i am traveling to NC in september. i will have 2 days of free time to tour around, and was wondering if there were any "must sees" that i should visit while being there. this is my first time to the east coast, and am hoping to see some neat things.

Jim, What city are you flying into? That info will help us to help you!

You didn't say where in NC you will be staying. I lived in Charlotte for three years and in my opinion, the one "must see" in the state is the Biltmore Mansion near Asheville, in the far western part of the state near the Smoky Mountains. But if you are going to be staying in the eastern part of the state then this may be too far. The outer banks are nice too (especially in September after so many of the tourists are gone), but the mountains are my favorite part of NC.

You didn't say where in NC you will be staying. I lived in Charlotte for three years and in my opinion, the one "must see" in the state is the Biltmore Mansion near Asheville, in the far western part of the state near the Smoky Mountains. But if you are going to be staying in the eastern part of the state then this may be too far. The outer banks are nice too (especially in September after so many of the tourists are gone), but the mountains are my favorite part of NC.

Knowing your point of arrival is crucial -- it's a good 8-9 hrs. + from Asheville to Outer Banks, so not exactly a toot-around to see this state.

Also, with respect, you might do a search on this, since I seem to remember a very recent thread on just this question. But we'll help you here if you offer more info.

in response, i will be staying in durham. arriving there late friday. my plan is to explore all day sat. and sunday. i was recommended by a friend to go along the coast. If there are "must sees" along the coast, please inform me. thanks.

You will be centrally located in NC in Durham. First check and see if Duke or UNC has a home football game. Go if you can. I would also recommend Biltmore but it's a 5 hr drive away.
Good luck.

I'll give John the benefit of the doubt, and assume he's just had a long day at work. The real football in the area is, of course, played at North Carolina State in Raleigh.

Having said that, if you're not into football, you'll nonetheless want to get out of Durham fast. The mountains are too far (5 hours), as are the Outer Banks (4.5+ hours - it's longer than it looks on a map). The only thing I can recommend is to head south on I-95 and spend the weekend in the "Little Charleston" of NC, Wilmington (2.5-3 hours). They have a small, yet developing historic riverfront area in town and a nice beach 20 minutes away at Wrightsville Beach.

With due respect to my fellow TarHeels, getting tickets to home games is very difficult (unless you get yourself invited by a Deep Pocket Gotrocks box holder). And you don't want to be driving ANYWHERE in the area on game days. It's mayhem.

Although there's Stuff to see in Durham, like the VERY lovely Duke campus and Duke Gardens, (and Brightleaf Sq., next to tobacco factories still working to keep the world coughing -- some very good restaurants nearby, like Taverna Nikos and Another Thyme), and in Chapel Hill (oldest state univ. in country -- pretty campus, and Franklin St. is a great college-town mainstreet; good restaurants include 411, Pyewacket, and many burger or taco places), you may well want to scoot out of town for a while.

Not far from Chapel Hill is Fearrington, which is a Quaint (with capital Q) small, planned community but with one of the region's greatest restaurants (Fearrington Inn *****). At the other end of the cuisine spectrum are Bullock's in Durham and Allen & Sons in Chapel Hill for NC barbecue.

Further is Wilmington, which is, as Brian said, a little Charleston -- very interesting, and unexpectedly historical AND new (many films are made there). Wrightsville Beach is there for must-have-ocean impulses, exp. nice in Sept. It's a nice corner of the southeast, which isn't the same as the northeast.

(I hesitate to mention it, but WashDC is only 4 1/2 hrs. away. You just have to be willing to deal with I-95, which rivals any Cal. freeway for insanity near DC.)