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In VA:
Arlington National Cemetery (DC)
Jamestown/Colonial Williamsburg
Monticello
In NC:
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Lost Colony)/Wright Brothers National Memorial (both on Outer Banks)
Blue Ridge Parkway (especially the Linn Cove Viaduct close to Blowing Rock/Boone)
Biltmore Estate (Asheville)
In SC:
Charleston and the Low Country, you could spend a few days in this area along with Savannah in GA not terribly far away.
NC's Outer Banks. Take the ferry from Ocracoke on down for a coastal trip. Like fishing? take a charter out of Oregon Inlet or Hatteras. You won't find better anywhere else in the states!
Take a coastal drive across the Bay Bridge Tunnel from/onto the Delmarva Peninsula, be sure to stop on the the "island" if you see any warships passing through! Stop at Chinqoteque, VA and check out Assateques wild pony's.
Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
St Augustine, FL
Daytona FL during bike week (if into motorcycles) or the Daytona 500
Disney World and other assorted area tourist traps
Ft Lauderdale and the mega yachts
party and eat in South Beach, Miami
Take a drive through the keys and hang out in Key West for a couple nights
New Orleans (though personally, I've never been)
Nashville (though personally I've never been)
The Blue Ridge PKW in NC.
Skyline drive in VA, and Luray Caverns (been years since I've been to the caverns so who knows now)
Assorted Civil War battlefields
It's a huge section of the US with much to do and see so just pick something. Obviously, my picks are going to be more NC and VA oriented because I live in MD so many of those are day trips to me. Or coastal places because of my work. I have also lived in (and will return to ) South Florida
Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans and St Augustine, some of the coolest historical cities in the US, not just the South. The Vicksburg national battlefield, Richmond and the countless civil war cites there, Fort Sumpter (see Charleston). Of course there is the natural beauty too so don't miss the Carolina beaches, the Blue ridge parkway and the Smokey Mountain National Park. Cant say you have seen the South either unless you get some good BBQ, and wash it down with some sweet tea.
Natural Bridge, Iwo Jima memorial, Arlington national cemetery, Mt Vernon, Monticello, the library at UVA, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore, Cape Hatteras, Harpers Ferry, New River Gorge, Cumberland Gap, Charleston, Savanna, Hot Springs, Stone Mountain, the Greenbrier hotel, the Grand Old Opry, Church HillDowns, Mammoth Cave, the Mississippi River, Natchez, Oxford, Mobile, all of New Orleans, the Everglades, Cape Canaveral, the Alamo and on and on...
Visit Chapel Hill for the quintessential southern college town, and Duke over in Durham is also worth visiting (Duke Chapel). Other than that, I don't think there's really anything worth visiting in the NC Piedmont. When you come to NC, it's best to spend time along the coast or in the mountains. Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte are just cities, really.
Also doesn't make much sense to visit the Virginia mountains when you can just come down to NC.
Also doesn't make much sense to visit the Virginia mountains when you can just come down to NC.
I agree, if it's convenient to do so, and I'm not bashing VA's part of the Appalachians either. Skyline drive and Shenendoah National Park in VA is a beautiful drive and for me is closer as I can make a day trip out of it.
But the last time I did that drive I took a couple days and just followed the Blue Ridge PKW down into NC. I got to talking to some old man in a street rodded out old truck who used to sell moonshine in the area I live in now and he told me to keep going as the views get prettier and the mountains get taller the further down. I'm glad I took his advise because the Blue Ridge PKW has got to be one of the most beautiful roads I've followed on down. The views are incredible, especially with the fall color change. Definitely up there with any of the views I've seen driving around the mountain roads in Costa Rica and Colombia!
I'm obviously biased, but I think NC is the best state in the South when it comes to natural beauty. I love driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, especially around Boone and Blowing Rock. Opposite side of the state, you really can't beat our Outer Banks. It's the middle, the NC Piedmont, that isn't as special. Some pretty countryside north of Greensboro, but east of Raleigh is very ugly until you hit the coast.
The VA Piedmont beats us, for sure. The countryside around Charlottesville, I'm particularly fond of. I've always loved driving from Raleigh to Charlottesville.
I'm obviously biased, but I think NC is the best state in the South when it comes to natural beauty. I love driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, especially around Boone and Blowing Rock. Opposite side of the state, you really can't beat our Outer Banks. It's the middle, the NC Piedmont, that isn't as special. Some pretty countryside north of Greensboro, but east of Raleigh is very ugly until you hit the coast.
The VA Piedmont beats us, for sure. The countryside around Charlottesville, I'm particularly fond of. I've always loved driving from Raleigh to Charlottesville.
We have our share of mountain beauty in Tennessee. Ill admit you have an advantage with the ocean, but our mountains are as pretty as yours.
There's more, but this is just off of the top of my head........
U.S National Whitewater Center (Charlotte, NC)
Biltmore Estate (Asheville, NC)
Wild Stallions and Lighthouses (Outer Banks, NC)
Blue Ridge PKWY (Smokey Mnts. NC)
History, Beauty, Architecture, Food, Beaches (Charleston SC, Savannah GA)
Disney World/Universal Studios (Orlando, FL)
Key West, FL
NASA (Cape Canaveral, FL)
Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel (Norfolk, VA)
Monticello (Charlottesville, VA)
Birth of the Blues and Riverboats (Memphis, TN)
Arlington Cemetary (Arlington VA)
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