"Carolina in my mind" a North Carolina Travel Page by b1bob

Because the North Carolina border abuts my Grandma's property in Virgilina, VA, I am very familiar with the state of North Carolina. No, I didn't just cross into North Carolina to walk in the woods with Grandma to pick blackberries in the summer or look for running cedar in the autumn, I have visited the coastal areas, small towns, and some major cities.

North Carolina is a very diverse state both geographically and in terms of its people. Western North Carolina has the highest mountain in the USA east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell 6684 feet (2038 m.). The largest city is Asheville. Its major tourist attraction is the Biltmore Estate, but it has a vibrant downtown and postcard-like scenery. The Piedmont of the state was, at one time, bristling with textile mills until ill-advised U.S. trade practices put forth by both parties caused the lion's share mills to shut down. Major cities in this region include Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte. Banking is Charlotte's premier industry and the city has more potential for tourism than is evident from the first glance.

The Research Triangle is bordered by Duke University in Durham, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. It is called the research triangle because all three universities have done great investigations in terms of pharmaceuticals, medicines, chemistry, physics, biology, etc. From the Hollywood stereotypes of North Carolina, it might surprise many to know that there are more Ph.D.'s per square mile in Orange, Durham, and Wake county than anywhere else in the USA. Eastern North Carolina's main industries are tourism, defence, and tobacco. North Carolina's Outer Banks aren't only a good beach resort, but they played a part in two historical events. Roanoke Island was the first English colony in the Americas, settled in 1584. Virginia Dare was the first English citizen born on American shores. The county containing Roanoke Island and a goodly part of the Outer Banks was named for her. The first successful heavier-than-air flight took place on 17 December 1903 on a windy day on a sand dune in Kitty Hawk. There are quite a lot of military bases in the eastern third of North Carolina including Camp Lejeune, Pope Air Force Base, Cherry Point, and Seymour Johnston. In the more rural counties, tobacco is still the cash crop despite declining smoking rates in America.

For much of North Carolina's history, there have only been blacks and whites. However, in recent years there has been an explosion in the Latino population. In larger cities, there is a notable Asian population as well. North Carolina has always had a small-town, religious, and conservative set of values. The PhD's and the come-heres from other states have not moderated that as much as some have hoped. The nice thing about North Carolina is you have to come back several times in order to be able to understand its people, its culture, and see all it has to offer.