I’m not exactly sure why, but the sense I get from North Carolina is sturdiness. This state just feels solid. Built to last. Nicely settled. This is especially impressive because it must balance so much. On its eastern coast, North Carolina has beaches and marshes — but unlike its southern neighbor, it doesn’t feel like it’s sinking into the ocean. The weather is hot and humid, but doesn’t drown you. It’s definitely old, but not rickety. Everything — from the mountains to the forests to the water — feels exactly where it ought to be.

Start with the river town of Wilmington, cradled by Wrightsville Beach (surprisingly not named after the flying brothers) along the coast. Now, I didn’t see every beach in South Carolina. But from what I did see, North Carolina takes the prize.

It was here that I officially (meaning feet in the water) made it from one of America’s two grand oceans to the other in less than five weeks.

Behind the beach is a maze of marshland crisscrossed by salty creeks. When the sun goes down and the tide comes in at night, all of this becomes the ocean.

Be careful not to step on any little crab friends. They emerge suddenly from the sand to say hello, before the tide cuddles them up again.

Down the road, Wilmington proper is a lovely coastal town that doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. Perhaps that’s for the best. It keeps the historic downtown district quiet and charming, with novelty shops and seaside lunch spots along the humble boardwalk.

Word to the wise: Order a Cheerwine at one of these Wilmington restaurants — all of them should have it. This is North Carolina’s famous bubbly, dark-red cherry soda. For a soft-drink aficionado like myself, it doesn’t quite rival the dirty sodas of Utah, but it’s perfect to cool down on the beach.

Also along the river lies the heroic battleship North Carolina. If you could only tour one Navy ship in America, this would be it. The first battleship built for World War II as America woke from its industrial slumber, the USS North Carolina housed 2,300 men, participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific Theater, and earned 15 battle stars — the most of any in the U.S. fleet at the time. Now, it’s a floating museum of American ingenuity and triumph. I will have to come back to see what’s inside.

Wilmington also has some of the most inviting front porches you ever did see. I’m sure they’re a great place to take a load off and gossip about your passing neighbors.

Travel inland, and North Carolina offers an entirely new realm of lush, green forests. Famously, there are a lot of chapels around, like this one.

UNC-Chapel Hill is a glorious university down to its Old Well, completed in 1897, which served as the campus’s sole water source for many years. The red-brick sidewalks are soaked with sun and shadows. In the Research Triangle, however, it has only the second-most beautiful campus. The honor goes to Duke, which looks like a medieval castle town in the center of an enchanted forest.

Finally on North Carolina, the food. Eat seafood exclusively on the shoreline — freshly caught crab and fish. Anywhere else, “barbecue” means one thing: pork. If done right, the meat has just been cut off a full pig carcass. That’s called “whole hog.” Any restaurant with “pig” in the name should suffice, and the more prominently the thing is displayed, the better. Then douse that sucker in North Carolina’s signature vinegar sauce. (Honestly, on this count, I prefer the mustard base of South Carolina.)

If that doesn’t clog your arteries enough, the Time-Out restaurant in Chapel Hill — doubtless a study-night staple — serves its famous chicken-cheddar biscuit sandwich 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Thank me later.