North Carolina

Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Hikes, Activities, Lodging, and 8 Things You Didn’t Know

Learn about the Great Smoky Mountains’ hiking trails, their historic log cabins, and their tiniest mammal.

See a bronze tribute to the characters from The Andy Griffith Show in Raleigh, North Carolina.

I summited the Chimney Tops Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Like civil rights landmarks, grasshopper mascots, southern biscuits, and the birthplace of Vicks VapoRub.

The town of New Bern is all about bears and Pepsi. And history. And squirrels eating toast.

The largest city in North Carolina is like a distant cousin that I barely know, but I want to get to know better.

I was not expecting to receive a giant platter of dry, unsauced meat.

In North Carolina, the ocean is less than an hour from the national forests.

Pepsi was invented in a small former pharmacy in New Bern, North Carolina that now houses a Pepsi gift shop.

My favorite trips this year took me to Alaska, San Diego, Nashville, North Carolina, Philadelphia and the Rocky Mountains.