A Midwest Girl Writing about North Carolina

How did this Midwest girl end up writing three books based in North Carolina? I blame two things: my family and Nicholas Sparks.

I’m fortunate to have had family that has lived in amazing places across the country. For a time, they lived in North Carolina, and that’s where my first-ever flight took me.

It was summer, and I found the landscape of north-central North Carolina to be a lot like home. There were big, mature trees everywhere. Green grass and green leaves everywhere you looked. There were some hills, but it was mostly flat. Then we went away for the week.

It was the first time I’d been in the mountains. We weren’t far from Asheville, and I was mesmerized by the windy roads and amazing views. I’m pretty sure that’s when I got hooked…the first time.

What really sold me on the state was Nicholas Sparks. In his books, he’d talk about the towns, the cities, the ocean beaches where his characters lived and played. It made me want to go back. So I did.

The first trip was to the Outer Banks. I had just finished a HUGE project at work and looked forward to some quiet time. (Sound like Ryan, maybe? 😊) I stayed at a cottage on Hatteras Island where there was a dune between the house and the water. But I could hear it. And sitting out on the deck at night, looking out over the dark water, the sky was full of so many stars. I’d never seen so many!

(That was also the trip when I got my car stuck in the sand. WHOOPS!)

The next trip took me to New Bern. It’s a town situated where the Trent and Neuse Rivers come together. But it’s quaint. And quintessentially “southern,” at least by this Midwest girl’s standards. And it’s where Pepsi was invented! I enjoyed walking the streets, taking photos, and soaking in the atmosphere.

In that same trip, I made the decision to take a road trip. I wanted to see the ocean again, and there was only one place that would suffice: the Outer Banks. It’s about a three-hour drive from New Bern to Kitty Hawk, and I’d make that drive again in a heartbeat. Back roads that led over Pamlico Sound and to the Atlantic Ocean. I sat on the beach for a couple of hours, soaking in the wind and salt and sun, then made the three-hour drive back.

Since then, I’ve made the trek to the shore a few times. One trip was to spend time with a friend. While there, we got up early so we could watch the sun rise (because who wouldn’t!?), and we found ourselves climbing the dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. The climb was no joke, and I only made it up the first dune. What I remember most about that visit was the sound the wind made on top of the dune. It’s very breezy (lots of kite flying happens there), and the wind forms ripples on the sand. As the sand hits the ripples, you can hear it. I’m not even sure how to describe it, but it was magical.

Another trip took me down to Wilmington (I’m a fan of “One Tree Hill.” I had to go!). There, I got to spend some time at Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach. Some of the best pictures I’ve ever taken happened on a super-humid morning that trip.

The last adventure was just a couple years ago. It had been too long since I’d been there, and I rented a house that was right on the beach. It was so nice going to sleep with the windows open, listening to surf beat against the shore, then grabbing a drink in the morning and watching the sun rise from the deck. Very peaceful.

So no, I’m not a North Carolina native. But a little piece of my heart has found a home there. At one point, it had been a dream to live there. Charlotte seemed like the perfect place. Four hours to coast and two hours to the mountains. 😁

My next series moves us away from the sand, salt, and wind of the coast, but it’s a place I know I’ll visit again.

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The Shore

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