I’m Jason Frye, a freelance travel and culinary writer calling Wilmington, North Carolina, home. From this little city on the coast, I’ve launched explorations of NC and beyond in search of the best food, drink, sights and stories I can find. I’m the author of Moon North Carolina and Moon North Carolina Coast Including the Outer Banks, two travel guides to the top spots across North Carolina and along our magnificent beaches. My third guide, Moon Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip, is a guide to the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway, one of my favorite drives in the U.S.

As the Tar Heel Tourist, I want to bring you the finest finds in food and drink, adventure and experience,  people and histories, photos and words. To do this, I’ll be out in the world, traveling through North Carolina and lands beyond.

But I don’t want to be the only one. I want you to come here, to North Carolina, the Tar Heel State, to explore and become a Tar Heel Tourist. Not because I wrote a book about it (ok, that’s part of the reason), but because when I moved here, I expected to stay for three years. That was in 2002. Since then I’ve fallen in love with this state, every grain of sand, every pine needle, every wisp of mountain fog. Come see me, see my state and find something that excites you, there’s plenty to go around.