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Carolina Renaissance Festival 2026: Rain, Jousting & Honey Mead

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CoreniaBug I went to the Carolina Renaissance Festival with a birthday-gift quest. I came home with muddy shoes, an adorable owl necklace, and a newfound appreciation for sweet honey mead. The gift was supposed to be for my mother-in-law. The owl necklace was a little bonus quest. Huzzah! Our 2026 visit to the Carolina Renaissance Festival in Huntersville, North Carolina, came with rain from beginning to end. Thankfully, there were still knights to cheer for, artisan shops to explore, and plenty of reasons to keep smiling. A little festival history The Carolina Renaissance Festival first opened in 1994 with just six acres of attractions and entertainment. It has since grown into a 25-acre village filled with cottages, castles, shops, kitchens, and pubs. That is quite an upgrade from a little gathering in the woods! For anyone looking for things to do near Charlotte, it’s a chance to spend the day somewhere that feels wonderfully removed from the usual routine. Getting dressed for the a...
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Two Unusual Asheville Airbnbs: A Castle and a Private Arcade

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  I tried two unusual Asheville Airbnbs: a mountain castle and a private retro arcade I’ve now stayed in a mountaintop castle and a private retro arcade in the Asheville area. Apparently booking a normal room is becoming difficult for me. 😂 The castle was Windswept Castle at Earth & Sky Dwellings, about 10 minutes north of downtown Asheville. Stone walls, a turret, chandeliers, vaulted ceilings, and a loft. They really committed to the castle thing. I showed up without a crown, so that’s on me. My favorite part, though? Those mountain views. With the big windows, you could just sit inside and take it all in. Even the little door peepholes reminded me of The Wizard of Oz. Also, let me clear up the drive there. I went in September 2026, and the road up was paved and easy to get to. If you have a really low car, I’d check with the hosts about clearance first. Colder months could be a different story, so check the weather and road conditions. The hosts say you’ll need four wheel d...
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I Stayed at a Retro Arcade Airbnb in Asheville, NC

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  I stayed at an Airbnb in Asheville, North Carolina, with an entire private arcade and three pinball machines right in the bedroom. Yes, the bedroom. Apparently, sleeping was going to have some competition. 😂 🎮 Here’s what was inside • Classic arcade machines • Three bedroom pinball machines • A huge projector screen • Labyrinth memorabilia • Retro game manuals and little details everywhere And I got the whole arcade to myself for the night! 🕹️ Just one more game… Having a private arcade was probably my favorite part of the stay. I could wander around, try different games and go back to the ones I liked without waiting for somebody else to finish. Then there were the pinball machines. Having them right beside the bed was hard to believe, and the Labyrinth pinball machine was amazing. That one alone could’ve kept me busy for hours. I’m pretty sure one more game is the biggest lie I told myself that night. 😂 🔮 A little Labyrinth love The games weren’t the only things worth look...
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Windswept Castle Airbnb in Asheville NC | My Overnight Stay

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  I Stayed in a Castle Airbnb in Asheville NC 🏰 Windswept Castle I spent the night in a castle. My neighbor was a spaceship. And there was a little wizard village nearby. Asheville really said, pick your adventure. 😂 I found Windswept Castle on Airbnb. It’s one of 20 unique stays at Earth & Sky Dwellings in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and getting to spend a night in a castle was pretty hard to pass up. Come along with me for a look inside, the little details I loved, and exactly what my overnight stay cost. 🏰 Windswept Castle at a glance Where: Earth & Sky Dwellings near Asheville, North Carolina Sleeps: 4 guests Beds: 2 queen beds, one downstairs and one in the upstairs loft Bathrooms: 1 full bathroom and 1 half bathroom My overnight total: $360 The sleeping setup and amenities are listed on the property’s website. 🏰 Come on in The first things I noticed were the vaulted ceilings and that amazing chandelier. It feels grand when you walk through the door, but the liv...
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Location: Asheville, NC, USA
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Surrounded by Alpacas and Kissed by a Llama in North Carolina 😂🦙

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  I went to Serenity Alpacas in Stony Point, North Carolina thinking I was going to spend a nice peaceful morning walking an alpaca. Well... apparently nobody told Carl that I was supposed to be in charge. 😂 Carl knew the trail, knew where the snacks were, and knew exactly where he wanted to go. I’m pretty sure I was just the person assigned to hold the leash while Carl handled the tour. And Carl wasn’t the only cute face around there. I got surrounded by alpacas, fed the herd, and met an absolutely adorable baby alpaca that was only around two months old. These animals have the funniest little expressions too. Half the time I couldn’t tell if they were curious about me, judging me, or just wondering why I was taking so long with the food. 😂 Either way, I wanted to hug all of them. A North Carolina Alpaca Farm Experience Serenity Alpacas is a family owned working alpaca farm in Stony Point, NC, not far from Hickory and Statesville and about an hour from Charlotte and Winst...
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5 Surprising Pickle Facts From My Visit to The Pickle Fetish Company 🥒

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  5 Pickle Facts You Probably Didn’t Know 🥒 Apparently I’ve fallen pretty deep into the pickle world lately. 😂 After visiting The Pickle Fetish Company in downtown Lincolnton, North Carolina , I realized there is a LOT more to pickles than a jar sitting next to the sandwiches in your refrigerator. This place has more than 100 pickle flavors, pickle candy, dill pickle marshmallows, pickle fudge, plush pickles, pickle earrings and an entire museum filled with pickle history and memorabilia. I even came across what they call a haunted pickle , which was definitely not something I expected to see that day. So after seeing all of that, I started wondering just how much I actually knew about pickles. Turns out, not much. Here are five pickle facts I found pretty interesting. 1. People have been pickling food for thousands of years Pickles are definitely not a new obsession. Food historians trace pickling back to ancient Mesopotamia around 2400 B.C. People figured out that salt an...
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Inside Hickory Antiques Mall, Where Yesterday Is Still for Sale

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A nearly 40 year Hickory institution holds everything from vintage Coca Cola and Playboy magazines to Pokémon, Barbies and the uncomfortable realization that your childhood is now collectible. HICKORY, N.C. — The first surprise at Hickory Antiques Mall is how little the building gives away from the outside. You walk through the front door expecting an antique store. Then you keep walking. And walking. There are Tiffany style lamps near the entrance, collectible Barbies, furniture, records, old advertising, clothing, glassware and enough miscellaneous pieces of American life to make any attempt at seeing everything fairly hopeless. By the end of our visit, closing time was approaching and we still had entire sections left unexplored. “This place is like never ending,” CoreniaBug said while walking through the mall. She wasn’t exaggerating much. That is part of what makes Hickory Antiques Mall interesting. This is not a carefully arranged museum where someone has already decided...
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