Recently in the news there has been a lot of backlash about North Carolina and the laws about equal rights and bathrooms. But, I'm not going to touch on that subject because frankly this post is not about that. This post is about some of the great things my state has to offer and why I love it.
The Blue Ridge Mountains
This mountain range is one of the most beautiful in the United States with the majority of the range extending into North Carolina. The highest point in the Blue Ridge is Mount Mitchell. The mountain is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River. The Blue Ridge Mountains range is also home to the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park highway which extends 470 miles from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina near the Tennessee border. However, this road is not a traditional highway. Commercial vehicles such as tractor trailers, UPS vans, Moving Vans etc.. and billboards are not allowed at all on the parkway. Also the speed limit on the parkway is strictly enforced at 45 miles per hour.
The food
North Carolina has some of the best Southern cuisine in the country. We have too notch barbecue that is mainly derived from pork. Our bbq sauce is made from a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar and other spices to give it a tangy yet sweet flavor. North Carolina is also famous for its seafood too. The Atlantic Coastal township of Calabash offers some of the best seafood restaurants in the Southern United States. Hushpuppies, which are balled up fried corn meal dough balls are a favorite staple as is fried shrimp and flounder. Pepsi was also invented in North Carolina. Sundrop was also invented in North Carolina. Another popular soda pop in North Carolina is a southern exclusive soda called Cheerwine. The taste is best described as a cherry flavored soft drink not like Dr Pepper but more kinda like a cough syrupy taste.
North Carolina also has its share of fast food as well. Two famous fast food joints in the state and other Southern states are Bojangles which is a competitor to Popeye's and KFC. Though unlike the other two, they are famous for serving all day breakfast before McDonald's though of the concept. Another famous fast food restaurant in the state is Cook Out which is a burger chain famous for serving barbecue as well as Burgers, Hot Dogs, quesadillas, and other fast foods. They are well known for having a cheap menu which includes a sandwich, two sides, and drink for less than $5 most places. They are also noted for having over 40 kickass milkshake flavors from chocolate to eggnog at Christmas and watermelon at summertime that even includes the seeds! Most locations are also open till four am due to the popularity by college students and late night shift workers. Krispy Kreme donuts were also started in North Carolina in the city of Winston Salem. North Carolina bbq also uses the whole hog thus using both the white and dark meats.
The Cities
North Carolina has several major metro areas filled with important places and things to do. The city of Asheville is considered the San Francisco of the South due to its embracing of culture and arts. Plus the hipster scene is high in Asheville as well. It is also considered to be the most Liberal city in North Carolina. In Asheville you will find the gateway to the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. The Biltmore House is also here. The home belonged to the Vanderbilt family during America's industrial and guilded age in the late 19th and Early 20th centuries. The estate includes shops, dining in fine restaurants, a spa, a hotel, vineyards, gardens, and the the main house itself.
Charlotte is the largest city in the state and the one time capital of North Carolina. The city is nicknamed the queen city after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg which was a area of Germany. Charlotte boasts two major league sports teams. The NFL's Carolina Panthers play here as well as the NBA Charlotte Hornets which is co-owned by a famous basketball player as well as North Carolinian Michael Jordan. Nascar is also a famous sport here with the NASCAR hall of fame in the middle of Downtown Charlotte and the Charlotte motor Speedway just on the outskirts of Charlotte. The whitewater rafting center is also in the middle of Downtown and is a US Olympic training facility for the whitewater events for the US Olympic teams. Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the fifth busiest in the US today with daily international and domestic flights. Recently the airport has been one of the first to agree to start flights to and from Havana, Cuba since the reopening of Cuban American relations.
Carowinds is a popular theme park right on the North and South Carolina borders. The park is a theme park and waterpark hybrid. There are several rollercoasters in the park including the Fury which is over 300 feet tall and speeds of close to 100 mph. The park was once owned by Paramount Movie Studios with the kids part owned by Hannah Barbera who were the creators of The Flintstones and Scooby Doo at one time. Then in the early 2000s Nickelodeon leased the plot where the family section was. This would be until Paramount sold its Themeparks division to Cedar Point then all the movie and tv show themes would have to leave the park due to the terms of agreement.
Raleigh Durham which is the state capital of NC is home to some of the best medical school colleges in the US. Duke University and hospital is located nearby as is UNC hospital and college.
Winston Salem is also home to Wake Forest University and.Baptist Hospital two of the leading institutions of their kind in the nation.
I hope you enjoyed this tribute to my homestate that I created for the time being. I found a lot of influence from @CHARismatic110 's take she did about a tribute to her home of Philadelphia. I hope you all enjoy this section of my tribute and tell me what you think.
I work at Charlotte Douglas Airport, we have MAJOR expansions planned, adding another runway, a huge air/rail frieght transfer facility, and adding about another 40 gates.
5th busiest airport already, imagine what it will be like when all the expansions are up and running.
Oh yeah, all the noise over HB2 is just that, noise, it will fade after a little while, especially once the courts uphold the law since there is no discrimination going on.
Most if not all of those businesses that allegedly came out against the law more than likely did it more because they don't want to get slandered in the media, not a single one of them has announced they will take advantage of the clause in HB2 saying businesses can allow men into women's bathrooms if they want. PayPal is the exception and it likely had a lot more to do with the timing than anything else.
They already have facilities in a lot of countries overseas, including the UAE where homosexuals are executed, Malaysia where transgender people are denied healthcare, India where kissing a member of the same sex can land you in jail for ten years and Istanbul where transgender people are frequently the victims of police brutality.
North Carolina doesn't need a pox like PayPal infecting it, our economy is booming, we have a $200,000,000+ budget surplus, one of the most business - friendly environments in the country and have had the strongest revocery from the recession of any state.
On a side note, American Airlines signed a new ten-year lease at Charlotte airport a few months ago.
It would make more sense to do so anyway if they want to send their message.
Michael Moore came up with the hilarious idea of pulling all his movies from the state, yeah, that's a brilliant idea, stop communicating your ideas in a place where you think your ideas need to he implemented lol.
i guess it's different that being stuck there. the airport itself is awesome. the problem is just a lot of congestion when try to get to the airport. also... it's charlotte :|
@Other_Tommy_Wiseau yeah if you're trying to get in or out during peak hours you're not going to have a pleasant experience, though construction is well under way to alleviate the traffic issue.
i went to school in high point and 1 year, i flew home to new jersey for Thanksgiving and goddamn. it took only 3 hours to get 2 miles. i nearly walked and abandoned my friends who drove me :D. i just like greensboro's better cause it's smaller and less traffic getting there. nothing's worse than newark, though. charlotte in general is just congested and full of construction. that's the only reason i don't like the city
Definitely talk about those burgers haha. I still have more to add in a later take. I still haven't talked about the coast and the history in the state. Its stupid our politicians are so dumb to not realize they have ruined our image
I enjoyed reading your myTake. Good for you for standing up and representing your beautiful state after all the recent bashing in the media. The photo of the Blue Ridge Mountains is beautiful. I didn't know that Charlotte used to be the state capital. I love the James Taylor song "Carolina In My Mind."
I have not been to all the towns or cities in NC but I have lived in the south west corner back in my younger days. They now have a OHarras's there in Marble NC. That's in between Murphy and Andrews. You are correct about the mountains for sure. With all my travels there isn't a mountain chain in the nation that compares in beauty.
I live near Hickory which is about 70 miles from Asheville and about fifty miles fron Charlotte. It is very beautiful here plus we get a lot of tourism from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Interesting fact the parkway had two proposed names: The FDR Parkway and The Shenandoah to Smokies Highway the latter was too long a name. So Blue Ridge Parkway stuck. The original route was to go through VA, NC , Tennessee and Georgia but due to the depression and WWII the road was shortened and actually did not end completed until 1987.
I did know that and the Smokies is named that because of the smoky apperance and it was the Indian name called land of the blue smoke. Have you ever been on the Cheratola skyway?
Sometimes I miss living in the area that I lived before due to the layed back calm atmosphere , but with the latest developments to the area I expect that has changed
I actually stand with North Carolina on the issue. I'm not against LGBT rights or anything. I have several lesbian or bi-sexual friends. I'm just thinking of young kids and how confusing that would be for them. If I were a parent, I would not feel comfortable with my little girl using the same bathroom as a transgender male.
@AsianFlower I think the law should be that you can only use the bathroom for the gender you present as, or have unisex bathrooms, which aren't terrible
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