North Carolina?

My wife and her sisters are toying with the idea of visiting the other sister in North Carolina and staying about a week maybe on or close to the beach. We would drive from Nebraska and meet up with her family on the way. I have never been East of central Illinois so any one have any tips for where to go, stay, stay away from, any old Iron on the way. They are thinking fourth of July weekend if that changes anything.

If you thought that the country in the movie Last of the Mohicans was spectacular, it was filmed in NC.

Southeast Old Threasher Reunion is that weekend in Denton, N.C. Look up the Denton Farm Park for more details.

At some point you will probably end up on I 40 Lots to see from west to east in Tennessee. If you are in to country music a day in Nashville is well spent. What most people from your part of the country have a hard time understanding is when you get back in these parts (Tennessee) the average farm was a lot smaller than what you are used to out west so makes for more old equipment over every hill.

sounds good so far. Oh and I forgot the only piece of advice I had received earlier "stop talking like a d@^n yankee"

So you have never been east of Central Illinois, so you have never been East of the Mississippi River?

Wow.....and I thought I never went anywhere.

I have only been west of the Mississippi river 1 time and that was to go to Texas for my honeymoon. I have only been to 7 states total.

Well thats not all new , I have a hard time understanding a lot of things, Just kidding. Tennessee is one of the few places east of here that I have WANTED to see. hopefully I'll find out

Born, raised, farmed in York County, Nebraska, some 70 years ago. Live on a farm in South Carolina now after 22 homes frome California to England to Houston to upstate new York. The carolinas have it "goin' on" if you ask me (which you clearly didn't) Son a State Trooper farms on the side, and I help donating tractors and land, but the quality of life down here is simply super. We don't grow 250 bu per acre corn, and we don't have the resources you folks have, but there are things that make a family do okay by strugglin' a bit and my 8N is still plowing beans and corn, just like 1951 when dad got his first one to augment the bigger JD's.
Come on down! You may never leave. Email is open.

Well I have been East of the mississippi when visiting in-laws in Wisconsin but not much of anywhere else. I guess if I count I have only been to 9 states and only that many because I drive in three of them on a regular basis, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. Other than that just Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming once.

NC is a pretty big state, it's easy to underestimate how long it will take to drive someplace. So you will want to plan your trips carefully to avoid spending all your time on the road. The weather in July is brutal, and the beaches will be pretty busy. September weather is better, but you run the risk of having to weather a hurricane.

In the southeast, the Wilmington area is interesting, lots of beaches and most aren't terribly crowded. Fort Fisher is a civil war earthworks fort that was one of the last Confederate strongholds to fall. There's an aquarium near Ft. Fisher, and from there you can take a ferry to Southport, and visit the colonial ruins at Brunswick Town as well as another civil war fort, Fort Anderson.

Towards the central coast, the Morehead City/Beaufort area is also interesting. There's a very classic brick fort, Ft. Macon, there. Driving east from Beaufort, you can take a three-hour ferry ride from Cedar Island to Ocracoke on the Outer Banks, then drive north and visit Cape Hatteras, Kitty Hawk and Roanoke Island. This is a VERY LONG drive, despite what it might look like on the map.

In the central "Piedmont" region of the state, consider going to the North Carolina Zoological Park near Asheboro.

In the western part of the state, you have the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful drive if you have some time to spare. In Asheville, you can tour Biltmore House, a fantastic estate built by the Vanderbilts. It's still privately owned and is quite expensive to visit. Worth the price, though.

I lived in Surf City, NC for almost eight years, by the way.

Check out the Biltmore estate in Asheville if you have the time. Not far from Denton on the 4th is a smaller tractor show in Mocksville NC, free & well worth checking out. As far as beaches I would look at the Outer Banks, Beautiful & the right location is nice & quiet.

OK the better half says her sister lives between Wilmington and Jacksonville so the majority of the time would be spent in that area. Personally the mountains are more to my interest but ya gotta try something new sometime!

If you want to see a tractor show go to Ken Eders open house.Its the first weekend in November.His collection is mind boggling. Its located in Carthage central N.C.

Ain"t no place like Tennessee in the Fall. I hope you enjoy your trip which ever way you travel. A person needs to get out and see all the natural beauty in the USA.

I live in southeastern NC about 40 miles inland. There are a lot of good beaches in the state, and the coastline is long. What part of the state will you be visiting? If you are down this way, Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach are the commercialized ones near Wilmington but not far away are the Brunswick County beaches which are much more quiet. As you go up the coast, there are quite a few more. Wilmington is the closest major town to us, so we ride down to Wrightsville Beach and Fort Fisher a lot, but if we are making a trip to the beach, I prefer to go to Holden Beach, Ocean Isle, or Sunset. Calabash is also near Sunset beach close to the state line and there is a lot of good seafood to eat there. I-40 gets you close to about all of the southeastern beaches and US 64 will take you to the Crystal Coast near Morehead City or the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks are great, but I can be in Tennessee almost as fast even from here in Eastern NC.

I live in Beaufort N.C. so might be a little biased. Yea Fort Macon is pretty cool especially since the renovations put in. Also aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is a must and private ferry to Cape Lookout Lighthouse(They are allowing Visitors to climb To top again)! Plus since I live here most of My play time is fishing! Saltwater fishing can't be beat and it's very good in this area!

Scott

Yep, my old stomping grounds. Try to get in some fishing while you're there.

You might want to swing by the ruins of Camp Davis by Holly Ridge. In WWII it was a huge Army base, now it's nothing but a few streets and remains of buildings. I think the Marines still use the airfield for training.

Keith Jones just opened a very nice tractor musem
South of Richmond VA thats well worth visiting.

I haven't been to the Carolinas since the mid 70s, But often thought I'd like to visit again.
Business dealings I've had with folks in the Carolinas are my favorites. Very respectful and cordial.
Now with the kids nearly done with college and the wife living with her Mother, more and more the thought of selling out here and moving to the Carolinas (the old bones might take the weather better)is looking pretty attractive.

I guess we will be going between jacksonville and wilmington if all holds out.

All of Illinois is East of the Mississippi River.