Help with North Carolina
 

Okay, I'm throwing a trip together here and would love feedback.
Turns out, my husband just got laid off for two months, we just got invited to stay at someone's home in the Outer Banks, I've been dreaming of going to the Biltmore Estate and staying at The Swag...
It's our 10 year anniversary and I wanted to stay close to home since my mom is terminally ill but I feel we can't pass up this offer.
Questions:
We'll be flying out of LAX. Their house is 1 1/2 hours from Raleigh. What airline do you recommend? Which airport? I would love to go to Asheville and see the Biltmore Estate. Do we drive from the Outer banks? I was thinking of staying at The Inn at Biltmore but I think I'd rather spend money staying at The Swag and getting a nice B&B in Asheville. Is this a good idea?

Sorry to hear about your husband's job and your mother.

It is somewhere around 500 miles from the Outer Banks so you'll be spending a couple of days in the car.

Your best deals on airfare will be to Charlotte (CLT) or Raleigh-Durham (RDU).
All the major airlines service these cities.

You might consider going to Charlotte since it is roughly in the center of the state.

Good luck
Mike Honeycutt

Thanks, Mike. I appreciate it.

I was looking at Charlotte as a possible airport. The airfare seems about the same as Raleigh. I was just wondering if one is easier to get in and out of etc.

We're usually headed to Hawaii or Europe so the East Coast is a bit of a wild card for me. We don't mind driving. We actually get along : )
I was reading the North Carolina forum and realized late August is indeed the beginning of hurricane season. I better get my plans in order so we can leave sooner than later.

I would fly into the place with the cheapest airfare since you want to do things at opposite ends of a VERY long state.
You might look at airfares into Southern PInes. It is an hour from Raleigh, and 2 hours from Charlotte. I was looking for fares to Denver the other day and could fly from SP for HALF what I can from Charlotte!! Delta is the principal server.
Are you saying that their house on the Outer Banks is 1 1/2 hours from Raleigh? I don't think so.
The two places are just so far! How long are you planning to stay?

Hi there, Yes, the logistics are starting to make me cranky. Our friend said his house is an hour and half drive from Raleigh airport down the 70. When I put it in MapQuest it said 144 miles! I see his place is not on the islands but in Mill Creek between Newport and Morehead City. It says driving time is 3 hours.
We will probably stay 9 days. If we fly into Charlotte, it's a non-stop flight.
If we go to Asheville from Mill Creek where should we stop for an overnight?
Is it terribly humid there? I don't usually travel in August.
Is there anything I should know about the area of Mill Creek, like it's not 1 1/2 hours from Raleigh?

Depends on where in the Outer Banks, Norfolk may be a closer airport to fly to than Raleigh-Durham. Also look into Wilmington to the south.

RDU (Raleigh-Durham) would be the most convient airport for your friend's house. Another route there would be I-40 until I-95, then I-95 north until highway 70. You miss a lot of stoplights this way even though it is a bit longer. You will still have about 78,000 stoplights along highway 70. No way you can do this in 90 minutes. Also watch out for speedtrap in Lenoir and Craven Counties. I'd say this home is near the outer banks with a location between Newport and Morehead City. Both towns are on the mainland, and most people here think of the barrier islands between Duck and Ocracoke as THE outer banks.

If you want to try NC bbq, two places along the way are Wilbur's in Goldsboro and King's in Kinston.

From the RDU airport it's about 5 hours of interstate driving to Asheville. It's the opposite direction.

Call the 1-800-visitnc line for state info and a map.

Oh, and yes, it is humid in August.

That beach place may be better than OBX for logistics.
You might investigate an open jaw trip--land in Wilmington or Asheville leave from the other at the end. AirTran can do one ways. I don't know--this is daunting!!

I can see from the responses that you have realized the your 2 destinations are quite far apart...
The Biltmore Estates are lovely and worth a visit if you have the time. If you possibly can fit in a drive up into Pisgah National Forest, that is lovely as well - Mt. Mitchell area. We stay in Black Mountain when we go to the area - it is cooler and a great little town. If you are looking for a place in between to stay, I would recommend Winston-Salem. It is relatively small but has an interesting Old Salem area. Raleigh and Charlotte are both great cities to visit... easy to get around, but Charlotte has bad rush-hour traffic - although nothing compared to LA.
Either airport - CLT or RDU - will be small and regional, compared to LAX and will not be difficult to utilize. Roads are all well marked and you should enjoy it - it will be HOT and humid and yes, it is Hurricane Season...
Don't let the logistics get you down... it will be a great trip and North Carolina is a wonderful state to visit.

Thanks for the replies. I just want to check about the humidity and mosquitos. I don't care if it's hot. It's supposed to be around 105 today.
A few years ago we went to Captiva in Fl. in July and it was miserable. My husband is a freak about mosquitos. Always thinking one is on him. It's funny at first but gets old quick. My friend from Florida said that NC will be worse than Florida at this time. What do you think?

I live in NC and right now it's in the 90's in the day and 75 at night. We were at the coast this past week and the NC beaches are wonderful. Morehead City has Atlantic Beach, and south of that is Emerald isle where we go every summer. Also near there is the little town of Beaufort that has many historic homes, a mariner museum, lots of shops and is 20 minutes from Morehead City. You can take a ferry over to the Outer Banks, go over to see Cape Lookout and the wild ponies, etc. But the drive is 70 or I-40 from Raleigh and takes about 31/2 hours. RDU is an easy airport to negotiate. BUT at Morehead City you are about 8 hours away from Biltmore which is also wonderful and cooler than the coast. The airport closest to Morehead City is New Bern -- a regional one that is easy to manuver. Then I would suggest driving for a day and stopping in Hickory or Winston-Salem OR taking a commuter plane to Asheville which is also another great place. Very artsy. Drive over to Hendersonville and see the waterfalls. Can do it all in more than a week. At Biltmore be sure to take their tour at the winery and make reservations to eat at the French Bistro restaurant. There are numerous tours to take and Biltmore also offers some good packages so look at their website. Good luck!

Mosquitoes are not a real big problem at the beach unless there is a land breeze and you are out at night.
Hurricanes are a fact of life on the coast but don't let it deter you.

Where you have heat and humidity, you CAN have mosquitos but just make sure you use a good spray if you go out at night. Don't worry about the hurricanes ... there's always plenty of warning, and there's not a major storm THAT often! Enjoy North Carolina.

Hi
can anyone let me know the highest temprature and lowest temp. and whey occure in North Carolina.
how is the weather at this time there.
thanks

markus0291, go to this link:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/cg...st?query=27613

You can see the current weather in Raleigh (central NC), then go down the page on the left to the "history & almanac" section to check temps year round. The mountainous region of the state is, of course, about 10 degrees cooler on average than central and coastal North Carolina. Hope this helps.

Hi Lauricelli...I live in Asheville and can give you any info you need regarding that part of your trip! My email address is [email protected] if you want to email me, feel free!
Good luck planning.
Dory