Bladen County has, for at least 100 years, offered one of the most unique playgrounds to anyone who wanted to come.
White Lake was among its earliest of commercialized destination places. Stores that have come to be an institution and drawing card, like for example Leinwand’s on the 100 block of West Broad Street in Elizabethtown, have continued to add to the enticement.
Truth be told, being within the Carolina Bays made us unique before either of those.
Now there’s even more. Stores, venues, festivals of all sorts — you name it, there’s plenty for us who live here not to mention thousands upon thousands who come here.
We’re part of what makes North Carolina special, a great place to call home, a great place to come for a visit. There are many from Murphy to Manteo, and with just a very small sampling, we have since May offered some information through a summer series on day trips available to our residents.
We like it a lot when others come to spend their hard-earned money with us. Likewise, it’s no secret each of us has a desire to venture out and check some other cool places as well.
And we held up at simply day trips. We didn’t really get into the overnights, the extended weekends, or even full weeks. Those are there for the taking as well.
Today’s front page offering is a reminder of the history, or somewhat academic, opportunities. The museums in Raleigh are a small part. One of the most visited is just down the road in Chapel Hill, at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. It takes in millions of visitors each year.
Another destination that draws the large crowds, and would be an overnight if not weekend excursion from here, is the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Actually, doing Asheville itself is a treat and particularly for the arts crowd — an industry opportunity that Bladen County sorely lacks. The Biltmore is most fascinating at Christmas, when trees are everywhere along its marble floors.
But outdoors in the spring and summer, with gardens that contain some 250-plus types of roses alone, are no less enticing.
Certainly, there’s much more along the mountains from Georgia to Virginia. Parks, hiking, commercialized entertainment — there’s all kinds. And, again for that arts crowd, even more if venturing into Ashe County around West Jefferson.
Our coast, with which we might be more familiar, has seven lighthouses. Each is unique and has a great story. Like the battleship story we shared, they have been a heavy draw for tourists in the last half-century. So, too, is the Outer Banks, where more history is intertwined at Kitty Hawk.
And we have not even mentioned the zoo in Asheboro, the many historic homes and battlefields, Tryon Palace in New Bern, unique agri-businesses, or eye-catching attractions like Lexington Glassworks.
North Carolina is chocked full of opportunities for tourism. We, in Bladen County, are right there among them and always needing to step up our game.
We’ve seen some of that lately. Here’s hoping we continue to be forward thinking, always trying to improve throughout the county.