Blog posts from NC
Labor Day weekend in Oak Island, NC

Labor Day weekend in Oak Island, NC

Over Labor Day weekend we were invited to stay at a house two blocks from the beach in Oak Island, NC - how could we say no? Oak Island is less than a 3 hour drive from our place, but we still made...

The mountain vacation that wasn’t

The mountain vacation that wasn’t

Instead of heading out-of-state for Memorial Day we planned a week-long return (2021, 2022) to the NC mountains. As the title of this post indicates, it simply wasn't meant to be... On 11am Friday...

Shelton Vineyards

Shelton Vineyards

Our drive back from the mountains took us near the North Carolina Yadkin Valley AVA, so we figured it would be a good opportunity to try out a winery. Shelton Vineyards had both red and white wine,...

NC Mountains, November 2022

NC Mountains, November 2022

I was feeling a bit stir crazy in mid-October, so I suggested we head to the mountains for a weekend in early November. Unfortunately it rained for a majority of the trip and our room was small, but...

NC mountains, April 2022: food & drink

NC mountains, April 2022: food & drink

Over the course of the week we tried a number of breweries and restaurants in the NC mountains. April 10 Oskar Blues, Brevard - we'd been here previously so we knew they had lots of parking and a...

NC mountains, April 2022: waterfalls

NC mountains, April 2022: waterfalls

During our week in the mountains we made sure to seek out several waterfalls that we hadn't yet visited. On a beautiful Sunday we focused our effort along Forest Rd 475, hitting the following: Cove...

NC Outer Banks, May 2021: Introduction

NC Outer Banks, May 2021: Introduction

With full vaccinations (!) and a desire for a quick getaway, Leandra planned a two night trip to the NC Outer Banks for my birthday. There were several firsts on this trip: (surprisingly) the first...

NC Mountains, October 2020: Lake Toxaway

NC Mountains, October 2020: Lake Toxaway

As mentioned in a previous post [link], Smoky Mountain NP was too crowded for us, so the next day we changed gears and headed south to Lake Toxaway, an area we've driven past but hadn't explored on...

NC Mountains, October 2020: Intro and Food

NC Mountains, October 2020: Intro and Food

Facing a 14-hour drive back from Illinois, we knew we would want to stop somewhere along the way. As we checked over the map for options, Western North Carolina looked viable (~10 hour drive). It...

Our Itinerary

2024 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Valencia, Spain (Mar)
Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Bari, Italy (Sept)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)