Opening

Luck of the Tar Heel

In a month when everyone’s looking for four-leaf clovers and leprechauns, we’re paying tribute to North Carolinians who have made historic discoveries and found good fortune — including gold — all on their own.

Welcome Home

A Guide to Downtown Durham

Residents of this resilient city have embraced the nickname “Dirty Durham” as a symbol of the grit and determination of its shop owners, restaurateurs, and community advocates.

Fried Chicken Champion

When an experienced chef brought her skills to a corner gas station in Asheville, the unlikely space became a hot spot for those in search of big breakfasts, flavorful burgers, and famous fried chicken sandwiches.

Recipes

Features

Armchair Odyssey

Accounts by European explorers who visited North Carolina centuries ago let us travel back to another era — but their words only tell part of the story.

Wonder Women

In March, Women’s History Month celebrates the heroines whose bravery, compassion, and determination have shaped the story of North Carolina — and the world.

The Family That Cooks Together

A family with ties to multiple Latin American countries gathers to break bread. The matriarch prepares the food. Her son-in-law pulls together all of the disparate elements into a Charlotte restaurant dynasty.

Carefree Highways

The Blowing Rock: A Love Story

At more than a billion years old, this ancient outcrop captured human imagination, inspired a legend, and became one of the state’s earliest travel attraction. Our fascination with The Blowing Rock endures — and keeps drawing us west.

Homeward Bound

The Map Shop wasn’t just a shop with maps — it was a Charlotte landmark. A landmark on a map. A map stuffed on a shelf. A shelf that sat inside The Map Shop.

Kings of the Road

In Statesville, couples in classic cars take their Sunday drives seriously, hopping into vintage Chevrolets and cruising along North Carolina’s highways and back roads.

She Rides the Wind

A Charlotte motorcycle instructor graduates from tearing around mountain curves on a sportbike to enjoying the scenery and the camaraderie of cruising with friends along North Carolina’s country roads.

History

Ain’t That a Kick?

In the 1930s, a Craven County man invented the country’s first “self-kicking machine,” a roadside attraction that became so popular it was even visited by celebrities.