Choose Your Own Adventure

Last week, we asked our friends on Facebook and Twitter a simple question: What's your favorite kind of North Carolina outdoor adventure?

We heard some great ideas, from camping and whitewater rafting in the mountains, to NASCAR races and animal sightings in the Piedmont, to surfing and hang gliding on the coast.

Here are a few of our favorite answers:

Climbing up and over a sand dune to find the ocean on the other side! (Colette S.)

For me... hiking to waterfalls in Transylvania County... my favorite: Mill Shoals Falls! (@ilovebrevard)

Going to Lake Norman or the beach! (Tammy F.)

Scuba diving off the NC coast - especially wreck diving (Reggie B.)

Tot says "sand." Mom says "hiking." (@thetravelingtot)

Americana and Bluegrass festivals and gigs in the hills and mountains! Pulling my camper up there to spend the summer! (Victoria R.)

Riding horses on the beach! :) (Katie C.)

Charting a course for new vintages (@kevinklinewxii)

Driving the back roads. Seeing the real NC. No interstates, no franchise restaurants, Just the beauty and people the state has to offer. (Bob M.)

Fishing the INNER BANKS (Richard A.)

White water rafting at the Nantahala (Gary M.)

Surf fishing in Nags Head (Steve S.)

Camping in the mountains. Cooking on an open fire, no grill. Love the North Carolina mountains. Bluegrass music.
(Velma G.)

Surfing! (@LiveEatSurf)

Kayaking in the Lockwood Folly Bay & Sliding Rock (Katie M.)

At the beach - riding the waves. In the mountains - zip-lining the tree tops! (Denise B.)

Hang gliding on Jockey’s Ridge (Jennifer F.)

Trout fishing in the mountains (David H.)

Love to help by babysitting the sea turtle nests. Saw them hatch once on a beautiful night at Topsail. (@WilmingtonToday)

Fall fishing on the ocean....can't beat it! (Scott K.)

Boy, that's a hard one, it would either be a NASCAR race or white water rafting!!! Shout out to Paddle Inn!!! (Kc C.)

Hunting seashells! (@JML_NC)

Banner Elk/Beech/Sugar area in fall and looking at the leaves change to a colorful masterpiece (Scott C.)

For more on North Carolina’s outdoor playground, click here.

Enjoy an outdoor activity we didn’t mention? Let’s hear it in the comments below!

Our Wine-Producing Roots Run Deep

North Carolina is far from new to the wine industry – it has long been a wine producer. We make muscadine wine from scuppernong grapes and European-style vinifera grape varieties. With more than 100 wineries spread across our state, we have a wine and a story to tempt your palate and make your weekend.

One little known fact is that we’re home to the Mother Vine which is the oldest known cultivated grapevine in the nation. This vine has been growing and producing scuppernong grapes for centuries – it was thriving when explorers sighted it in 1584. Before prohibition, North Carolina was the leading wine-producing region in the nation.

Our wines aren’t limited to just red or white – we focus on native muscadine wine and European-style vinifera grape varieties. Down east in our coastal plain, you’ll find muscadine wine made from the scuppernong. The scuppernong is the North Carolina state fruit, and it not only survives in our hot Southern summers, it thrives in our climate and the sandy conditions of our coastal region. The vinifera grape, primarily planted in the western and Piedmont regions of our state, produces varieties that include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier.

With over 100 wineries to choose from, the perfect weekend escape is just around the corner. In addition to that, many vineyards offer special events to help you kick off your weekend. If you have experienced any of our vineyards or sampled our wine, share it with us in the comments below. We would love to hear how our wine’s story has helped you create one of your own.

Discover the Magic: The Corolla Wild Horses

As a young person, it’s easy to lose yourself chasing the mystery of the Corolla wild horses. At the same time, it’s just as easy for parents and adults to find themselves under the same spell cast by the horses as they unexpectedly cross the dunes, the wind whipping through their sandy and uncombed manes.

Similar to the shores where the horses have roamed for over four centuries, these horses seem untouched by time and immune to technology’s advancements. Believed to have originally come to the Outer Banks with early Spanish explorers, the Corolla wild horses physically resemble the 16^th Century Spanish mustang.

For Outer Banks goers, it has always been a favorite pastime to “go find the horses.” As time passes and each young person grows into an adult, taking his or her children, nieces or nephews to see the horses for the first time, a new appreciation for their beauty emerges. A true symbol of Corolla, Currituck and all of the Outer Banks, the wild horses have endured many storms and hardships. While a childlike sense of wonder is easily lost to the daily grind, the Outer Banks and the wild horses steadfastly beckon the weary traveler to explore the unmatched beauty of the nearly untouched North Carolina coastline.

Wild horses can be spotted on other Outer Banks destinations as well: Ocracoke Island is home to wild Banker horses and Shackleford Banks is nine-mile long barrier island that serves as a horse sanctuary, just east of Morehead City and Beaufort.

Take a chance, step into relaxation on our shore and catch a glimpse of mystery and wonder. As you take in their beauty, remember that we want to keep the horses wild and free, so don’t try to feed them or get too close. If you have experienced the horses or a similarly magical experience along our coast, share your story with us!

What's Your Favorite Water Spot?

We recently asked our Twitter and Facebook friends to help us put together a list of great places to enjoy the water in North Carolina. More than 100 of you weighed in, nominating everything from local lakes to not-so-lazy rivers to dozens of the state’s pristine beaches.

Here are 25 of our favorite comments:

Topsail Beach! (@PlaysWithFoodNC)

We’re going to Cape Hatteras in 2 weeks and I CAN'T hardly wait! (Naomi M.)

U.S. National Whitewater Center either riding the rapids or paddling on the river! (Bonnie B.)

The Uwharrie River is a hidden kayaking and canoeing gem. (@sethmorris91)

Carolina Beach, Kure Beach at Fort Fisher...There is just so many things to do....Four Wheeling, fishing, history, the Southport Ferry, Playing in the ocean, River Boat tours in nearby Wilmington. We have gone there 20 years and still find something new every time we go.... (Janie G.)

Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, Ocracoke (Mike L.)

The creek at the Sunburst, NC stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There’s no better spot in the state for skipping stones. (@RnR_NCSU)

I feel like I am always recommending a tube ride down the New River in West Jefferson! Lake Watauga is one of the cleanest lakes in America - can't go wrong there either!
(Blue Ridge For Rent)

Lake Gaston & Kerr Lake! Excellent for water sports, championship fishing and just relaxing! (@WarrenRecord)

Dan River through Rockingham County!
(Bud’s Feed & Supplies)

Pine Knoll Shores – great beach and sun allll day long, because the island runs east-west. (@SarasSoaps)

Sliding rock in Pisgah Forest National forest in Brevard, NC (Rene S.)

My hometown, Wrightsville Beach, isn’t too bad. (@VitaminTsmith)

Hammocks Beach State Park. A little hard to get to; but worth the ferry ride. Next to that Surf City (Jerry C.)

Sunset Beach!!!!!! (@sweettea66)

Southport Ferry and my new favorite: the off-road, four-wheel-drive-only undeveloped beach at Fort Fisher. It was fun and totally fantastic once we got there. (Stephanie S.)

Brevard waterfalls, Hebron Rock Colony, Linville Falls (@CreepyJeffrey)

Rafting the Watauga River with the Edge of the World Gang out of Banner Elk, NC...What a fun group! Fun time!! Done it twice and will do it again!
(Kathy K.)

Just spent a week at Lake Lure – loved it! (@AbbieF)

Bald Head Island at Frying Pan Shoals! (Bambi D.)

BEAUFORT Waterfront!! (@PMLUNC)

Lake Apalachia. Apalachia Reservoir is a small, deep, cool-water, remote and scenic lake set in the mountains of western North Carolina, near Murphy. (Kelly Y.)

Shackleford Banks. (Bob M.)

DEF Holden Beach, such a peaceful place (@MomsInCharlotte)

Island Park in Cherokee, NC (Jenny M.)

For more on North Carolina’s rivers, lakes and beaches, click here.

Have a favorite spot we didn’t mention? Tell us in the comments section below!