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...
Blog posts from NC
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
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: stops on the way there and back
On the way to Waynesville we stopped at the Ciener Botanical Garden in Kernersville. A fairly small garden, it is free to visit and has a nice selection of specimens, especially Japanese maples....
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: Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum
With the weather forecast looking quite damp we decided to stay inside for the afternoon and checked out the Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum in Maggie Valley. The museum was great, with an...
NC mountains, April 2022: Smoky Mountains National Park
We went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park twice on our spring trip, once to the relatively close Cataloochee Valley in the early evening, and then an all day trip to the Tennessee side of...
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: Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Reminiscent of our experience at the World of Birds in South Africa, this NC bird park located in Scotland Neck had a reasonably photogenic collection of birds to check out, only 2 hours from RTP....
NC Outer Banks, May 2021: Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park and Museum
On the way to the beach Leandra surprised me with a stop at this fun little park in downtown Wilson hosting a collection of large whirligigs - the blue skies were a great backdrop for the colorful...
NC Outer Banks, May 2021: beaches and lighthouses
Bodie Island Lighthouse We didn't try to go up the lighthouse, but enjoyed the views from the ground. On the far side is a boardwalk through part of the marsh where we saw an Eastern King Snake and...
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...
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Wisconsin + Chicago
Rugby World Cup (Sept)
Seychelles (Nov)
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)