Statewide Trail Gains Ground

There's good news for outdoor enthusiasts in North Carolina... the statewide Mountains-to-Sea hiking trail continues to gain valuable ground.

State parks officials say the trail, which will eventually span nearly a thousand miles of NC from the Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks, has recently benefited from a purchase of 330 acres of land at the confluence of Marks Creek and the Neuse River in Johnston County, as well as two tracts of land that were added to the Eno River State Park in Orange County.

The Johnston County purchase will be part of a 60-mile section of the trail from Falls Lake in Wake County to Johnston County, which is scheduled for completion in 2012. It could also connect to a greenway that the town of Clayton is planning to extend from its downtown.

The land along the Eno River will provide about a half-mile of trail through hardwood forests, including a high bluff overlooking the river.

Right now, about 500 miles of the Mountains-to-Sea trail is complete... most of it in Western North Carolina. Trail planning and construction is underway in NC's Triad (Winston-Salem/Greensboro/High Point) and its Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill).

Bon Appetit!

If you happen to be in Charlotte between now and this coming Friday, some of the city's best restaurants have got a deal for you!

It's the city's annual Restaurant Week, which means that dozens of Charlotte's upscale eateries are offering amazing three-course meals for only $30 per person, not including tax and tip.

The list of participating restaurants is impressive and wide-ranging, from steaks to seafood to Italian and Greek... from Concord to Uptown and South Park and Ballantyne.

Reservations are recommended, and a list of participating eateries and the menus offered can be found at www.charlotterestaurantweek.com.

It's a great chance to do some high-class dining for a great price. Bon appetit!

A New VisitNC!

Big stuff today, folks!

VisitNC.com has completely re-vamped its web site, giving it a fresh new look with a ton of new features, designed to make planning a trip to North Carolina informative, easy and fun.

Information and content on NC's attractions and accommodations has now been grouped into "Journeys", which divide along both geographic lines (The Blue Ridge, NC Beaches, or Piedmont Cities & Towns) and by interests (Sports & Motorsports, Wineries & Vineyards, Arts & Artisans). Once you're inside a journey, you'll be able to find a wealth of stories, multimedia and listings of related places, and you can even put yourself (a blue "me" icon) into the map to find out everything that surrounds ou within a twenty-mile radius.

It looks great and is a lot of fun to use, so check it out. While you're at it, enter to win the new sweepstakes on the site, a fantastic trip for four to enjoy Greensboro while staying at the cool new Proximity Hotel, recently named the "greenest" hotel in America!

Tubin' Time!

It may not have the precision of skiing or the all-out artfulness of snowboarding, but what snow tubing lacks in athleticism it more than makes up for in all-ages fun.

Now, North Carolina is home to the largest snow tubing operation on the East Coast at Hawksnest, just southwest of Boone in Watauga County. With recent expansions, Hawksnest now has four different snow tubing areas, with more than twenty lanes of fun. There is snow making and lighting on all lanes, ensuring that there is always prime tubing to be had in NC's 'variable' winter conditions. There's also a coffee bar and restaurant for warming up and filling up before or after your adventure.

It's the prefect cure for the winter blahs, especially if your travel plans include children or a few non-skiers.