Road Trip to North Carolina!

[bmw318tiChic]

I am going on a family vacation next week, from the 21st through the 28th, and my parents are actually letting me take the ti!!! I am so excited (she is part of the family afterall ). We're travelling up to a small town in North Carolina called Whittier and staying in a mountain house. The main towns near it are Sylva and Dillsboro, but we may be travelling hundreds of miles in any direction from these locations during the day for sightseeing.

The reason for this post is that I am asking for fun places to go for entertainment, food, car museums, car shows, anything car related, or just other cool eating establishments or fun things to do or places to go during the day.

Also, it is unlikely that my ti will be travelling up to NC again anytime within the next 10 years, so I need some good roads to drive on. BMW were made to handle those curvy mountain roads, and I don't get any of those in Florida. So what are some good roads?

I want:
Roads
Places to Go
Things to Do

Thanks!

[AlaskaBlue]

Stop by Spartanburg South Carolina and check out the BMW factory and museum there if it is is remotely on your way.

[1996 328ti]

I'll be in on the NC/VA border that weekend.
Your not far from tail of the dragon. Route 129.
318 turns.

Look to the east of this for 129.

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

[DustenT]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

+100 for Tail of the Dragon.

I hear it's incredible.

[roadrash]

Check out the "Tail of the Dragon." I'm not sure if it's anywhere near where you'll be, and I've never been there, but folks in this area generally speak pretty highly of it as a fun road to drive, due to the 318 curves in 11 miles of road.

You should also try to check out Mt. Mitchell (highest point east of the Mississippi River) and Grandfather Mountain (mile-high swinging bridge.) I seem to remember that the highway near Grandfather Mtn. is pretty curvy but I have only ridden it on a bicycle so it might not be as fun in a car. LOL

[roadrash]

DANG... If I hadn't been multitasking, I'd have posted that info first. LOL

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by DustenT

I hear it's incredible.

I drove it in both directions. Got my wife sick each time.

[bmw318tiChic]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I will definitely have to check out the tail of the dragon. And AlaskaBlue, I actually already have been to the BMW Museum in Spartanburg, it was pretty neat!

[JPerfect]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

I drove it in both directions. Got my wife sick each time.

[aceyx]

I use google maps all the time to map out routes I'm going to ride. I wouldn't do just backroads all the time, it can get really tiring after a few hours. Do at least half interstate, and make sure you fuel/eat on these stretches (unless you have a GPS that does POIs).

As far as the dragon, check out killboy.com to get a preview (esp. re: trucks). Weekends are hectic, and expect a few wrecks to occur. Please drive within your limits, and let faster cars and bikes pass. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES CROSS THE YELLOW CENTER LINE, but don't expect everybody else to follow that rule. Keep alert, it's a great road.

[bmw318tiChic]

aceyx, thanks so much for the suggestions! I definitely will be careful. That road looks amazing!

[andyman7931]

This weekend I rode several roads near there... I have a long list of good WNC roads (it's where I ride obviously) :-)

the dragon is good, but also go on the cherohala skyway when you're in the Robbinsville area. This week the leaves will be perfect. www.cherohala.com
Hwy 64 from Franklin to highlands is excellent as well. How much time do you want to drive? Yesterday I went on I-26 up to Erwin TN, over to Greeneville TN and back on Hwy 70. This was my first time on TN 70 and I gotta say, I'll be going back several times.

[bmw318tiChic]

Thank you so much andyman7931! I plan to check out the Cherohala and Blue Ridge Parkway later this week, but maybe I'll go into Tenneseee too depending on how far those roads you suggested are.. I'm always up for a drive.. and living in Florida, I don't get much opportunity for roads like this.. so I'm doing as much as I can while I'm here. I drove the tail of the dragon yesterday and it was sooo much fun!!! I might be going back today, we'll see. I love these roads! I'm so tempted to move here after I graduate from college just because of the roads, and the fact that it isn't 100 degrees year-round lol, I love it!

[andyman7931]

even though I live in the area I have yet to ride the dragon. I'm going to this winter when the traffic is lighter. I've already planned to head out there on Nov 20th with my motorcycle and ride it for the first time, the car can be later when it's too cold to ride 2 wheels. I've ridden the Cherohala skyway twice this year, both times on the motorcycle, never in the car.

I'd move here for the roads and scenery but I already live here :-) On the way home from work on Friday I saw someone stopped on the side of the road about a mile from my house with a camera on a tripod taking a picture of the valley and mountain in the distance. I looked over and I think that was the first time I really noticed how beautiful that area was. I've been taking this area for granted for too long, going away helps me realize this.