Since Charlotte is sort of close, are you familiar with Asheville? That's our fall vacation spot, if you have any recommendations. We are using Asheville as our base and making day trips, so fun outside of immediate Asheville would work. We are even going as far as Congaree in a day trip.
Ashville is a couple hours away, but we've been there. Of course, the Vanderbilt mansion is a must, so just plan on the whole day and take any extra tours if they have them.
We went to some places a year before the hurricane, which wiped out places like the town of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. I read where some Amish came down from Pennsylvania and are rebuilding the town of Chimney Rock. Lake Lure may finally be cleaned up. I'd recommend going to see the actual mountain, but check to make sure tours are still open.
Hendersonville is a town east of Ashville that is pretty nice and close to Blowing Rock. Some winerys around there and Grandfather Mountain.
I'm not an expert in the area - just gone in for day trips. It depends on what you like to do, too. Lots of hiking along the Appalachian Trail and beautiful drives. If you go Northwest of Ashville, little mountain towns like HIckory are scenic. That whole NC-Tenn-Virginia area has mountain villages. One place that I haven't been to yet is LIttle Switzerland, NC, so that's a place I want to visit.
Appalachian State University is in Boone, NC, and it's beautiful.
If you're into Revolutionary War history, King's Mountain is about 1 1/4 east of Ashville and Cowpens, which is in SC, is about the same.
Ashville was really impacted by Helene, but I think it's mostly recovered. Too many good restaurants and shops to mention. And I can't remember their names anyway. I'm sure there are websites or even Facebook sites that can give good recommendations.
If you're going all the way to Congaree, you might want to stop in Greeneville, SC. I've never been, but heard it's beautiful. Also, it's probably about the same distance away from Ashville, but Helen, GA, is a place I highly recommend. It's like a German village and in the mountain area of Georgia. The Chattahoochee river runs through it and we tubed down it. Good fun.
Not a big fan of Charlotte, but there are a lot of historical and scenic places within pretty easy driving distance. We're going to the Outer Banks in June, but it's about a 6 hour drive.
