Groupon Getaways do not appeal to me. By the time I sort through the restrictions, try to find dates that work for me and realize that if I succeed in both, I’ll still feel like a second class citizen when I hand over my coupon at check-in. It’s just not worth it. That said, I like a good deal as [...]
Speedy New Lift and New Tube ParkElevate NC Winter Sports Season As temperatures drop, the action heats up at winter resorts in the North Carolina mountains. The 2015-16 season opens with a new tubing park at Beech Mountain Resort, a new high-speed, six-seater chairlift at Sugar Mountain Resort and other improvements on and off the slopes. “Every year brings new [...]
Fares on round-trip tickets can depend on where you start which further adds to the confusion over air fares. An example: The average price paid for a Los Angeles-Honolulu round-trip ticket was $614, which is 7.5 percent higher than the $571 average ticket price if purchased in Honolulu. according to a study commissioned by The Wall Street Journal. Between New [...]
The centennial celebrations of the National Park Service and the North Carolina State Park System are featured in the Official 2016 North Carolina Travel Guide, just published by the North Carolina Department of Travel and Tourism. The 176-page guide comes with a choice of covers:one featuring Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Rockies or another of hang gliders [...]
It was at Lake Junaluska in 1977. Howard Lee, who headed the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, addressed the Fourth National Trails Symposium at the invitation of a small group charged with advising the state on the matter of trails. “I want our State Trails Committee to look at recommending a trail that would give North Carolina and [...]
Biltmore, the unique 8,000 acre estate nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, has been a location for weddings and romantic getaways since George and Edith Vanderbilt married in 1898. From February 12 – July 4, to celebrate this history, the estate is hosting “Fashionable Romance: Wedding Gowns in Film”, a costume exhibition of wedding dresses and attire from major motion [...]
By Linda Catoe Changing leaves and milder temperatures must be autumn, and with the winds of change, comes the call of the North Carolina mountains. For hikers, this means a variety of choices for day trips and longer hike-throughs. When planning your hiking and vista viewing jaunts, Linda Catoe recommends stopping in at some or all of these eateries for [...]
Amtrak and the N.C. Department of Transportation have teamed up to give cyclists a chance to carry their bikes onboard the trains. Amtrak announced last week that the Carolinian and Piedmont trains running between Raleigh and Charlotte will now offer passengers walk-up bike service. Customers simply hand their bikes to Amtrak crewmembers, and the employees hang them carefully on racks [...]
The dazzling mountain vistas that surround Old Edwards Inn are unchanged since the summer of 1878, when John Norton opened Highlands’ first boarding house for visitors. Railroads were being built throughout the expanding United States, and Norton knew the mountains would be a magnet for tourists seeking its healing climate. Today the splashing waterfalls and wooded forests are unchanged; however, [...]
By Grant Emrick Grant and Lynn Emrick “Me, retire? What wilI I do with myself?” Grant Emrick asked his wife during a retirement party on his 75th birthday. Several months later, he “unretired” to spend a year with Lynn in Haiti working on the financial records of an American-supported hospital. While in Haiti, they decided to settle in Winston-Salem. They [...]
