Carolinas, Georgia & South Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Alex Leviton [51]
The antebellum mansion is a registered historic landmark, as well as a gracious inn and four-star restaurant. 901-525-8225; www.huntphelan.com; 533 Beale St, Memphis, TN; r $180-265
Village Inn B&B
It doesn’t get any more authentic than having a patched hole in your room from a Civil War cannon blast. 770-469-3459; www.villageinnbb.com; 992 Ridge Ave, Stone Mountain, GA; r $140-180
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.civilwar.org
www.civilwartraveler.com
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LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner
TRIP
2 Antebellum South
21 A Charleston Walk Back in Time
39 Driving the Natchez Trace Parkway
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Return to beginning of chapter
NORTH CAROLINA & SOUTH CAROLINA TRIPS
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Eclectic Americana in the Triangle
University Tour of the Triangle
From Dirty Dancing to Dawson’s Creek
Pirates of the Outer Banks
Cape Fear & the Carolina Coast
Piedmont Traditions
Mayberry & the Yapa Valley
Blue Ridge Parkway: High Country
48 Hours in Asheville
A Charleston Walk Back in Time
Ashley River Plantations
South Carolina Swamps
Myrtle Beach & the Grand Strand
South Carolina Upcountry
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Separated in 1729, North and South Carolina have been splitting apart culturally ever since, although beautiful rolling foothills and languid beach towns cover both states.
North Carolina has gently melded biotech, banking and university industries with down-home values, resulting in a state both cosmopolitan and homespun. In the mountains of Asheville, the grits are infused with basil and goat cheese, and the Saturday bluegrass jams at the Downtown Cinema Theater in Mount Airy (Andy Griffith’s Mayberry) haven’t changed much for 50 years, except now you can go wine tasting afterwards.
South Carolinians are ever so grateful to have stuck with a more genteel pace of life. You might be forgiven for wanting to stroll romantic Charleston with a parasol, and the blackwater swamps and inland foothills offer a geographic trip back in time.
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The Carolinas don’t have the famed musical roots as most of their Southern state neighbors, but South Carolina’s beach music and “shagging” (platonically, of course), and North Carolina’s traditional old-time and bluegrass music will send you back to a more simple time, while thoroughly modern folk and country-punk jazz things up a bit.
• “Carolina On My Mind,” James Taylor
• “My Baby’s Got the Strangest Ways,” Southern Culture on the Skids
• “Broken,” Tift Merritt
• “Shady Grove,” Doc Watson
• “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” Ryan Adams
• “Under the Boardwalk,” The Drifters
• “Only Want to Be With You,” Hootie & the Blowfish
• “What It Was, Was Football,” Andy Griffith (spoken word comedy)
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NORTH CAROLINA & SOUTH CAROLINA TRIPS
12 Eclectic Americana in the Triangle
23 South Carolina Swamps
15 Pirates of the Outer Banks
19 Blue Ridge Parkway: High Country
18 Mayberry & the Yapa Valley
23 South Carolina Swamps
20 48 Hours in Asheville
13 University Tour of the Triangle
14 From Dirty Dancing to Dawson’s Creek
17 Piedmont Traditions
21 A Charleston Walk Back in Time
22 Ashley River Plantations
12 Eclectic Americana in the Triangle
16 Cape Fear & the Carolina Coast
24 Myrtle Beach & the Grand Strand
25 South Carolina Upcountry
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Return to beginning of chapter
TRIP 12
Eclectic Americana in the Triangle
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WHY GO The Triangle - Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill - may be one of the most livable places in the country. The rare blend of Southern hospitality, university culture, rural charm and big-city life, however, also makes it a spectacular place to visit…if you know where to look.
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TIME
5 days
DISTANCE
128 miles
BEST TIME TO GO
Year-round
START
Raleigh, NC
END
Siler City, NC
ALSO GOOD FOR
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Downtown Raleigh is filled with all the usual capital city offerings - excellent museums, professional sports venues, historic homes, impressive governmental buildings and so on - but we trust our