After several years of research and 23,000 miles on her car within the borders of North Carolina, Diane Daniel has completed her task; “Farm Fresh North Carolina”, a travel guide book to farms in the state. Daniel reads the subtitle:
 "It's the "Go-To" guide to great farmers' markets, farm stands, farms, apple orchards, U-PIcks, kids' activities, lodging, dining, choose-n-cut christmas trees, and more!”
Daniel says that she visited every single one of the farms in her book, and explains how the book is organized:
"The book is divided by region, there are five regions in the state according to me, Diane. And then it is micro-organized by country. And so, yes, it was very important for me to go to all the places, especially the farms. Farms are not, even if they are open to the public, that's not usually their main reason for being there, maybe 1% are strictly agri-tourism and the rest are either hobby farms or working farms. So it was very important for me to visit it and to see if they have the kind of visiting experience like I wanted to highlight in the book.”
Daniel says that having to choose a favorite is much like having to choose a favorite child, but one farm that impressed her immensely:
"One that I'll just mention because it is close to home, is Fickle Creek Farm. What I like about them for my book... so my book is a travel guidebook so the only farms that are in the book are farms people can visit, farms that have public interaction. Fickle Creek Farm, which is outside of Efland which is Orange county, is very diversified, so it has animals and produce. The farming is all done naturally, sustainably, organically. And they have a place you can stay; they give regular farm tours; they sell at farmers' market - so they have that acess - and they sell to restaurants.”
Daniel had these final thoughts on taking the time to see North Carolina:
"I hope that North Carolinians know that our state is number six in tourism in the country. And there's a reason for that: it's a great place to travel! So my hope is that whether people read my book or just do it on their own, that they really get out and just explore the different regions of the state because they'll be very happy with what they find.”
Diane Daniel, author of Farm Fresh North Carolina. Find her book at major retailers, or learn more about it at www.farmfreshNorthCarolina.com.
|