Southerners possess a particular passion and proclivity for using mayo … in pretty much everything. While food writer Sheri Castle won't reveal her preferred brand (too dicey), she does celebrate this do-all ingredient and its ability to hold foods (and people) together.

Despite their name, spoil islands are hardly a wasteland. These man-made islands offer remote and protected nesting habitats for birds and wildlife — and for our Ramblin' Man, a reminder that the beach is meant to be shared.

On the easternmost edge of North Carolina's Outer Banks, the waves off Hatteras hold their power longer than anywhere else on the East Coast. In this episode, Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice meets surfer and waterman Pat O'Neal, who helps her understand this natural phenomenon and the fun and fury the tides bring.

In the shallow waters of Currituck, Albemarle, and Pamlico sounds, a waterman's best insurance is a long, wooden shove pole used to propel boats and small skiffs from duck decoys to their destinations.

A blue crab sandwich reminds our editor in chief that North Carolina's delicate coastline fuels the journey from water to hand — creating a seasonal flavor that brings us back time and again.

From sunset to dawn, avian travelers cross North Carolina's skies at night, leaving behind a trail of fleeting chirps and trills that mesmerize Our State contributor T. Edward Nickens.

Poured from pharmacy taps and chilled in icy chests, North Carolina soft drinks have long sweetened memories and sparked a legacy of local pride.

On a recent spring morning in Asheville, our editor in chief reflected on the mountains' beauty during the season of awakening.

North Carolina is home to more than half of the nation's meat-hungry plants. In the Sandhills Gameland, Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice learns more about how these green assassins survive — and thrive — across our state's landscapes.

In 1917, the town of Hot Springs, North Carolina, transformed into a shared landscape of craftsmanship and culture after 2,000 German officers, sailors, and civilians carved out a community along the banks of the French Broad River.