You are certainly planning on covering some ground! If you get to the Charlotte, NC, area, Daniel Stowe is a great garden, and at that time of year the tropicals should be wonderful. In CA you probably could grow most of them as perennials and you may be interested in seeing the the ones at Stowe. Also, Wilmington has a good arboretum,Arlie is nearby.. and below Myrtle Beach is the sculpture garden (cannot remember the name..maybe Brookgreen?) And across the road Atalaya, the ruins of the former home of the sculptor. Although I would love for you to see the beautiful mountains, most of the plants I like best there will be getting ready for winter. Spring and early summer are probably the best time there. Columbia, SC, has Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens...oh, I need to sit down with a map to see what all you could do. Non-plant things on the coast are two aquariums, one at Pine Knoll Shores in NC and the one in Charleston. Raleigh's art museum is nice, especially the food they serve there! REally, you will have to pick out what you want as you probably will spend lots of time driving. However, if you have never been to this area, you will find it interesting. Hey, come to the Piedmont and check out our red clay soils. Now that's something you don't have in CA. I, and others, I hope, will have to ponder your request and post more things. Wow, I forgot about the potteries at Seagrove and all of the art things scattered in NC. (I am sure SC has good artists, too, I just don't know that area any more.) I am rambling...will post more later.

I am always amazed at how much better tropicals and other plants look back east than in the west. It's so dry here that the plants never get that lush exuberant look they get with high humidity. So even if your tropicals are annuals, they will look better than mine! I remember the first time I saw a coleus growing on the east coast. It took some time before I believed it wasn't something else. Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'll keep checking back for additional posts. I'd love suggestions as to which plantations in the Charleston area are the best. I don't have time to visit more than one or two. They all sound interesting. Sie

Sue..mid September is really hot and humid..just warning ya! I suspect after doing the Outer Banks when you get to Charleston you'll really enjoy the history of it.
You might even find examples of Seagrove pottery in Charleston shops. Do go to the Market and get yourself a nice example of sweetgrass basketry as a souvenier of your trip.

Sue -- I hope you will enjoy our state!

I am in Chapel Hill. If you look around Duke, go to Duke Gardens.
http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/

If you come over to Chapel Hill to see Niche Gardens, stop off at the Botanical Gardens. http://ncbg.unc.edu/

We are a 5 hour drive from Charleston if you were going directly there from here.

You are really trying to do a lot during your time as the Outer Banks drive you mention will take quite a bit of time with similar scenery. I'm concerned that you'll spend more time driving than visiting. We love Ocracoke for the natural beauty, but it is a long way out there and the real pleasure is to stay awhile and enjoy.

Wilmington has a nice historic area and is a 2 hour drive from Raleigh. The gardens around the houses in the historic district are fun to see as you walk around the neighborhood.

To get to the Outer Banks from Raleigh, it's about a 4 hour drive.

I don't know how Highway 12 is doing since the last hurricane -- it runs down the outer banks and it will take you a couple of hours to drive down.

As for driving time to Charleston after leaving the Swan Quarter ferry, it will be about 7 hours. The ferry takes 2 hours and you'll need to have reservations for the ferry. I am putting some links here for you for the ferry schedule.

http://www.ncdot.org/transit/ferry/

It may be better to use the Cedar Island ferry (reserve) instead of Swan Quarter. The drive to Charleston will then be more like 6 hours.

You don't need ferry reservations between Hatteras Island and Ocracoke.

If you want to see Old Salem and you are flying out of Raleigh, you might want to see that on your way back from Charleston if you are going to the Outer Banks first.

In Charleston, Middleton Plantation is my favorite. http://www.middletonplace.org/

In the Raleigh area, Wilmington and Charleston, you'll find lots of great food. If you want some suggestions, just mention the type of the food you like and I'm sure we can all make recommendations for you.

Cameron

Thanks, Cameron, thats just the sort of info I wanted. I was afraid it was going to take longer than it looked on a map. Sue

davissue,

Sounds like you've got a lot planned. I currently live in Greensboro, and work in Winston-Salem. I recently switched jobs from working in Raleigh and I grew up about an hour from Charleston, SC. Maybe I can offer some suggestions.

Winston, is about a 2 hr drive from Raleigh, but it is a straight shot down 40/85. I would recommend Old Salem as well as Bethabara, which was actually settled before Old Salem. Also, for gardening, you may want to check out the arboretum at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons (I've never been, but hear that it's nice). For dining, you can't go wrong in downtown on 4th St.

Charleston, if you're a fan of history, is loaded. I'll suggest Fort Sumter, which involves a ferry ride to an old Civil War fort. Also, you have to see the Battery and Rainbow Row. And of course take a stroll down Market Street and King Street.

The drive from Charleston to Winston and/or Greensboro is probably about 5 hrs. as well.

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with the Outer Banks, but hopefully some of the things I've mentioned will help. For more info on these things, just Google it and you should find more than enough info. Google Earth or Google Maps will help with driving times/distances too, and they are generally pretty accurate.

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

I envy your trip! But I want to warn you of a couple of things. It may sound like I am giving negative info but I am trying to warn you about some aspects of the places you mentioned just so you wont think all of us are crazy if it doesn't live up to your expectations.

Driving down the outer banks is something I think everyone must do at least once in their lives but it isn't always the most scenic - some areas are nothing but mega beach homes blocking all the view and for the most part the dunes block the view of the ocean so don't expect to see a lot of waves (the sound side is usually visable but it looks more like a big lake than the ocean). If you want to get out of the car and hike over the dunes to walk on the beach be aware that the beach grass areas are usually full of stickers or sand burrs - I am often reduced to carrying my 60 lbs dog up and over so that the trip doesn't take so long with the constant stopping to pick burrs out of her pads. For the most part the beaches are empty. Most people go to the outer banks to deep sea fish. There isn't a lot of shade either. I love to go out there but prefer to go in the winter so that if I have to leave the dog in the car she doesn't overheat.

Ocracoke Island is quaint but since the streets aren't marked it can be difficult to find your way around. The photos always show it from an elevated view - they must have been in a plane to take that picture because the island itself is flat. The lighthouse there is tiny but charming. The grassy areas at the beach campground are full of burrs and difficult to walk around in. Walking a dog through town can be difficult because many residents let their dogs run free. (is there a theme here???)

My biggest complaint about Charleston is the plantations. I love touring them. But you don't get to wander around inside the houses by yourself, you are escorted by an interpreter. I understand why, but I am not interested in Civil War history and that is all they seem to think is relevant. I remember one plantation had ancient natural history books and writings by John James Audubon (he had stayed there for years to paint). I could have spent the entire weekend looking at those display cases but in that section of the house we were rushed by to see more war significant features. No matter how many times I asked about the natural history stuff I got nowhere. Civil war and only civil war history, it is apparently the only thing that matters. They also seem to want everyone to eat at the same restaurants downtown where I found the food kinda ordinary. But just on the outside edge of downtown at smaller places the food is unique and reasonably priced (and the people actually seemed to be from the area).

Many of the spots you mentioned are indeed special but most of the roadways connecting them are kinda "not". Be prepared.