"The Tar Heel State"

Welcome to North Carolina

North Carolina/South Carolina border on I-95
July 20, 2008

Given its elongated shape, North Carolina has a wide array of climate and landscape types to offer. On one end, you have the Atlantic Ocean and its warm water and its beaches. Traveling west, you have the Appalachian mountains, which boasts some of the highest elevations east of the Mississippi River. But when residents aren't out enjoying the diverse geography their state has to offer, they work in one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the country. This is probably due to the high number of universities located around the Raleigh-Durham area, known as "Research Triangle" (Chapel Hill is the other city). It seemed to make sense to me that the Wright Brothers made a good choice for where to make their inaugural flight.

As much praise as I have for North Carolina, its welcome sign was rather disappointing. As you can see, it's nothing special: just the state flag against a green backdrop, hardly distinguishable from any other informational sign along the interstate. Getting this picture was a little more exciting. This sign was located on the other side of an overpass bridge, and there was a steep embankment leading down to the road below. Since I didn't want to take the picture from an angle, I decided to climb down a little bit so I could shoot the sign head-on. I'm not the most nimble climber, but I was able to get this shot without too much difficulty.

Welcome to Raleigh

July 19, 2008

The second largest city in the Tar Heel State, Raleigh has a strong economic district that caught me by surprise. I continue to be naïve in thinking that most capital cities are sleepy little hamlets that are only created as the seat of state government. Raleigh boasts several skyscrapers and a vibrant commercial district. Perhaps the most jarring was my approach to the city. I was traveling along a typical suburban street and I kept waiting for the downtown to appear. As I was approaching a little hill, I crossed a small bridge and instantly I was in the middle to town. Perhaps the bridge was the unofficial city limit, because it was almost as stark as night and day. I was in a little bit of a hurry, so I wasn't able to explore as much as I liked, but I lost track of how many cool little restaurants I wanted to try.

There is nothing I despise more than capitol buildings that have dense foliage around it denying me a decent picture. This was the second time this happened to me in the South, the first being in Jackson, Mississippi. As you can see, the capitol grounds have very nice trees growing all around, but going in summer and not winter made a clear shot impossible. I decided that the view from the front wasn't as obstructed as Mississippi's, so I just decided that was the best I was going to get. Here is a close-up of the building itself. I really didn't care much for the small dome, as it diminishes the elegance a capitol building is supposed to inspire. I wasn't aware three U.S. Presidents came from North Carolina, but a memorial statue on the grounds told me so. I couldn't come up with them either: Andrew Jackson, James Polk and Andrew Johnson.

Miscellaneous North Carolina Symbols

State Route Sign

License Plate

Seal

Quarter