Best NC City

[Anybodyhome]

On 3/26/2023 at 8:30 PM, CamWhoaaCam said:

Grand Canyon is my next trip. Finally I get to experience the true beauty of the Grand Canyon up close and personal.

In 2016 my wife and I rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. Trip of a lifetime. Because it is a National Park, the number of people permitted to raft is limited and only allowed once per year per person. I started planning the trip a year in advance and it was worth every minute of waiting, looking forward and experiencing. 

Fly to Vegas and we stayed at the Marriott near the convention center. Next morning, we take a bus to Henderson and hop aboard a Cessna 208 Caravan with about 8 other people and fly into the Bar 10 Ranch, an operating ranch established before the park was created and, therefore, grandfathered in to operate as a private business. Dinner, horseback riding, ATVs and we stay overnight there. Next morning it's a helicopter down to the river where you meet and load onto a raft loaded with enough food, camping gear and 2 guides for the next 3 nights and 4 days on the river.

You can also take a full 7 days on the river starting further up-river

[Brooklyn 3.0]

13 hours ago, onmyown said:

Been everywhere and lived everywhere. Charlotte and Raleigh are very plain but nice and clean cities with a lot to offer and great geographical location. Charleston isn’t bad, kind of like Savannah. But grimey areas are very grimey. Boone is beautiful but small. Asheville way too hipster slash hillbilly, uninteresting, expensive and touristy for my taste. Also too small.

East TN like Chattanooga is dirty. Same with Knoxville. COVID shut downd hit these towns hard. Might as well split the cities into people with lots of money and people with zero.

I’m a six hour drive from Vegas. It’s a complete wasteland. I am NOT a fan of dessert terrain. I like nature. Pants and wildlife. Fun to visit though.

Got to love pants!

[Brooklyn 3.0]

My favorite life experience to date was a five 1/2 week road trip, taken alone in 2009. It went like this ...

Charlotte to DC

DC to NYC

NYC to Niagara Falls Canada

Canada to Chicago (stopover in Michigan)

Chicago to Badlands National Park (stopover in Iowa)

Badlands NP to Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone to the Oregon coast (stopover in Idaho)

Oregon coast to San Francisco

SF to LA

LA to Vegas

Vegas to the Arizona/Utah border

To Moab Utah and access to many NPs

Utah to Great Sand Dunes in Colorado

CO to White Sand Dunes in NM

NM to Austin

Austin to ATL for a Braves game

ATL back to Charlotte

[thefuzz]

On 3/26/2023 at 8:28 PM, CamWhoaaCam said:

I take it you don't like being around a lot of people?

I love to visit those places but why would I want to live near the coast when they get a hurricane at least once a year?

I don't want to deal with the stress of my home possibly being damaged every year because of a freaking hurricane.

 

No.

Been here my whole life, have lost a few shingles TOTAL.  

Big ole nothing, unless you live directly on the beach, and in that case, you don't care, you just rebuild it back.

I think the difference between people who like Raleigh and Charlotte, vs. Wilmington and the Mountains has more to do with what folks enjoy doing.  I LOATHE being indoors.  Sporting events?  Nope.  Museums and Bars?  Nope.

My hobbies include surfing, diving, spearfishing, boating, outdoor woodworking projects, etc....

Don't watch TV and the only time I'm indoors is when I'm sleeping or working.  Walking trails and biking around on electric bikes ain't my idea of fun.

[OceanPanther]

On 3/26/2023 at 2:03 PM, CamWhoaaCam said:

Wow water!

 

 What else is there to do besides water?

Chaw'ston and Wilmington are steeped in the Arts ..  music festivals,, concerts on the grounds of many gardens,  

https://spoletousa.org     

https://airliegardens.org/events/summer-concert-series/

https://www.carolinamusicfests.com/pleasure-island-seafood-blues-jazz-festival.html

Many theater groups & Music   ( that don't coast $400 a ticket to sit 200 yards away and watch ants on a stage ) 

History ,,  let's just say Wilmington and Charles Town was where it all began for each state. Francis Marion..  The Swamp Fox.  If you've never seen fireworks over water ,, it's amazing .

The water is year round enjoyment.  Some fish, some like boating / sailing  ( there's a difference lol ) walking , etc. Ladies love the beaches .. Men do as well.

I'd take Chaws'ton restaurants over anything in the south east US ..

Beach Bars,  where drinking is not only accepted ,but encouraged in the middle of the day. The smell of salt air.

These are just my opinions, but I know many agree. 

 

[GOAT]

8 hours ago, Brooklyn 3.0 said:

My favorite life experience to date was a five 1/2 week road trip, taken alone in 2009. It went like this ...

Charlotte to DC

DC to NYC

NYC to Niagara Falls Canada

Canada to Chicago (stopover in Michigan)

Chicago to Badlands National Park (stopover in Iowa)

Badlands NP to Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone to the Oregon coast (stopover in Idaho)

Oregon coast to San Francisco

SF to LA

LA to Vegas

Vegas to the Arizona/Utah border

To Moab Utah and access to many NPs

Utah to Great Sand Dunes in Colorado

CO to White Sand Dunes in NM

NM to Austin

Austin to ATL for a Braves game

ATL back to Charlotte

that is sick, I'll probably never get to do a trip like that in my lifetime!

[thefuzz]

21 hours ago, OceanPanther said:

Chaw'ston and Wilmington are steeped in the Arts ..  music festivals,, concerts on the grounds of many gardens,  

https://spoletousa.org     

https://airliegardens.org/events/summer-concert-series/

https://www.carolinamusicfests.com/pleasure-island-seafood-blues-jazz-festival.html

Many theater groups & Music   ( that don't coast $400 a ticket to sit 200 yards away and watch ants on a stage ) 

History ,,  let's just say Wilmington and Charles Town was where it all began for each state. Francis Marion..  The Swamp Fox.  If you've never seen fireworks over water ,, it's amazing .

The water is year round enjoyment.  Some fish, some like boating / sailing  ( there's a difference lol ) walking , etc. Ladies love the beaches .. Men do as well.

I'd take Chaws'ton restaurants over anything in the south east US ..

Beach Bars,  where drinking is not only accepted ,but encouraged in the middle of the day. The smell of salt air.

These are just my opinions, but I know many agree. 

 

Whoa.

How old is that pic?

Spent way too much time, and wayyy too much money drinking at Bridge Tender.  Spring and Fall in Wilmington, simply the best.

[OceanPanther]

3 hours ago, thefuzz said:

Whoa.

How old is that pic?

Spent way too much time, and wayyy too much money drinking at Bridge Tender.  Spring and Fall in Wilmington, simply the best.

last year pic,,  Fish House next door.. same owners as you know. Yeah, after the summer, it's nice to enjoy the less crowded beaches and water ways..  

[BrisbanePanther]

On 3/26/2023 at 12:25 PM, CamWhoaaCam said:

If you going to start a thread about it at least pay homage to the guy who actually started the debate...

Fair enough--just tried to edit it but couldn't (maybe it's been too long). So yes, credit to you for starting the topic--I just wanted to give it its own home.

Oh, and I also realize I should have made the title "Best Carolinas city". If mods can fix, please do.

[Jase]

On 3/26/2023 at 10:56 AM, OceanPanther said:

Some of us beg to differ 

Congrats on all the liquid

[thefuzz]

Welp.

It's noon on Friday in Wilmington, so it's about time for work to be done today.

Can't decide if I'm going to take the boat for a spin around the beach, or head over to my buddies house and sit on the dock with him and have a cool one.

Decisions decisions.

[LinvilleGorge]

It took all my restraint not to tap out at about 10am today and go trout fishing. I'll go Sunday.

[thefuzz]

24 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It took all my restraint not to tap out at about 10am today and go trout fishing. I'll go Sunday.

Touch windy here to toss a line, and I don't feel like cleaning fish this afternoon, but the bite is starting to heat up really good.

Ready for a flat day to run outside and deep drop on some Grouper.

[CamWhoaaCam]

Just got back from the Dreamville festival in Raleigh and I never seen so many people in my life show up for a festival.

 

80% of the crowd was out of state. Just another reason why Raleigh is by far the best city in the Carolina's.