April 2010 Featured Towns in this Issue: Brunswick County, NC Currituck Outer Banks, NC Edisto Island, SC Fayetteville, NC Newberry, SC New Bern, NC Myrtle Beach, SC Walterboro, SC Additional Articles: Andie MacDowell Antiques, History & Arts Festival Bi-Lo Charity Golf Classic Day Trippin’ Hampton Lake Living Green Off Our Bookshelf Recipe – Spring Soup SC Heritage Corridor Scotch Hall Preserve Spoleto Festival Top 20 Towns Woodside Plantation

Hope you are enjoying Springtime in your area!  Here in the Carolinas, everywhere you go, gardens are in full bloom and folks are putting in tomato plants for vegetable gardens. (True story.  We once picked home grown tomatoes from June until Thanksgiving Day.) We’ve got more favorite destinations here, and this month, we exercised our penchant for smaller towns that have big celebrations and even bigger plans to entice visitors once, twice, forever. Day Trippin’ explores New Bern – with 300 years of history and a near perfect location, it’s a great option for a late spring getaway. There’s more, including last-minute savings for Spoleto, and a month-long party applauding our military. Happy travels! Patrick Mason  FIRST-CLASS DESTINATION   Newberry, SC Founded in 1789, Newberry is a unique blend of college town, an arts and cultural oasis, and a well-restored downtown historic district, with a beautiful opera house at its center.   The main thoroughfare has a European feel, with narrow brick-paved streets and brown brick storefronts dating back to pre-Civil War times. Read more ...     And more about Newberry in … The 50 Best Small Southern Towns by Gerald Sweitzer and Kathy Field

 

SEEN & HEARD

The Internet Won’t Make Us Stupid.   A fascinating and provocative look at how the Internet is changing us all, from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.  76% of experts surveyed agree, “By 2020, people’s use of the Internet has enhanced human intelligence; as people are allowed unprecendented access to more information they become smarter and make better choices...”    This one will make you think.   4,000 Newcomers Choose Top 20 Carolina Towns   Your peers know their favorite Carolina towns and shared the information in a recent Carolina Lifestyle Survey™ from CarolinaLiving.com. There are hidden jewels only now being found by folks just like you. Have you visited these beauties? North Carolina 1. Charlotte 2. Raleigh 3. Asheville South Carolina 1. Charleston 2. Myrtle Beach 3. Greenville Discover the rest of the towns that made our top 50 list.     Get your Appetite On. Head for the Beach!   Coastal Uncorked Food & Wine Festival May 16-23, Myrtle Beach Hint: check out the tasting trolley. Learn more ...     Come Back to Nature   As Spring settles in with longer days, and Summer lies just around the proverbial corner, Edisto Island in the South Carolina Lowcountry gets set to take in all the natural bounty that abounds during high season here. Visitors and residents languish in the warm sunny days and natural beauty with a wide range of activities starting in May. The Edisto Island Open Land Trust will host an annual Back to Nature Celebration on Saturday, May 15. Outings that day include hikes, bird and butterfly walks, creek fishing and guided shrimp boat tours. For more information, check this out.

31 Days of Glory in Fayetteville, NC   This annual month-long event reflects the collaboration of 20 community organizations dedicated to supporting the military.   Recognized by Peter Greenberg in Newsmax magazine as one of America’s most patriotic communities and by TIME magazine as America’s most pro-military town, Fayetteville/Cumberland County is the ideal location to honor and memorialize those who have put their lives on the line to protect our everyday freedoms.   Please visit here for a listing of all events.

LIVING GREEN    Seeing Stars!   North Carolina residents will soon be seeing stars – ENERGY STARs, that is –when the state launches the first phase of its own “Cash for {Appliance} Clunkers” program over Earth Day weekend.    From April 22nd through the 25th, residents wishing to upgrade can get a 15 percent rebate on ENERGY STAR-rated dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers and washing machines.  It’s estimated that the trade-ups will save enough electricity to power 536 homes for a year!  Learn more …   Pop Quiz! Test your GREEN living knowledge… April showers bring May flowers … and feed rain gardens.  Have you planted yours yet?  Find out more here and here.

Spoleto Festival USA Go Spoleto! Hotel and Ticket Packages Only Available through April 30! Great Savings – Super Fun.