North Carolina

When I consider all the hours I spend in traffic, it’s downright distressing. That’s why, when it comes to vacations, I opt to go somewhere serene and congestion-free—somewhere like Bald Head Island.

Situated on a mountain plateau in western North Carolina, some 4,000 feet above sea level, the four-stoplight town of Highlands is no secluded hamlet. Dubbed the Aspen of the East, it attracts 200,000 visitors a year.

I would start by kayaking on the French Broad River downtown with a six-pack of Asheville Brewing Company’s Perfect Day IPA. Then I’d go to South Slope, our unofficial brewery district with eleven breweries.

Although she now calls New York City home, actress Bellamy Young says she’ll always be a Southern girl at heart.

Chapel Hill, home to the University of North Carolina (UNC), has that elusive blend of qualities that makes for an ideal weekend destination: instantly comfortable yet demanding to be explored.

Unexpected discoveries in the pursuit of a poet.

Called the “King of Shrubs,” the rhododendron loves high altitudes; it’s the national flower of Nepal and a familiar sight in the Southern Appalachians, where blossoms of white, pink, red, and purple paint the tallest slopes in the eastern United States.

As much as we love the South's quintessential clapboard churches and stately mansions, our appreciation of Southern architecture extends beyond the classics. We‘ve combed the region for noteworthy structures, from historical masterpieces like Thomas Jefferson‘s Palladian Monticello to modern marvels like the breezy, zero-energy McDonald‘s Florida flagship (yes, McDonald’s).

He founded Durham’s much-lauded Four Square Restaurant and, before that, served as executive chef at North Carolina’s acclaimed Fearrington House. Now, Ingram has taken over the kitchen at the Restaurant at the Durham