Tradition rules at the coast (a last beach blast of the summer) and in the mountains (kicking off the fall hiking season). Meanwhile, somewhere in between a paddle trip beckons.
Coast
Labor Day weekend, you’re at the coast, you’re looking for something different to do, something to relieve the tedium of frolicking in the surf. Tedium? OK, perhaps that’s overstating. But certainly a little relief from the beach is a good thing. And you and the kids can find it at 3 p.m. Monday at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, when you’ll join a park ranger for a romp over the dunes in search of Tracks in the Sand. Yes, search for the footprints of the various critters who call the park home, then make a plaster cast to take home as a souvenir. Beats a hermit crab nightlight from Wings.read more
More than 60 pilots are expected at this weekend's Hang Gliding Spectacular and Air Show.
A good looking weekend is on tap across North Carolina. Our thoughts on how to make the most of it include a trip to the coast, where some of the best hang gliders around will be circling Jockey’s Ridge; an excursion into the Piedmont, where they’ll be celebrating another milestone for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail; and a visit to the high country where they’re doing what you do when the spring wildflowers start to pop: you go for a hike.read more
Nicholas Sparks with some guys enjoying his track.
A run with romance! A walk/run/bike for a cause, a wild hike for wildflowers highlight the action in North Carolina this weekend.
Coast
Did you know that before Nicholas Sparks was making women and girls misty-eyed with his tales of romance he ran track at Notre Dame? Surprised by that plot twist? That being the case, though, it shouldn’t surprise you that a 5K and 1-mile Fun Run are part of his Nicholas Sparks Celebrity Family Weekend starting Friday in New Bern? The 5K travels through roadkill-flat New Bern and ends on the state-of-the art track Sparks donated to New Bern High School. The 1-mile Fun Run is entirely on the track.read more
The Carolina Mountain Club pays a visit to Mount Sterling in the Great Smokies this weekend.
Rain is in the forecast for much of North Carolina, but don’t let that douse your plans. Dress appropriately (you do have a Gore-Tex tweed jacket, don’t you?) and you’ll be fine.
Coast
Silence is golden. Especially when you’re eavesdropping. And particularly especially when you’re eavesdropping on nature.read more
In a post turkey-mashed potatoes-giblets-and-gravy-with-cranberry sauce-sandwich world, you gotta move. Here are some options.
Coast
In our quest to find not-as-demanding active benefit events (see Tuesday’s Tour de Toys post), we bring you Saturday’s Jingle Bell Walk in Pine Knoll Shores. This two-mile walk through the Beacon’s Reach area of Pine Knoll Shores is sponsored by St. Francis by the Sea and benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of Coastal Carolina. The walk begins at 9 a.m. from the Beacon’s Reach Management Association Building on Sunny Shores Drive off NC 58. $25 for adults, $10 ages 13-16, kids under 12 are free. More info here.read more
