I am glad y'all survived. Part of Kansas has or has had a PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) Tornado Warning or Warnings already today and one comment on Dr. M's blog at wunderground mentioned that NE OK better be watching because their area is right for storm development like what is occurring in Kansas. I have no idea if the person making that comment knows what he or she is talking about though. I bet you got oodles of rain. My rainfall total practically never is the same as my mesonet station's, but often is close to our NWS Co-op Oberserver's totals because he's just a couple of miles NW of us. The heat is one reason I didn't cover up very much yet. With sunlight, which is rare so far today but still likely to make its way through the clouds now and then, I was afraid anything under buckets or sheet plastic would heat up. Around 3 o'clock I might start covering up stuff. I need to go outside and gather up lawn furniture and squeeze it into the garage or potting shed. Y'all don't need any sunlight there. It will just heat up the atmosphere and increase instability. Make that sunshine go away! You know how it works. If I cover up stuff, no hail will fall. If I don't cover up stuff, we'll be slammed by hail. So, apparently covering up plants prevents hail and I'd better do it. I hate covering up and uncovering stuff and have mostly avoided it this year. I guess there's days you just have to do it. I always tell Tim if he'd just build me a Bio-Dome type covering over my garden, I could ignore the weather and not have to cover up plants. I guess I'll never talk him into it. I didn't sleep much last night either. No storms were near me, but I was worried about where the storms were, and also about today. I expect less sleep tonight. If I could sleep in the tornado shelter, I'd do it, but I know from experience that I cannot close my eyes and sleep in there because I am sure that a snake or a black widow or a mouse will find me, even though I have thoroughly searched the shelter and none of those are even present in it. I guess I have too many creepy memories of our next-door-neighbor's old storm shelter left over from when I was a kid. It was dark and I think he must have left the door open all the time because it always had creepy crawly things in it.

Thanks for the input bumblebeez -Fontana and Toxaway both seem to have more of the "lake culture" that I have fallen in love with back east -I have a hard time putting it into words, but it is made up of 100+ year old cottages, families who have been coming to the same lake for generations, old canoes, ice-cream stands, lake roads that insist on a speed limit under 20 lest you bust a tire, etc.... I was wondering about that very thing where Lake Norman was concerned. It seemed very 'new' and more about impressive homes than charming cottages. But we've been interested in Charlotte for awhile, so I was hoping it was more charming than I was finding. We stopped in western NC on a roadtrip to the Outerbanks a few years ago, and really loved it. So would you say Fontana has more of the lake culture than Toxaway?

Asheville is a smaller airport, or if you want to consider Boone/Blowing Rock area. I would really recommend you fly into Charlotte (many nonstrop flights from NYC area) and drive the approximate 2 hours to each since you will need a car anyways. Neither is a difficult drive at all, especially since you are looking at summer vs Chistmas. The Grove Park Inn in Asheville is fabulous, but it is pricier. The whole Biltmore complex is can't miss, even for kids. They do have a hotel/resort on the grounds.

I live in Tennessee, but we have visited all the areas mentioned in this thread other than Sunset Beach (which I intend to look up!) - can you tell we like to travel? Lake Norman is a beautiful area. It depends on what you want to do and what you like in a vacation. My husband and I do not like touristy areas like Myrtle Beach, but that is just us. We like quieter, less populated areas. We also own a boat and are big on water activities. I do agree that Lake Norman is pricey. The Wilmington area is nice as is the Outer Banks, and quieter. That will depend on time of year you go also. We don't have children so we travel more in spring and fall and miss the crowds. I love Blowing Rock! We also enjoy Asheville, Black Mountain and Hendersonville, NC. If you go to that area, you can also do a day trip to the Smoky Mountains. Another beautiful area with more activities is Charleston, SC. That is one of our very favorite places to visit. We generally stay on one of the less populated islands in the area such as Kiawah, Harbor Island, Isle of Palms, etc. Happy traveling and let us know where you go and how you like it! tina (who needs to check out the vacation board)