This post is sponsored by Travel Associates
The Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina
Last year we travelled to the US, and we went a few places nearly everyone goes (San Francisco and New York city to name a couple) as well as a couple of out-of-the-way or not-quite-so-travelled places. One of these places was North Carolina.
Upon telling people we were planning our trip to the US and would be gone for a month, many asked where we were going and wanted details of where in the US, and for how long. The place that gave most people pause on our list was North Carolina. Slightly left of centre and very out of the way of everywhere else (mind you, out of the way for USA is still pretty damn close in Australia terms, especially when you consider we have cattle stations larger than Texas), I’ll admit even I didn’t want to go there to begin with.
The fact was, we went to North Carolina for one very good reason: Because that is where Morfar lived.
Morfar
Morfar, for those who don’t know, is the Danish word for grandfather, literally translating to “Mother’s Father” and Morfar, at 97 years old, was a cheeky, feisty bugger who refused to leave his independent house and, right before we visited, was moved into a retirement village, only to die less than a month later (5 days after our visit).
The thing was, once I arrived in North Carolina, the charm of the place got to me and I wondered why more people didn’t consider it a must see. The incredible Autumn colours (which American people come from miles around to drive through the mountains at look at), rocking chairs in the airport, massive meals at restaurants for less than $50 for 6 adults. Amazing!
Don’t tell me fairies don’t live here.
I was convinced in some of the places we looked at that fairies simply must live there and if only I stood still for long enough in the leaves, I would get the chance to see one.
Add to that the squirrels bouncing around the back garden, the birdsong as you woke up in the morning, and the fact that there was a very good chance you would be mauled by a bear while putting out your garbage, I consider North Carolina to be one of the most interesting and beautiful places I’ve been. And I’ve been to the Solomon Islands!
North Carolina is somewhere I strongly recommend you go, even if you don’t have a grandfather to visit. It may be out of the way, and may not have the appeal of New York or Vegas for novelty value, but it’s incredibly beautiful and you won’t regret it.
Have you ever travelled somewhere you really didn’t want to go but it ended up being amazing?
This post is sponsored by Travel Associates. All views and images are my own.
If you think you know the US, here’s a quiz you can take to find out.
