N/S Carolina Moms....winter vacation in the carolinas

[L'sMommy]

We will be visiting family in NC (raliegh-durham area) over the holidays. We wanted to take a few days after that to vacation somewhere that is driving distance (so it can be in a neighboring state). Was wondering what you would recommend. We will be traveling with our then-11-month old.

[maylips]

Not sure if you want to go west, but I'm over in the Smoky Mountain area (outside Asheville) if you're interested. PM me if you are and I'll give you some ideas. I would guess it would depend on where you're coming from and if it's convenient.

[fedoragirl]

You could go towards Asheville or Boone/Blowing Rock via the Blue Ridge Pkwy.
You could also opt for any of the beaches. We love the Crystal coast (3 hr. drive from Raleigh), and enjoy Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, Beaufort, etc.
Myrtle Beach is about 2 1/2 hrs. from Raleigh. Charleston is 5 hours from here. It depends how far you want to drive.

[DietCokeLover]

Charleston is my fav city in the US. I am always going to vote for that as a place to visit.

[mom2one]

Asheville, NC has so much to do and maybe some snow too! I love the mountains, great places to eat, fun shops. You can also do the Grove Park Inn or Biltmore Estate. I am not sure when the gingerbread houses leave the grove park inn, but they have a contest there every year, people drive from many states away to participate in this. I have seen it on the food network, but after they are finished you can walk through and see the houses. Also the decoration in both the Grove Park and Biltmore would be work the visit at Christmas time. If you want to stay there, book now.

HTH!

[brittone2]

We live in the Triangle and loooooove Asheville. There are also some smaller towns in that general area that I've heard good things about.

I've never been during the winter, but Asheville is gorgeous in the fall. One of my favorite places on earth!

[klwa]

Really depends on your style of vacation. :) As others have mentioned, NC has the mountains & the coast & stuff in between. In Raleigh, there are the museums & the Capitol to visit. In Durham, there's the Museum of Life & Science. In Chapel Hill, you can go to the Morehead Planetarium. Heading west, there's Old Salem in Winston-Salem. (They have great cookies!)

[sunshine873]

The beach is really nice, but that time of year it's too cold to enjoy it for what it is. Definitely the down-season there.

I strongly agree with PPs. Head towards the mountains. The Asheville area will be beautiful. Biltmore is beautiful any time of year, and the Christmas decorations are no exception. You could drive the Blue Ridge Parkway (always gorgeous.) If you're feeling adventurous or don't mind the cold, put the baby in a carrier and do some hiking. Overall, it's a really great place to visit.

[carolinamama]

I would definitely go west. Asheville is a neat town and the Christmas decorations will be up. You could do the Biltmore if you have the type of baby who will be happy hanging out in a carrier. It's beautiful at Christmas. As others have said, Grove Park Inn is nice.