Fun Facts: North Carolina

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The Tar Heel State has many interesting aspects. My oldest son lives in North Carolina and we will be visiting him in June for about a week. My husband and I actually lived in Winston-Salem for several years and then moved back to Virginia about 12 years ago. One sad piece of North Carolina’s history involves the “Trail of Tears.” This was a six-month march that the American government forced on the Cherokee Indians, forcing them to march through the winter months from eastern North Carolina to Oklahoma. Thousands died on the march. President Andrew Jackson can be held responsible for this, according to history. North Carolina is a beautiful state, the Great Smoky Mountains straddling the border with Tennessee being one of the most beautiful areas, featuring lush forest, waterfalls and exhibits on Cherokee history. Some of the Cherokee Indians escaped to the mountains and refused to march to Oklahoma. Their descendants live in these mountains today. The Biltmore Estate near Asheville that I have visited is well worth the trip. 7,500 acres of landscaped and natural land surround the 250-room French Renaissance mansion of a Vanderbilt grandson. What an amazing place to visit. From the mountains to the sea, the Outer Banks, are islands along the 125 miles of coast of North Carolina. Three capes – Hatteras, Lookout and Fear – jut out into the Atlantic Ocean and create dangerous waters, nicknamed the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Many sailing ships went down in this area, quite a few of which were Pirate ships. In fact, Bath, the first incorporated town in 1705, was the home port of Blackbeard, the pirate. I have visited the Outer Banks many times. Old Salem, which I have also visited, in Winston-Salem, features costumed guides who explain life in the original Moravian settlement that existed here in 1766. There is so much more to North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Research Triangle, a center for government and private research facilities is bounded by Duke University, the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State. Wilmington features a deep water port where freight trucks from New York or Florida can reach in one day, making transport a major industry. So, from mountains to coastal waters, North Carolina has a little bit of everything, from Indians, to 250-room mansions, to universities, to pirates. One final note is that the Venus Fly Trap plant is native to North Carolina and doesn’t grow naturally anywhere else in the world. Have you ever visited North Carolina? Picture of the Biltmore mansion by Pixabay