The Daily Triangle

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by Laura

Tomorrow I head to the center of North Carolina as part of my education research.  While the school that I’m visiting is smack in the middle of nowhere, I was curious to see what any nearby tourist attractions might be like.  The state is often quite savvy in marketing its multiple geographies, and it does have the advantage of several major destinations being well-spaced between the mountains and the beach (Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh-Durham, Wilmington, & the Outer Banks, to name the biggies).

My best resource was a fairly slick website run by the local visitor’s bureau, which seems to have at least partially succeeded in its goal of glamorizing the “authentic North Carolina”.  Their smart moves included creating an agri-culinary category.  Simple farms have been transformed into places where you can get tea-party foods served in a garden hat, follow wine trails, taste gourmet jellies, and pick-your-own strawberries.  Reminds me of where I grew up, near a small town that attracted visitors from NYC who marveled at the fresh air while enjoying the river views and shopping for antiques.

There’s even curiosities like a cafe dedicated to honey-baked ham, a Smithsonian-affiliated transportation museum, the North Carolina Quarter-Midget Association Speedway (it has to do with race cars made for kids, although if it involved actual midgets, let’s face it – that would be amazing), and a ranch boasting 750 exotic animals. Who knew that a horse-drawn wagon could take you to see giraffes?  And, where there’s gourmet jellies & roadside attractions, there’s also companion quaintness in the form of B&B’s.  I kind of hate the country antique aesthetic and the discomfort of having to make small talk with innkeepers or sleep on creaky, old furniture, but Harold might like the Bed & Bike Inn, which, as you may have guessed, caters to bicyclists.  I’m partial to Bass Lake, which “offers all the amenities you have come to expect from a first-class RV resort” and honestly seems pretty decent.

In a previous post, a local chef noted that farmers were going to become the next big thing, on the heels of good publicity like Bravo TV shows that made being in the kitchen and using local ingredients seem far more attractive.  Rowan County already seems to be capitalizing on this prediction.  I’ll let you know how the rural South looks when I get to experience it in person, traveling with my trusty GPS in tow!