Poll: N.C. Faves Include Beach, Berries, BBQ

North Carolinians prefer to take their summer vacations and eat their barbeque in the eastern part of the state, new poll results show.

In a Public Policy Polling survey, 51 percent of respondents said they prefer to spend their in-state summer vacations on the beach.

Twenty-eight percent favored the mountains, while 21 percent had no preference.

Overall, 52 percent said they chose to vacation in North Carolina, while 48 percent go out of state.

Food favorites parallel the geographical preference for the east.

Forty-seven percent of respondents expressed a taste for eastern-style barbeque, compared to 29 percent for western-style barbeque.

The survey, which was released today, also sampled North Carolinians' favorite summer fruits.

Strawberries were the top choice by 37 percent, followed by watermelons at 21 percent, peaches at 16 percent and blueberries at 13 percent. One percent of respondents said they don't eat fruit.

Survey respondents were also asked about their in-state sport teams loyalties.

For professional teams, 49 percent chose the Carolina Panthers as their favorite North Carolina team.

Fourteen percent said they were big fans of the Carolina Hurricanes, and 10 percent reported that the Charlotte Bobcats claim their top loyalties.

Among collegiate schools, 33 percent chose UNC-Chapel Hill as their favorite team. Seventeen percent expressed support for NC State and 12 percent for Duke.

Seven percent said they belonged to the Wake Forest fan base, and 6 percent to ECU's.

Despite North Carolina's reputation as a hot bed of car racing, only 34% of respondents said they follow NASCAR.

PPP conducted a telephone survey of 467 adult North Carolina residents between June 28 and July 2. The survey has a margin error of 4.5 percent.