Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm starting this thread to help highlight the amazing list of things to do and see in eastern NC. I'll throw something in every few days or so and anyone else that wants to throw something in, feel free.
We'll limit it to east of I-95.
I'm going to start with Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head. Here's the park website...
Jockey's Ridge can be seen as far away as the Causeway bridge coming from Manteo. When the winds blow the right direction, it can close down a lane of traffic on the main highway in Nags Head as the sand blows into the road.
This is a place you can go to once or frequently depending on what you like to do. But everyone should climb it once. Kites, hang-gliding, hiking, etc...Jockey's Ridge is basically a huge sand box to play in and there is nothing like it....anywhere.
That was on my list...I would add as well find locations where filming was done and/or watching a production being made. You can just walk around downtown Southport or downtown Wilmington and find many.
And finally...being an extra. There are tons of casting calls where extra's are needed. You could be vacationing in Wilmington for a week and be an extra. UNCW students are extra's all the time. How many places can regularly afford that opportunity.
What's most amazing about Lake Mattamuskeet to me is the sense of place. You had to go hours on two lane roads to get here and it oozes nature. It is great for fishing, for crabbing, and great for birdwatching. Just driving across it or around it makes you want to stop routinely and just look at it.
Then there is the history of it...which you can read on the link I provided. The nearby Pocosin Lakes State Park is also worth a visit, but it pales in comparison to the "Lake".
If you are interested in a Williamsburg-type Colonial Life experience, you can visit New Bern and a re-creation of North Carolina's original capitol, the Tryon Palace, and they just opened a new museum and visitor center as well. Visit New Bern - New Bern, NC - Things to Do
I will warn that the main palace buildings are modern reconstructions, so it's somewhat less than authentic. It's a 1950's Colonial revival movement idea of life in the 18th century. It was quite a project, they actually moved a state highway and a bridge over the river in order to re-build the palace on the original site. Just keep in mind that the ladies of New Bern always went for the best examples of finishes and furniture that would have been available in London at the time, but not so much in a frontier capital. It is a beautifully constructed and furnished building, grounds and gardens, however, and well-worth the trip. The stable building and a some homes in the neighborhood are actual survivors and are also open for tours.
We enjoyed our visit very much and the ladies who worked in the colonial kitchen and those who conducted the tours were very knowledgeable and friendly. We visited the town center as well. If you like Indian food, be sure to stop at "The Bay Leaf" for a meal.
The Swamp Walk at Goose Creek State Park. If you like herps, this is heaven. You are safe but you will see herps. An awesome, though small, state park. I think it is is Beaufort County...the one with Washington and Bath.
I was visiting Elizabeth City once and my friend said let's go for a ride....drove down this 2 lane road for awhile...seemed to be going nowhere...then he parked and said look ahead.
It was the MetLife Blimp right in front of me. In front of a 20-story Blimp Hangar...all you could say was Wow!!
Here's an article about the Weeksville Blimp Hangar...
If you go to Downtown Wilmington, you are greeted by a large sculpture of a Venus Flytrap...that is because they are centered around Wilmington and are the only place in the world where they grow naturally...
The easiest place to see them naturally is at Carolina Beach State Park or Alderman Preserve (which is near the mall)....but they are spread through Brunswick and Pender Counties as well. Unfortunately, they are ripe for poaching...
The Swamp Walk at Goose Creek State Park. If you like herps, this is heaven. You are safe but you will see herps. An awesome, though small, state park. I think it is is Beaufort County...the one with Washington and Bath.
I was visiting Elizabeth City once and my friend said let's go for a ride....drove down this 2 lane road for awhile...seemed to be going nowhere...then he parked and said look ahead.
It was the MetLife Blimp right in front of me. In front of a 20-story Blimp Hangar...all you could say was Wow!!
Here's an article about the Weeksville Blimp Hangar...
You're driving down Weeksville Road and you see the hangar off in the distance and you say to yourself, "Man, that's a really big building."
Then you drive onto the site and park next to it and you say, "Man, that's a REALLY BIG building."
You go in the side door, walk through the office area, open a door, step out onto the hangar floor, and say, "JESUS CHRIST! THIS IS A REALLY BIG BUILDING!!!"
On the original site plans, they were called "Airdock 1" and "Airdock 2", but nobody calls them "airdock". We just say "hangar".
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Tryon Palace, New Bern
