Goin' to North Carolina - what should I see?

[soarprod]

Hey all, I am going on a trip to visit family who recently moved to Wilmington N.C. Being from California, I have no idea what gems there are in NC and Virginia. So, who lives there and what should I check out? Thanks, Phil H. :)
P.S. They dont necessarily have to be photogenic places. :cool:

[Lissa]

I live just outside of Raleigh. When are you going? What part of Virginia will you be visiting?

Wilmington is beautiful, especially in the spring. They have a huge historic district, as well as the Battleship North Carolina. There's a lot to see and do - here's a website that can tell you more:

http://www.cape-fear.nc.us/visitors/about.asp

There are several beaches in the area, and an aquarium at Fort Fisher, too.

[soarprod]

Next Friday (25th) for a week and our only concrete plans are to spend time with the fam and go to Williamsburg VA for a day. I have heard the Battleship North Carolina is a lot of fun and we'll probably see it. Figure 2-3 days that we have time for other stuff.

[vcutag]

Next Friday (25th) for a week and our only concrete plans are to spend time with the fam and go to Williamsburg VA for a day. I have heard the Battleship North Carolina is a lot of fun and we'll probably see it. Figure 2-3 days that we have time for other stuff.

Williamsburg's nice, there's a lot to do and see there and at Jamestown (a few miles up the road) or Yorktown (a few miles the other way.) The ferry across the James River to Surry is kind of neat, and if you're into "country" cooking, the Surrey House restaurant has pretty good ham (I grew up just down the road from there, in Smithfield, which is also big on tourism.)

Just up 64 from there is Richmond (about an hour and some change), which has some pretty good restaurants, plenty of history-related tourism stuff (Monument Avenue, the Museum of the Confederacy, Shockoe Bottom, the Canal Walk).

An hour and a half the other way down 64 is the Hampton-Norfolk-Virginia Beach area, which is just starting to gear up for tourist season. The Nauticus Maritime museum in downtown Norfolk is pretty interesting, although I haven't been there since it opened.

In North Carolina, the only thing I'm really familiar with is the stretch between Hampton Roads & the Outer Banks, which is pretty much just farmland and beach.

Are you driving up to Williamsburg from Wilmington, or are you going through on the way? As I remember, it's about a 4 or 5 hour drive, depending on I-95 traffic.

[soarprod]

Driving to wilmington for a day - yep long trip for a day but I do live in LA/SoCAL traffic :)