Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for north carolina
Celebrating Mayberry
By Linda Tancs
Performer Andy Griffith (star of the 1960s hit series The Andy Griffith Show) grew up in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The quaint town served as inspiration for Mayberry, the setting for the TV show. Fans of the show can visit the familiar haunts like Floyd’s barber shop, the jail, Snappy Lunch and even Andy’s childhood home. You can even take a tour in a vintage squad car as seen on the series. This time of year the bygone era represented by Mayberry is celebrated during a festival with events taking place at or around the Andy Griffith Playhouse, the Historic Earle Theatre, the Andy Griffith Museum Theatre (below the museum) or at the Blackmon Amphitheatre. This year’s festival runs from September 18 to September 24.
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King Apple
By Linda Tancs
Apples have been grown in North Carolina since European colonists settled there. The western part of the state is where you’ll find the action, particularly in Hendersonville. One of the country’s top apple-growing areas, it’s no wonder that the annual North Carolina Apple Festival is held there every Labor Day weekend. The event features a street fair on Main Street (including live musical entertainment, crafts, apple products, special exhibits and food) and culminates on Labor Day with the King Apple Parade, presenting floats, bands, fire trucks, cartoon characters, antique cars and more. The festival is just a 30-minute drive from Asheville.
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Following the Carolina Coastline
By Linda Tancs
North Carolina’s Outer Banks National Scenic Byway follows the coastline as it juts into the Atlantic Ocean. Beginning at the northern end of the Outer Banks and ending in Harkers Island, you can drive its 138 miles without exploring the wild and scenic coastal landscape, but why would you? The area is home to two national seashores, four iconic lighthouses, two wildlife refuges and 21 coastal villages. Don’t miss the opportunity to soak up the heritage of these maritime towns. Enjoy the summertime “front porch talks” by villagers in Ocracoke at the David Williams House and the unique flared hulls of boats in Harkers Island.
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A Safe Haven for Birds
By Linda Tancs
With a zeal for conservation of waterfowl and wetlands, Sylvan Heights Bird Park is a birder’s paradise. Its location in the hilly marshlands of Scotland Neck, North Carolina, is ideal for both breeding and exhibition. Hosting over 2,000 birds, you can view waterfowl, parrots, toucans, flamingos and other exotic birds from South America, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Much of the conservation work takes place at the avian breeding center, where rare and endangered waterfowl species (currently numbering around 1,400 worldwide) are raised. The lower edge of the park is bordered by a natural wetland, where a safari trail and overlooks give you opportunities to view native North Carolina wildlife. Allow at least two hours for your visit.
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The Weymouth Pines
By Linda Tancs
When Scottish Highlanders settled in the Sandhills region of North Carolina in the 1700s, the vast forest consisted of original growth longleaf pines that reached heights of 100 to 120 feet. It didn’t take long for merchants to extract the trees’ resin for products like tar, pitch, turpentine and rosin for the naval industry. That activity might’ve depleted the longleaf pine were it not for the purchase of a substantial tract of land east of Southern Pines by the grandfather of a well-known local author. He named the tract Weymouth because the pines reminded him of trees in Weymouth, England. That region later established the first natural area in the North Carolina state parks system, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve. It boasts the oldest known living longleaf pine in the world, dating back to 1548.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Three Waterfalls and a Movie
By Linda Tancs
About an hour from Asheville, North Carolina, DuPont State Recreational Forest is known for its waterfalls, lakes and hiking trails. One of its most popular attractions is Triple Falls. Comprising three distinct cascades totaling about 120 feet in vertical drop, it was featured in the movie, The Last of the Mohicans. Surrounding it are 10,000 more protected acres with 86 miles of hiking trails. One of the shortest trails is the 3-mile trek to three waterfalls in the park.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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A House Fit for a Duke
By Linda Tancs
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Duke Mansion is a North Carolina estate in Charlotte named for its most famous occupant, American industrialist James Buchanan Duke. He lived at the Colonial Revival-style dwelling during the last few years of his life. Following his death, the house saw additional owners and expanding uses, from a condominium complex to its current uses as a historic inn, meeting venue and leadership institute. The garden of the mansion is open to the public during daylight hours when the venue is not rented for a private function. However, if the gate on Ardsley Road is open, then feel free to enter for a stroll.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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The Living Dune
By Linda Tancs
Jockey’s Ridge is the tallest natural sand dune system in the eastern United States. Located in Nags Head, North Carolina, the shifting winds that constantly reshape this remaining dune system on the Outer Banks have resulted in its moniker, “The Living Dune.” The sand (mostly quartz rock) comprising the 420 acres of Jockey’s Ridge is equal to about 6,000,000 dump truck loads! In addition to its distinctive dunes, the ecology of the park includes species like live oaks, persimmons, bayberry, sweet gum and pines and the Roanoke Sound Estuary, home to the blue crab as well as plant and bird life.
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Defying Gravity in North Carolina
By Linda Tancs
If space flight is beyond your budget, you can still experience a gravitational oddity or two on Earth. Just head for Mystery Hill in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Billed as a natural gravitational anomaly, the “vortex room” features water and a ball moving uphill and folks standing at 45 degree angles. Guided tours leave every 10 minutes. May the force be with you.
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History and Design in Wilmington
By Linda Tancs
The Bellamy Mansion Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina, is one of the state’s most spectacular examples of antebellum architecture. Built by free and enslaved black artisans for physician and planter John Dillard Bellamy and his family before the outbreak of the Civil War, the 10,000-square-foot home now serves as a museum of history and the design arts. The home’s soaring main entrance and lushly recreated Victorian gardens are met with equally compelling slave quarters, one of very few preserved urban slave quarters in the country. Guided tours are given on the hour, and self-guided audio tours are available at other times.
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