North Carolina Reopening

[Miss Marty]

May 28, Received an email from The Biltmore and wanted to share the Great News :
The Biltmore, America’s Largest Home® in Asheville North Carolina is Now Open!

Come discover the natural wonders of our Blue Ridge Mountain backyard. Enjoy select shops and restaurants, including Cedric’s® Tavern. Explore Biltmore House with a limited capacity tour in accordance with CDC guidelines and mass gathering requirements.

Biltmore . com

 

[beejaybee]

We are looking forward to our t/s stay in New Bern at the end of June. Hoping that Tryon's Palace will be open and that Outlander Walking tours of the city will be operational.

 

[bbodb1]

We too have a pending trip to the NC mountains in July, but given the recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases we are definitely in the wait and see category.
At present, the resort is planning a June 1 reopening...

 

[JIMinNC]

We too have a pending trip to the NC mountains in July, but given the recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases we are definitely in the wait and see category.
At present, the resort is planning a June 1 reopening...

I live in NC, and the much publicized resurgence of cases in NC appears to be more a function of dramatically increased testing rates than anything else. The state expanded the definition of who is eligible for testing now that testing supplies are readily available. The state has been averaging 12k to 15k tests per day over the last week or 10 days, whereas prior to that the average was more in the 7k to 8k per day range. So, total cases reported is way up, but the average % of positive tests has only inched up ever so slightly from about 7.5% to about 8% or so, and hospitalizations are up marginally, but that was all expected as people came out of their caves. Most of the mountain counties have minimal reported cases and almost no deaths.

 

[bbodb1]

Thanks for that update, @JIMinNC - and fortunately, our destination is Avery County. From that perspective, I would hope things will continue to go well there so this trip could still occur but right now, our most pressing issue is around home as our vet stopped all boarding reservations when COVID-19 flared up. As a small business, they have definitely been impacted by virus concerns and may not be offering boarding services for quite some time. If that is the case, we are not traveling this summer at all.

I had hoped to visit this area of North Carolina as part of our continuing search toward considering possible retirement areas. Although this area of North Carolina does not meet either of my two preferred requirements (above the 40th parallel, or > 6000 ft altitude), it appears to be a bit shy of 4000 so I am wondering what the weather conditions in the hottest time of the year will be like. A few years ago, we visited Davis, WV in the late of June and enjoyed the weather there. I did read a bit more about that area and it appears to be something of a weather anomaly (with a Marine West Coast Climate) but whatever it is, the weather in areas like these appear to be delightful.

 

[JIMinNC]

I had hoped to visit this area of North Carolina as part of our continuing search toward considering possible retirement areas. Although this area of North Carolina does not meet either of my two preferred requirements (above the 40th parallel, or > 6000 ft altitude), it appears to be a bit shy of 4000 so I am wondering what the weather conditions in the hottest time of the year will be like. A few years ago, we visited Davis, WV in the late of June and enjoyed the weather there. I did read a bit more about that area and it appears to be something of a weather anomaly (with a Marine West Coast Climate) but whatever it is, the weather in areas like these appear to be delightful.

Even though we've lived in NC our entire life, we've spent very little time in the mountains. We're beach, sun, and warm weather folks ourselves. Unlike you, we try to avoid going north of the 35th parallel!

We did visit some friends in Roaring Gap, NC a few years ago on Labor Day. It's around 3000 feet or so. When we got in the car one morning to come home it was sweatshirt weather, and we then drove back to Charlotte. When we got out of the car about 90 minutes or so later, it was 90 degrees in Charlotte.