Beaufort, N.C.: A well-deserved "Favorite Place"

Another day, another best-places list.

Travel + Leisure magazine just released the results of its 2014 "America's Favorite Places" survey. As usual with best-of lists, the methodology of this virtual beauty contest is up for grabs.

But the list does make sense: They're all wonderful places -- starting with Beaufort, N.C., a charming and good-eating town that offers visitors a mix of nature and history. (Its waterfront is shown in the AP file photo above.)

Here's the full top-25 list:

1. Beaufort, N.C.

2. Ogunquit, Maine

3. Lewisburg, W.Va.

4. Aspen, Colo.

5. Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.

6. Charlottesville, Va.

7. Breckenridge, Colo.

8. Myrtle Beach

9. Paso Robles, Calif.

10. Tybee Island, Ga.

11. Bayfield, Wis.

12. Traverse City, Mich.

13. Portsmouth, N.H.

14. Pawleys Island, S.C.

15. Glenwood Springs, Colo.

16. Lake Placid, N.Y.

17. San Luis Obispo, Calif.

18. Bar Harbor, Maine

19. Gulf Shores, Ala.

20. Sonoma, Calif.

21. Hood River, Ore.

22. Estes Park, Colo.

23. Park City, Utah

24. La Jolla, Calif.

25. St. Augustine, Fla.

See any patterns?

Of these, 14 are on an ocean or one of the Great Lakes; six others are in mountain areas famed as skiing destinations.

And the five exceptions?

Lewisburg, W.Va. is an hour or more from the state's ski slopes, but is in a high-profile resort area (the famous Greenbrier resort is nearby) that has a lot of history  and culture. Lewisburg was featured this spring in a travel article in The Charlotte Observer.

Charlottesville, Va., is home to the University of Virginia and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

San Luis Obispo is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco; it is one of California's oldest towns. Paso Robles is just to the north, is in an area with more than 30 wineries and tasting rooms.

Hood River, Ore., is a tourist magnet on the Columbia River Gorge area.

There's an after-result link where you can select your own favorite -- up to a point: Click the "Select a state" option and you'll see what towns you can vote on.

There are 32 in North Carolina; 17 in South Carolina.

Oct, 4: Enjoy a beer while your train chugs along

Sipping a beer when you're riding the rails. Sound like a fun combination?

That's what the New Hope Valley Railroad plans to do Oct. 4. From 4 to 9 p.m. that Saturday, the excursion train based in Bonsal  -- a half-hour south of Raleigh, between Raleigh and Sanford -- is staging a fundraiser called  Brew 'n' Chew.

It works like this: You buy your ticket to ride their steam train ($14) or diesel train ($12). At the rail yard, there are samplings and, for an additional $5 per pint, craft beer from Cary-based Fortnight Brewing. Beer will not be sold aboard the train, but you're welcome to bring your purchased pint aboard.

The one-hour roundtrip train rides depart at 5 and 7:30 p.m. (steam) and 6:15 and 8:45 p.m. (diesel).

Chatham Hill Winery will similarly be offering tastings as well as selling wine by the glass.

Manna Concessions will be selling special-menu foods, like fried pimento cheese sliders, shrimp po'boy sandwiches, barbecue pork sandwiches, etc. Sweets will be sold by LadyBug's Treats, a Raleigh-based mobile food-truck operation.

Food -- which includes a side and a non-alcoholic beverage -- can be ordered in advance to reduce your wait time at the food trucks there.Cost: $9.50 to $11.50.

There will be live bluegrass and folk music.

The event is a benefit for NHVR, an all-volunteer enterprise staffed by train fans. Money raised at the event will support restoration of the historic  Cliffside 110 steam engine, which is expected to cost between $350,000 and $600,000.

Information and reservations: Go to the NHVR website.

From Charlotte, Bonsal is a 2 1/2 drive: I-85 North to U.S. 421 (in the High Point area); take U.S. 421 South to U.S. 64, at Siler City. Follow U.S. 64 East; cross Jordan Lake and make a right onto Beavr Creek Road, then a left onto Daisey Street  to Bonsal Street.

Apple tourism? It's not too late for core events

2014 apple festivals? Well,  North Carolina's official fete in Hendersonville was Labor Day weekend. And South Carolina's, held in Westminster, was the weekend of Sept. 5-6.

But the season for apple-appeal lasts longer than that other fall benchmark, leaf-peeper season, and there are still fruit fests to come.

The Brushy Mountain Apple Festival is Oct. 4 in North Wilkesboro, and the Taylorsville Apple Festival is Oct. 18 -- the same day as Waynesville's Apple Harvest Festival.

And the fun doesn't end there. It just changes a little ‑- into cider .

CiderFest NC returns for its second year Nov. 2, at Asheville's Western North Carolina Farmers Market. Cider makers, mostly from the Carolinas and Virginia -- more than 13 in all -- will be featured. Also at the 1 to 5 p.m. event: cider and cheese tastings, apple press demos, cheese making demos, live bluegrass-flavored music  (the Jon Stickley Trio) and activities for the kids.

Hard cider and non-alcoholic organic cider pressed by organic apple growers in the area, will be served. There will be apple cider pretzels, too.

 Items will also be available for purchase.

There is an admission fee for adults, though -- $30 -- and attendance is limited to 700 tickets. Proceeds will benefit the Green Building Council, which promotes "green" building practices in the Asheville area.

Order tickets at http://ciderfest.wncgbc.org/

Raise a glass to poet Robert Burns -- and enjoy the haggis -- Jan. 24

Ready for another round of “Auld Lange Syne”? The lyrics were by Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, whose Jan. 25, 1759, birthday is celebrated worldwide by those who love poetry and Caledonia.

That includes Hiddenite, northwest of Statesville, where The Hiddenite Center on Jan. 24 (a Friday) will hold "Burns Night: A Scottish Feaste  in Honor of Poet Robert Burns.”

Traditional music will be provided by the duo Celtic Elk. A family-style Scottish feast will include soup, steak pie, peas and carots and a traditional dessert called Tipsy Laird. Wassail (punch) will be served and so will haggis – a traditional pudding of spiced sheep innards mixed with oatmeal and cooked in sausage casing.


Cost for the entire 7 p.m. event : $15. Reservations: 828-632-6966.

Britt's donuts of Carolina Beach high on national list

You may have come across thedailymeal.com directly if you're a foodie, or while poking around at huffingtonpost.com, which reposts some of its articles.

Thedailymeal.com covers a wide range of  food- and drink-related subjects, from chefs and cookbooks to traditional food-related breaking news to food-related travel.

Its forte is lists: "10 Best College Football Stadium Eats," "7 Healthy Kids' Drinks," "11 Rum Cocktails for National Rum Day," etc., and one posted recently was "America's 25 Best Donuts."

No, N.C.-based Krispy Kreme didn't make this particular roster, though thedailymeal.com's "8 Decadent Donuts From Around the Country"  included KK's Key lime.

But the just-out top-donut list did have the plain glazed created at Britt's Donut Shop, in Carolina Beach, in  11th place.

It's an inspired choice, even if Britt's is open only during tourist season.

H.L. Britt's debuted in  1939. Britt sold the operation (and secret recipe) in the mid-1970s; the Nivens family has operated it since.

The glazed, airy  wonders cost 90 apiece in 2013; the shop usually opens for the season around Easter. Regular-season hours are 8 a.m. to around 10:30 p.m. Monday Saturday, with an early closing (4 p.m.) Sundays.

It's right on the Carolina Beach boardwalk, adding a  sweet and tasty morsel to North Carolina history.

The illustrious Oxford American magazine did a detailed and glowing feature on Britt's in its July 2012 issue. And on the Internet you'll find its fan club site.

You'll learn at the fan site that a book about the place , "Britt's Donuts: Forever Sweet," will be coming out in March.

And while you can't buy donuts at the site -- and the shop doesn't open until spring, remember -- you can pad your holiday gift list by ordering Britt's bumper stickers (starting at $2) or art prints (starting at $45). One of the stickers available from the fan site is shown at the top of this tale.

Of the top 25 on the "Best Donuts" list, only three are from the Southeast. Britt's is the only one from the Carolinas.

Here, by the way are the 10 ranked just above Britt's:

1              Doughnut Vault, Chicago (Plain glazed)

2              Round Rock Donuts, Round Rock, Texas (Plain glazed)

3              Dough, Brooklyn, N.Y. ( Lemon poppy)

4              Bouchon, Yountville Calif (Broiche with seasonal preserves)

5              Stan’s Doughnuts, Los Angeles (Peanut butter and banana)

6              Danny’s Donuts, Vista, Calif (Blueberry cake)

7              Verna’s Donut Shop, Cambridge, Mass. (Chocolate honey-dip)

8              Congdon’s Doughnuts, Wells, Maine (Blueberry jelly)

9              Federal Doughnuts, Philadelphia (Cookies and cream)

10           Donut Man, Glendora, Calif- (Fresh peach and strawberry)

In praise of oddball attractions

Let's take a moment to consider what you probably didn't see on your summer vacation.

Fodor's has released a list of "20 Oddball Roadside Attractions in the U.S." -- it's at http://bit.ly/1bEicEk
-- and the compilation is interesting in several respects:

1. Two of the places are in North Carolina.

2. Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder.

2. Over the years I've actually see several of these site, including the gigantic, walk-in muskie that holds the fishing hall of fame in Hayward, Wis. An image from the hall is below. Tourist photos are better because they usually show someone's Aunt Gertie waving from the the balcony that doubles as the muskie's lower jaw.

Here's the full list:

Carhenge, Alliance, Neb.
Fields of the Wood Bible Park, Murphy
Beer Can House, Houston
Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, Wilson
Insectropolis, Toms River, N.J.
Leila's Hair Museum, Independence, Mo.
Leaning Tower of Niles, Niles, Ill.
World's Biggest Bat, Louisville, Ky.
World's Largest Buffalo, Jamestown, N.D.
World's Smallest Church, Oneida, N.Y.
Home of Superman, Metropolis, Ill.
Ben & Jerry's Flavor Graveyard, Waterbury, Conn.
Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Hayward, Wis.
London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Shoe House, Hellam, Pa.
Coral Castle, Homestead, Fla.
Mitchell Corn Palace, Mitchell, S.D.
SPAM Museum, Austin, Minn.
Fake Prado Store, Marfa, Texas
International UFO Museum & Research Center, Roswell, N.M.

3. There are many  things in this country that are much more odd.

Especially in the Carolinas.

I'm sure you have an idea of where some of those places may be. Email your picks to me at jbordsen@charlotteobserver.com - maybe we can make a story out of your suggestions

Will the real 'Magic City' please sit down (maybe on 'the world's largest chair')?

An old friend -- a New York-based music writer -- recently said his fieldwork had just taken him to Magic City.

I emailed him, "Enjoy yourself in Minot, North Dakota!"

I had known he was rooting around for stories in Nashville, Tenn., but was also aware that Minot (rhymes with WHY-not) claims that "Magic City" honor. Minot, population 41,000, is about an hour from the Bottineau School of Forestry, and has a derby skating team called the Mouse City Rollers. It acquired the "Magic City' nickname when the Great Northern Railroad came through in the 1880s, leaving in its wake a tent city that suddenly appeared as if by magic. Out of nowhere and into what many may term nowhere.

"Magic City" is also used to refer to Birmingham, Ala.; Leadville, Colo.; Miami; Gary, Ind.; Middlesboro, Ky.; Millinocket, Maine; Moberly, Mo.; Billings, Mont.; Barberton, Ohio; and Roanoke, Va.

Cheyenne, Wyo., limits itself to being "The Magic City of the Plains," while Colon, Mich., goes a step farther, as "The Magic Capital of the World."

The Wikipedia page listing municipal monikers -- http://bit.ly/oLVA0 -- doesn't name Nashville, also known as Music City, as Magic City.

 Before you get too smug, be aware that the list also has a bevy of "Queen City" burgs. We are not alone.

The bottom line is that civic nicknames only go so far when it comes to accuracy.

One that does is just up the way: Thomasville is billed as "Chair City" in honor of its furniture-making prowess, and in fact it boasts of having "the largest chair in the world":  It's 18 feet tall, 10.5 feet wide, and sits on a 12-foot base. You'll find it at the intersection of Main Street and N.C. 109. (The photo of it above was taken by Chris Seward, a photographer with our "City of Oaks" sister publication, The News & Observer.)

Taking an Amtrak ride toward Raleigh, the view of the chair is blocked by a magnolia; southbound toward Charlotte, you call see it on your right. Can't miss it.

It'll be just after the train goes through High Point ("Furniture Capital of the World").

A contest, a list... and The Skunk Train

We receive shoals of press release -- many useless, some unintentionally humorous, a handful that are quite helpful... and a bucket or two (in all these categories) that are read just because they have some sort of list.

People are captivated by rankings, whether done by experts or ordinary folks.

Like all incoming PR, the lists are sent in by agencies, companies or individuals who want to get their name out there.

We'll post lists on this blog from time to time, and will start with this one from Virtual Tourist (www.virtualtourist.com), a travel-community website whose comments and reviews are penned by its members.

Virtual Tourist is a bit different for three reasons: It indeed started as a community project (at the University of Buffalo); though now owned by Expedia, it's clearly more an experiment in social media than a a profit center; it gets publicity through its ever-expanding array of  top-10 lists.

What are pushing now? An "8th Wonder of the World" competition: June 3 through Sept. 28, people are encouraged to weigh on on which listed destination should win the honor.

There are a little more than 300 from which to choose. Nominees range from the expected (Yellowstone National Park, Stonehenge) to the odd (Stew Leonard's, a business in Connecticut that is supposedly "The Disneyland of Dairy Stores"; the "largest Bass Pro Shop in the World," in Springfield, Mo.).

Attractions that have gotten on the ballot are, in turn, touting their presence on the list -- looking for votes.

The end effect, of course, is to drive more travel fans to the virtualtourist site. The winner will be announced in October.

Take a look at the nominees -- you'll see some familiar places from our area. Among them:

Biltmore Estate, in Asheville
Brookgreen Gardens, in Murrells Inlet, S.C. (above; Sun-News photo by Charles Slade)
Crabtree Falls, on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Franklin Street, in Chapel Hill
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Liberty Bridge, in Greenville, S.C.
Lumber River, near Lumberton
N.C. Zoo, in Asheboro
Rockingham County, N.C.

P.S.: If you're rooting/voting for a nominee close to home, be aware that the Skunk Train of Fort Bragg (shown below) isn't in the Carolinas: It's in Fort Bragg, Calif.

'Great Forgotten History' at a glance and on the road

“Here is Where,” by Andrew Carroll ($25; Crown/Archetype) has had quite a good run on the bestseller charts, gotten him on a variety of talk shows and started an online mini-movement at http://hereiswhere.org.

The book subtitled “Discovering America’s Great Forgotten History” got this blurb on amazon.com: “ ‘Here is Where’ chronicles Andrew Carroll’s eye-opening – and at times hilarious – journey across America to find and explore unmarked historic sites where extraordinary moments occurred and remarkable individuals once lived.” An appraisal from Publishers Weekly notes, “Part travelogue, part history, this book should be required for anyone interested in America’s past.” It is very well-written – an assortment of appetizers that makes for great casual reading. You can open the book at random and stumble into a compelling narrative.

Still, the very nature of the book makes it hard to act upon: The incidents covered tend to be obscure – you really need to have an abiding interest in a specific, little-known event to get you to reach for your car keys. And what you may want to see may no longer exist: There are physical reasons why some people and places in the book have truly been forgotten.

That said, “Here is Where” is quite a fun read, and – Who knows? – something you read may prompt you to make a quick pit stop if you’re ever near where a choice incident is set.

Some stops would be quite arduous.

A series of linked tales – 28 pages in two chapters, midway through – deals with the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, which killed millions while World War I was raging. In telling about this medical disaster, Carroll visits tiny Sublette, Kan., where a rural doctor was the first to note the outbreak in the U.S.; Carroll visits Dr. Loring Miner’s house, the cemetery 30 miles away where his flu patients were buried – and then Breving Mission, an isolated Alaskan village where in 1951 a pathologist exhumed Spanish flu victims from the permafrost: Enough corpse tissue remained to reconstruct the influenza’s gene sequence and successfully re-grow the virus!

What’s close to where you live? Mepkin Abbey, just north of Charleston. It’s a peaceful spot to visit: a working Trappist abbey on the grounds of what was once the summer home of Henry Luce, the founder of the Time-Life publishing empire. The abbey earns its forgotten-history designation, however, because it’s also the resting spot of an even earlier owner, Henry Laurens (1723-1792), a notable South Carolinian active in the American Revolution. Here’s what did the trick for Carroll: Laurens seems to have been the first European-American to request that his corpse be cremated!

Carroll’s hereiswhere.org is a project that encourages volunteers to “find and spotlight unmarked historic sites throughout the United States. The goal is to preserve those sites and get them marked.

In June, Carroll came to North Carolina for a plaque dedication in Franklinton, a small town northeast of Raleigh, off I-84. On the website, he notes this about his visit to the Cutchins Funeral Home: “On June 10, 1946, Jack Johnson (the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion of the world) was denied service at a diner in North Carolina, drove off in a rage, and hit a telephone pole in Franklinton. He died before getting to the hospital, and the local African-American funeral home (now called Cutchins) transported his body. Special thanks to Joseph Cutchins Jr. for letting me erect the plaque at his funeral home.”