So, I’m taking a week off later this month with the goal of spending some time familiarizing myself with the area. While my family typically travels out of state for our vacations, no matter where we live, I was thinking it would be nice to stay around here since I’m only taking one week and we’ve only lived here since February.

Yes, I can travel very well throughout my neighborhood and the area where I work but I need to venture out and we’d like to see more.
So, what I’m interested in is day trips.

Any suggestions? Maybe we can fit a few in before the week comes to a close.
I’m looking for 4-5 places you, as triangle-area natives would say I “need” to visit. I’m talking about “Must-see NC,” within a 2 hour drive. If the two-hour time-frame is limiting, I’ll consider three. But with one week only, that’s about all we can swing.

So, I’m ready to roll.
Where should we go first?