Travel & Vacation Guide, North Carolina

By Richard Chapo

Given the tradition of college basketball in North Carolina, it is often difficult to keep in mind the season ends in March. When it is over, you should spend some time in the beauty of the state by visiting the various campgrounds in North Carolina.

Campgrounds in North Carolina

The southeastern state of North Carolina is rich in history and great camping spots. Being one of the thirteen former British colonies of the United States, campgrounds in North Carolina offer a great way to experience what the original colonists much have run into when they first settled in the area.

There are countless state and privately owned campgrounds offering all the facilities and amenities you would expect. You may want to consider the following camping grounds:

• Adventure Trail Campground, Cherokee

• Almond Boat and RV Park, Bryson City

• Appalachian RV Travel Center, Otto

• Apple Valley Farm Motorcoach Resort, Lake Lure

• Arrowhead Campground, Atlantic Beach

• Asheville East KOA, Swannanoa

• Bear Den Family Campground, Spruce Pine

• Black Forest Family Camping Resort, Cedar Mountain

• Brookside Campground and Rafting, Topton

• Burnette Cove RV Park and Campground, Waynesville

• Foothills Family Campground, Forest City

• Goose Creek Resort Family Campground, Newport

• Greensboro Campground, Greensboro

• Hatteras Sands Resort, Hatteras

• Hawk Terrace Lodge Park and Campground, Crumpler

• Helton Creek Campground, Grassy Creek

• Hiddenite Family Campground, Hiddenite

• High Rock Lake Marina and Campground, Lexington

• Hillbilly Campground, Maggie Valley

• Holden Beach RV Resort Village, Holden Beach

• Holland’s Shelter Creek, Burgaw

• Holly Ridge Family Campground, Boonville

• Indian Creek Campground, Cherokee

• Lake Leamon Campground, Wallace

• Lake Myers RV Resort, Mocksville

• Lost Mine Campground, Bryson City

• Meadow Fork Campground, Hot Springs

• Midway Campground and RV Resort, Stateville

• Pioneer Village Family Campground, Pinnacle

• Raccoon Holler Campground, Glendale Springs

• River’s Edge Farm RV Park, Hayesville

• Rodanthe Watersports and Campground, Rodanthe

• Salter Path Family Campground, Atlantic Beach

• Sassafras Gap Campground, Highlands

• Saylor Lake RV Park, Bakersville

• Serenity Stables and Campground, Pinnacle

• Springmaid Mountain, Spruce Pine

• Steele Creek Marina and Campground, Townsville

• Timberlake Campground, Whittier

• Tranter’s Creek Resort and Campground, Washington

• Turkey Creek Family Campground, Almond

• Waterway Resort, Swansboro

• Zooland Resort and Campground, Asheboro

And the list continues on and on. If you are considering a weekend out in North Carolina, you will just have to start trying out the various locations to figure out which one is best.

By Stefan Smith

To anyone who did not grow up in the U.S. states of North or South Carolina, or perhaps Virginia or Georgia, Carolina beach music takes some explaining.

Even a southerner such as I, growing up in Alabama, did not realize that there was something called beach music that had little resemblance to, or connection with, the California sound of the Beach Boys or Jan and Dean.

Carolina beach music isn’t about surfing or drag racing. It’s about dancing at the pavilion in Myrtle Beach, shagging on the sand with your best girl, holding hands and watching the moon rise over Atlantic breakers as the harmonies of The Drifters, the Embers or the Tams drift over the dunes.

Now right now I must stop and explain to my English readers–that is, the possibly shocked citizens and residents of the United Kingdom–that “shagging” as used here does not mean what it you think it does. Here, the shag is the dance that you do to beach music. Shagging means to do the shag.

Carolina beach music goes back to the 1950s. The premier exponent of the style at that time was The Drifters. I’ve long known and liked the music of The Drifters–”Up On the Roof” is one of my all-time favorite songs–but I just considered it to be rock ‘n’ roll or perhaps r&b. It took moving to North Carolina to learn that some people considered it part of a separate genre.

Carolina beach music is gentle, sweet, romantic and innocent rock ‘n’ roll. It celebrates stealing kisses in the back row of the movie theater and couples sharing a blanket in the shade of the boardwalk.

It’s no wonder that today, Myrtle Beach has clubs and entire theaters that exist just to showcase the top beach music acts, and that they do a booming business. Without doubt, many of the fans who flock there are recapturing a happy, uncomplicated youth spent cruising the strip and shagging (dance shagging) the night away. But Carolina beach music has a broad appeal, and it would not be surprising to see 20- and 30-somethings finding their way through the doors of those clubs, too.