50 Things to LOVE about North Carolina

This blog post is a request via someone that I love very dearly and who makes me laugh every time I talk to her. I hope that these reasons will bring a smile to her face. I would also like to dedicate this post to this person's younger sister, these reasons are for her too :) She requested that I give 10 reasons why North Carolina is awesome. I decided to go above and beyond and give 50 reasons. Justin thinks that I should give 100 reasons, but if I am revealing 3 reasons a day, I don't know if I have the patience and energy to make it that long. So we will start off with 50 reasons and go from there.

Enjoy!

1. The Weather
The weather here down in the South is so much better than up in gloomy Ohio. Through research I learned that on average, Asheville, NC has 99 days of full sun and 212 days with some sun. Whereas, Cleveland, OH has 66 days of full sun and only 163 days with some sun. Would you rather live in a state that is almost always gloomy and overcast or in a sunny state that brightens your day? From living in NC for almost two years now, I have learned that NC springs and summers come a whole 2 MONTHS before Ohio has its spring/summer. Our first blossoming tree happened in February. Ohio was still having snow into March, possibly even April. Although we still get our light dusting of snow down here (which satisfies those who miss the snow) there is no harsh winters where the snow stays on the ground for weeks on end and you begin to think that winter will never end.

Ohio

North Carolina

2. The Beach!
North Carolina actually borders the Atlantic Ocean, which means-THE BEACH! Asheville is only 4 hours away from the beach, which could be made in a day trip or a fun weekend trip. If you were to visit a certain special someone who lives in the Capital city then it would only be a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive. The only beach Ohio has is Lake Erie, which could hardly be called a beach. There are over 300 miles of coast in NC, which means lots of public beach access!

3. Flowers on the Freeway
The very first time I visited North Carolina, one of the things that I noticed that I thought was so neat and would make me want to live here was that beautiful wildflowers grew on the freeway during the summer and spring. I am making this reason #3 because it is currently happening. Every day when I drive home from work I pass this huge patch of red poppies. There are patches of purple irsises, tulips and other wildflowers. They are just so beautiful and every time I pass them I wish I had my camera to snap a picture.

There are reasons #1-3 for you. Stay tuned tomorrow for reasons #4-6!