10 things I miss about living in North Carolina

1. Being in close proximity to my parents and certain other family members.

2. Sitting on the front porch in the rocking chairs at my parents' house on the farm that has been in my family for 4 generations.

3. Orange pineapple ice cream.

4. Chopped BBQ done in Eastern NC way, with a vinegar base, served with coleslaw (simply called "slaw") on top.

5. Sweet tea with LOTS of ice.

6. Calabash seafood - the real, fresh stuff from Carolina waters, not the fake, nasty, formaldehyde-soaked crap imported from who-knows-where.

7. Tar Heel basketball and the lovely little city of Chapel Hill. GO TAR HEELS!!!!!!!!

8. Long leaf pine trees that are so tall they seem to scrape the sky.

9. The Outer Banks, especially Ocracoke Island.

10. The mountains. All of them. And it's Appalachian, people (Ap-pa-LATCH-un, with a short "a" sound and a hard "ch", not Ap-pa-LAY-shun with a long "a" sound and wimpy "sh.")