The winding drive up U.S. 276 costs you a queasy back seat and half a tank of gas. Some North Carolina mountain stops pay that back with a view you’ll describe for years. Others pay it back with a gift shop and a guardrail. These are the overhyped North Carolina mountain stops, and the ones…
The line for the beach path forms before the coffee shop unlocks its door. That’s a summer Saturday on the South Carolina coast now. Everyone came for the charm, and then everyone stayed. These are the South Carolina coastal towns getting too crowded to love. 1. Mount Pleasant Mount Pleasant is still a town on…
Every Texas lake has two seasons: the one with wakeboards, and the one locals wait all year for. The second season starts the week after Labor Day, when the boat trailers thin out and the water goes glassy by 8 a.m. That’s when the lake towns show their true faces. These are the Texas lake…
Some North Carolina vacations look better in the brochure than they do in July. The ferry line doesn’t make the postcard, and neither does the parking app. These are the North Carolina summer trips that often disappoint tourists. 1. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Tourists plan whole Outer Banks weeks around climbing Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and the…
Floridians have a summer rule: The smaller the beach town, the faster it fills. Tourists learn that rule in a parking lot, circling for a space that doesn’t exist. Save yourself the gas. These are the Florida beach towns that aren’t worth the summer crowds. 1. Destin Destin built its name on white sand and…
Have you ever driven three hours for a view that took four minutes? Virginia tourists do it every summer. Some of the Commonwealth’s most famous stops earn their hype. A few don’t. These are the Virginia summer trips that let tourists down. 1. Busch Gardens Williamsburg Busch Gardens wins awards for its landscaping, and the…
The car door handle is hot enough to brand you, the kids are cranky, and the sign up ahead says the wait is 90 minutes. Every Pennsylvanian has lived some version of that afternoon. These are the Pennsylvania summer trips that don’t live up to the brochure. 1. Centralia An underground mine fire has burned…
Where do North Carolinians go when the flatlands hit 96? Up. At 4,000 feet, breakfast comes with sleeves and a breeze, and nobody apologizes for either. These are the North Carolina mountain escapes built for the hottest months. Blowing Rock North Carolina’s oldest attraction is a cliff that throws things back. The Blowing Rock hangs…
You could fight the shore-traffic crawl to the Jersey beaches this Fourth. Or you could stay in Pennsylvania, where a string of lake towns throws its own waterfront celebration without the six-hour drive or the sunburn line. From the Poconos to the Lake Erie shore, these are the Pennsylvania spots built for a long, lazy…
Anybody can grill hot dogs and watch fireworks from a lawn chair. But in Virginia, you can stand on the exact spot where the Revolution was won, then watch the sky light up over the same river the British sailed down in defeat. The Commonwealth is dotted with places where the country’s founding stopped being…
