryland in the spring and summer. However, I've never driven down the southeastern…
  3. S2A2S avatar
    back for Xmas

    by S2A2S 13 September 2011

    In the late summer of 2010, I sailed from North Carolina back to the UK on a sailboat. We'd departed on a Sunday afternoon, when there…

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