Why an epic North Carolina road trip and The Boss(es) are what you need this summer

The joys of living in the Triangle and North Carolina have become a problem, because you, I and even the spitting cobras who visit occasionally can’t keep a secret.

Was anyone surprised when Simone Jasper reported in The News & Observer that North Carolina is one of the best places for a summer road trip?

The only confusion about the must-do-summer-there list was why North Carolina ranked behind … Louisiana? And … get this … Texas?

No one takes a selfie in front of a basketball arena in either of those states.

In the Triangle, we ignore the much-spoken secret that despite our epic quality of life, we split to the mountains or beaches any time the air conditioner kicks in.

It was time

When The N&O launched “Cruising Across Carolina” our summer travel series, we thought it would be a hit with you, aka our audience, because it’s been a long two years.

Time to carb up on beach doughnuts and gooey peanut things.

Time to gas up, no matter how painful.

To channel our inner Lizzo, it’s about damn time.

Reporter Martha Quillin is your cruise director. Visual journalist Travis Long shows you why a full gas tank is worth your leisure. Together, they are our mac and cheese, that ideal journalistic pairing of reporter and photographer who know how to inform, educate and enjoy this ride.

We love how Martha introduced the “Cruising” series: “Don’t tell my editor, but I’m fixing to have the best work summer ever, and I want y’all to come along.”

That’s Martha in honest, never-met-a-stranger mode. Travis is more laid back but with a quiet intensity. Their respect is mutual and shows in the joyous prose and inspiring images.

“I’m always in awe of Martha’s institutional knowledge of our state. It’s difficult to follow behind her with a camera to recreate all her experiences, but it’s been a blast nonetheless,” Travis says.

Martha has turned this summer road trip into a parallel journey of work and life by cranking up the volume on SiriusXM’s Bruce Springsteen channel. Two great artists — Martha (our newsroom spiritual boss) and the other Boss — connecting with this land of hopes and dreams, and thundering down the road.

“One of the reasons I love to drive is that I love music and I jam in my car in a way I really don’t at home. My husband is a musician and doesn’t love to hear me sing,” Martha says. “The freedom of a half-full gas tank, a fresh map and a route that I’ve drawn myself to scout for things to share is dopamine-inducing in itself. But when you also are singing at the top of your lungs, the heart soars.”

Visuals Editor Scott Sharpe jokes that a Springsteen-wailing Martha, with her sewing machines stashed in the back seat, is an adventure best experienced on these pages or at newsobserver.com: “I’ve always thought it would be great to road trip with Martha but have always known that she would leave my body in a ditch after the first 15 minutes. This series is almost as good as the real thing.”

Places to go

Martha and Travis have started the “Cruising” series along our treasured coast. Stay tuned as they make their way west, because summers are meant for surprises.

“I’m a native North Carolinian, and I’m hearing about and seeing things that are new to me,” says Thad Ogburn, The N&O’s metro editor, who is fluent in Martha. “We set out to explore the state’s ‘backroads and byways’ and not just the usual spots. I think we’re achieving that.”

Native or newbie, you know North Carolina’s secret. We’ve got hoops AND dreams. We’ve got places to go, and people to see.

“I wasn’t born in North Carolina, but it’s home to me,” Martha says. “And these travels and these people have reminded me why I love it so.”

Bill Church is The News & Observer’s executive editor. He owns a surfboard, so you can guess where he stands in the mountains vs. beaches debate. The third installment of “Cruising Across Carolina” will appear July 6.

This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 5:17 PM.