I have never been to USA and will certainly do the big cities,Grand
Canyon etc slowly and extensively one day. However in the shorter term I need to
take wife and daugther to North Carolina( if wife can get visa being
not an Aussie citizen yet) to visit other family members who have just
moved there recently and who would not know much more about the state
than me; at this early stage at least. I am not necessarily after very
detailed info but rather just some basic "touristy" info and links to
any worthwhile sites that feature NC and its offerings to the simple
everyday tourist.Perhaps some views from anyone who has personally
been there would be helpful. I should add perhaps that I am a man
fascinated by history and historic happenings as well as natural
features such as the countryside,birds, animals etc ,pretty much
everything of significance in fact. I am certainly not the type to go
such a distance and play golf and swim in hotel pool exactly as I
could back in Southern Australia where I live, so no need to offer
listing of golf courses and other "artificial" type attractions.

 Thanks a lot,
  John From Melbourne

Greetings!  North Carolina has much to offer the tourist, especially
in historical sites, including one home that will delight and amaze
you.

The grandest place I have ever visited in any state is in North
Carolina and is the Biltmore estate.  This palatial residence, tucked
away in the Blue Ridge Mountains, was the awesome vision of George
Washington Vanderbilt and it is a 250-room wonder.  The art works and
gardens alone will knock your socks off!

From the Biltmore home page:
"Marvel at the grandeur of America’s largest home filled with
Vanderbilt’s
collection of fine art and antiques. Stroll through gardens created by
America’s
father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted. Enjoy
estate-raised
foods, and savor award-winning vintages at Biltmore’s winery."

I would highly recommend a visit to the Biltmore, and I urge you to
set aside at least two days in the area to enjoy its splendor.  This
was their "country retreat"!  It's as if Buckingham Palace (or better)
was spirited to the mountains of North Carolina: you will not believe
how incredible are the grounds and views.  A railroad was built just
to transport the building materials to the mountains, and the estate
took six years to complete.  It is art, architecture, history,
antiques, food, wine and horticulture all in one visit.

From the official Biltmore site:
"When George Washington Vanderbilt opened Biltmore Estate on Christmas
Eve
1895, his holiday celebration marked the formal opening of the most
ambitious
home ever conceived in America. For six years an army of artisans
labored to
create a country estate that would rival the great manors of Europe
and embody
the finest in architecture, landscape planning, and interior design.
The results
were astonishing."

"Boasting 4 acres of floor space, the 250-room mansion featured 34
master bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, 3 kitchens, and an
indoor swimming pool. Priceless art works and furnishings adorned its
interiors. The surrounding grounds were equally impressive,
encompassing 125,000 acres of forest, park,
and gardens."
 
"Notwithstanding its grandeur, Biltmore Estate was very much a home.
It was
here that George pursued his interests in art, literature, and
horticulture, and
also started a family. He married American socialite Edith Stuyvesant
Dresser
(1873-1958) in June 1898 in Paris, and the couple came to live at the
estate that fall after honeymooning in Europe. Their only child,
Cornelia (1900-1976), was born and grew up at Biltmore."

The Biltmore is not just a tourist attraction, it's an experience!  I
have been twice and still have not seen everything - it's better than
Disneyworld, at least for me!  One film that was partially made there
was a Peter Seller's film called "Being There."  There is a shot in
the movie of a foyer that resembles a football stadium, and that's
just the Biltmore foyer.  They offer one- and two-day passes - get the
two-day pass, you'll need it and more to really drink in the place.

Also close by is the last home of writer Carl Sandburg - he lived at
Connemara, a sprawling farm on which his wife raised a prize goat herd
and a place from which he wrote and drew inspiration.  For me, to
visit the home of that writer was a wonderful experience for I could
see where he drew his inspiration.  As noted at the site "North
Carolina's Historical People and Places, "The buildings, beautiful
rolling pastures, and mountian woods now belong to the people Carl
Sandburg wrote about for so many years."  I think you might enjoy
visiting there, and directions are available from the Carl Sandburg
Home National Historic Site, 1928 Little River Road, Flat Rock, North
Carolina 28731 - Telephone: 704-693-4178.  I visited there as well and
found it to be a wonderful learning experience.


I did a search of "North carolina historical sites" on Google and that
returned the North Carolina's Historical People and Places site. 
There is a map of North Carolina on the main page, and the Biltmore
and Sandburg attractions are in the bottom left on the map - just
click on any sites for more information.  For the Biltmore site, I
knew it from memory, but it is also on the Historical People and
Places site:

North Carolina's Historical People and Places
http://www.itpi.dpi.state.nc.us/nchistorical/default.html

The Official Biltmore Web Site (wow!)
http://www.biltmore.com/


I sincerely hope you are able to visit the Biltmore - take comfortable
walking shoes and lots of film (although they offer lovely volumes of
pictures of the place).  You will truly stand in awe and wonder of the
place - it is so incredible!!  I hope this information is of
assistance, and safe travel.

---

Clarification of Answer by journalist-ga on 06 Jul 2002 20:57 PDT

Greetings again!  Anytime you ask a question on Google Answers, always
know you may take advantage of the Clarification button to request
more information.  That way you are able to query the person who
answers for more information if you feel the need for additional
information.  Thank you for your kind comments on my answer, and I do
hope you visit the Biltmore Estate: its grounds encompass many of the
features which make North Carolina such a great place to visit.

Thanks journalist, you did a pretty good job in a fairly short time
span. I imagine that I could have rated you higher but for that fact
that "Alien Intelligence" had already given a very comprehensive reply
as an unpaid comment only with his views and links offering more
diversity and variety in things to do and see in his native state.
Still I acknowledge I only paid $4.50 so once  again a pretty good
job.

I lived there 25 yrs, its great, and I miss it.
Many things to offer, anything you are NOT into?
Like going into caves, or boating to islands?
There are historical tours, and natural tours.
Since Wilmington has a film industry, you can
even visit sets from famous movies. I can provide
more info, but as a commentor, when a researcher
locks the question, I can't post anymore.

-AI

Thanks Alien Intelligence for short but sharp overview. I note that a
couple of people have locked in question and then abandoned it so
perhaps it is not such an easy question to answer afterall.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Relocation Articles and Images 
http://www.nps.gov/caha/lrp.htm

A very beautiful area, and worth at least 2 days:
http://www.outerbanks-nc.com/wrightbrothers/

History:
http://www.ocracoke-nc.com/blackbeard/

Almost every city in North Carolina has
a Historical Tour, and/or a walking tour:
http://www.wilkesboro.com/oldwilkesinc/main.htm

These signs are everywhere:
http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/do/r/default.htm

One of the best zoo's in the United States:
http://www.nczoo.org/

Mountains:
http://www.ncmountains.com/

Wilmington, NC as a filming location
http://us.imdb.com/List?locations=Wilmington,+North+Carolina,+USA&&tv=on

Main Tourism Page:
http://www.visitnc.com/index_home.asp

Um, there is alot more, I could go on forever.
I have done everything there, hiking, surfing,
swimming, rafting, canoeing, kyaking, played
paintball on the barrier islands many times.
Beach Music festival, regattas, etc, etc, etc.
Anything you'd like for me to go more indepth
on?

-AI

John:

Since you are a history buff, you must go to the Smoky Mountains.
First of all very beautiful mountain range, great for hiking, white
water rafting etc. There is a 1932 steam engine that runs throught the
mountain pulling about 10 passenger cars. They have 4-8 hour journeys.
Here is their website:

http://www.gsmr.com/

It's a must see.

Colin

Alien Intelligence ,are you still there??
  This alien needs to once again say thanks for those extra additional
and excellent pieces of info/links to relevant sites that you posted a
few hours back. I think perhaps you should consider a new career as
combined Ambassador and touisism promoter for NC. I have now a(Blue
Ridge)mountain of info to slowly go through in tandem with my wife.

John From Melbourne:

I have always defined North Carolina as three paths. 
1.  Follow the Blue Ridge Parkway   http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/  
with the Smokies and Ashville as destinations toward the end of the
parkway. Both destinations are well worth the drive which overlooks
the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Ashville history is not only marked
by the wonderful Biltmore but also by the start of the "Walk of Tears"
 http://www.cherokee.org/  representing the forced migration of the
Cherokee Nation from North Carolina to their present home in Oklahoma.

2.  The second path might take you down highway 85. Through the
Research Triangle of surrounding Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill  
http://triangle.citysearch.com/ This area is the home to some very
innovative industry and also the home of the University of North
Carolina Tarheels basketball team in Chapel Hill, NC 
http://www.unc.edu/   You will then learn why God loves the Tarheels
best of all...in that he made the sky Tarheel blue.  You might get
some arguement from North Carolina State University Wolfpack in
Raleigh  http://www.ncsu.edu/  who claim that their basketball victory
in the finals of the NCAA tournament in 1983 was the greatest victory
in NCAA tournament history.  You'd probably get some aguement from the
the folks up at Duke University whose Blue Devils in Durham, NC have
won the National Championship 3 times in the last 11 years. Certainly
the Wake Forest Demon Deacons  http://www.wfu.edu/  up in Wake Forest,
NC would have a thing or two to say about all of those claims although
never having won a NCAA basketball championship, have been involved in
some of the most competitive games over their history.  OK..you
say...enough about basketball...Your right, I should also point out
that these four wonderful universities have a substantial academic
history as well and also they each have a beautiful campus.

You might wish to continue down highway 85 to Charlotte but you'd be
missing the best of North Carolina barbeque  if you didn't try some of
the back roads and byways of this beautiful state. I'm a bit hungry
since it is almost noon here in NH so I will suggest you stop at Mama
Dip's in Chapel Hill before you head on down the highway.  
http://www.mamadips.com/

3.  Well all that's left to explore is the barrier beaches and
coastline of North Carolina.  Cross over the bridge at Kitty Hawk to
see the first flight (don't debate with me about some Frenchman or
Aussie), we Mericans believe it to have been here at Kitty Hawk by
those pesky Wright Brothers.  The barrier beach offers great swimming,
lovely hiking, and a casual relaxation all the way down to Cape
Hatteras.  Of course, there is great history in these waters;  Civil
War stuff, Pirate stuff, and just plain poor naviagation stuff.

You may wish to come back to the mainland to play golf at the Tiger's
Eye, Panther's Run and Lion's Paw courses which are part of the Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina group of courses but are located in southern
North Carolina.
  http://www.golfcourserealty.com/golf-communities/north-carolina/ocean-ridge-plantation.htm

I passed over Cape Fear but perhaps you can just watch the movie.     
                                                               
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0101540

Well, we've missed so much of the state.  The tobacco fields, the
tobacco subsidies, the cigarette factories, Senator Jesse Helms 
http://www.senate.gov/~helms/  and the lakes.....

You have been a great supporter of us google researchers in your
comments on the value of information, Johnny From Melbourne.  We hope
you get the best value for you money in any question you ask...

If I can provide any further information, please don't hesitate to
ask....

seedy

Oh...I wanted to ask you a couple of questions.
1.  Is it true that Foster's is Australian for beer?
2.  Are all Aussie's keep a croc in the backyard like Steve & Terri Irwin??

seedy

Thanks for the kind words John. I probably
could be a tourist promoter for NC, as long
as my little secret wouldn't get out.
I couldn't move from where I am at in the
oh so pretty southern California valley.
http://binarybass.com/digi/VenturaSunset2/
http://www.catotech.com/mountains/IslandsThruValley.jpg

With me, from living in North Carolina so long,
I know the "non-touristy" things you don't get
to hear about, things I have grown a little 
not so fond of. ;-) Like sweltering heat, and
biting flies.

Well, I had a long ramble, all typed out,
tangenting far away from sightseeing in NC,
about the heat and bugs but they don't matter
that much for a tourist. 

If you have any other questions re:NC
just post them here. I don't know a way
to easily trade email addresses here yet.
At least, not a spam free way :-)

-AI

.....and thanks to you too Seedy for your comments on my comments. I
cant wait till I see NC now having read/seen much of the info.

  .........and by the way FOSTER's beer falls way below two other
"flavours" in popularity, (although from same company)being MELBOURNE
BITTER and VICTORIAN BITTER which the Americans in the international
hotel where I live seem to agree is an excellent beer

.......yes some idiots have  big crocodiles for pets but only in the
hot  northern states .None in my state Victoria down the bottom of
Australia where climate is cool to cold in winter and very hot in
Summer. No-one over here watches Steve the Crocodile man much. Most
think he is an embarrassment to Australia and he is only available on
same cable channel you see there.

problem with the beer in Aus answer!

the best beer in Australia is Coopers! all other beers are not close,
and no one in Australia drinks fosters. Crown larger is also very good
but as for Victorian bitter? this is as weak as water and has little
taste, but then that is victoria for you.

go to a aussie pub and try all the aussie beer there!

Hey Johnny from Melbourne:

Just a short addition from my trip to Raleigh of the last few days. 
Be sure to have North Carolina barbeque....chopped pork or chopped
beef.  The North Carolinian syle barbeque is to chop the meat with a
vinegery sauce...It is delicious...in contrast to Memphis barbeque
which uses pulled pork or beef with a tomatoey sauce mixed in and in
contrast to Texas barbeque which has the pulled pork or brisket smoked
a bit dry with the sauce added on top....It depends on your taste, but
the North Carolinian is my second favorite to the Texas barbeque.  Try
Mama Dips in Raleigh for excellent NC barbeque although I found the
fried chicken at Mama Dips to be a bit dry to my taste...

Have a great time..

seedy