Opening

We Live Here

Put Me In, Coach

From Little League to the majors, diamond dreams never fade away. Every summer, the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd rekindle a love for the game.

Eats

13 of Our Favorite Sundae Drives

Are you an ice cream purist, perfectly pleased with classic chocolate or vanilla? Or an adventurer, always on the hunt for new flavors? Our bucket list of 13 sweet spots — a scooper’s dozen! — has something for everyone.

Tomato Time!

The Must-Eat ’Maters

Tomato guru Craig LeHoullier’s first book, Epic Tomatoes, celebrates some 250 varieties of our favorite summer garden staple. His decades of devotion to heirloom seeds have paid off — for all of us. Come BLT season, farmers markets throughout the state are bursting with tomatoes of every hue and shape. But don’t miss these six picks.

7 Tasty Tomato Traditions

Dancing tomatoes, parades and pageants, tomato beer and tomato ice cream: When the summer sun is shining, fans of this juicy, red fruit gather to share smiles and laughs at events across the state.

Features

Lake Norman: Town-Hopping by the Water

Lake Norman is the big one. Our “inland sea.” The anchor for a region. Its 520-mile shoreline is a thread that knits together the surrounding communities — so much so that many visitors think of the area as a whole, one town flowing into the next. But we can see what makes each one special.

Making Blue Ridge Memories on Max Patch

A marriage proposal in a sprawling meadow. Mating warblers in the brush. Orphaned boots on the Appalachian Trail. We are drawn to the majesty of Max Patch — a gorgeous bald in Madison County, 4,600 feet above sea level, where forest ends and 350 acres of open land begin — to gather life-changing memories.

Closing

Bonus! Eats Insert