Mt. Airy Will NEVER Be The Same!

Oh, what a day! Today was Camper Appreciation Day at the Mayberry Campground. This place is great. Benny, the owner, went all out to show how much he appreciates the campers. Around noon, everyone started heading down toward the pavilion for the party. They had chicken stew, Brunswick stew, pulled pork, hamburgers, hot dogs, three different coleslaws, baked beans, mac and cheese plus all sorts of desserts. Someone also had made hot spiced apple cider over a fire. It was so good. I guess there had to be about 200 or more people there. Then to top it all off, Benny had hired The Easters, a bluegrass band from Mt. Airy. There were two different Easter bands, the original three brothers and then a younger generation. The grandchildren of the one brother. Three hours of excellent music and mouth watering food was the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon in the south. Later in the afternoon, we went out for a quick bite to eat with our friends, Bill and Kathy, who are on their way to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with her son. It’s hard to believe that we only met a few months ago while in the Poconos. It seems as though we’ve been friends for years. We went to Goober’s on Rt. 52, otherwise know as The Andy Griffith Highway. Our server, Cydnie, was awesome. She didn’t miss a beat with all the NY banter going on between the four of us. We’re going to miss Bill and Kathy. They leave tomorrow, but we’ll see them again when we’re heading south and they are heading back home to Long Island and the long, long winter. We have been having fun, touring the area, eating out and all that stuff. I can’t wait for them to sell their house and go full-time along with us! We are here until Monday then we start heading north to NJ. Len has an aunt who is turning 104 and there is a birthday party for her the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to seeing our family and friends. I am especially looking forward to spending quality time with my daughter. Now that we only see her every few months, we make the most of it. Thanks for traveling along with us on The Thomas’ Trails. Until next time…

Yankee is exhausted!

Hodge Podge Kind of Day

Another beautiful sunrise in Mt. Airy

Wow, I could really get used to this sleeping in bit. I slept until 8:30. Don’t think I’ve done that for ages! Anyway, we did all sorts of things today. Started out going to a few wineries, but two out of three were closed. Oh well, the one that was open was good. Winery #1 had a sign on the roadway saying OPEN, so we drove up the drive only to be greeted by two ferocious looking dogs and a hound dog all barking and baying. Lenny had to yell at them so I would get out of the car. The sign lied, all the doors were locked and there was not a person in sight even though there were other cars in the lot. So much for that winery. On to winery #2, The Slightly Askew, in Elkin. This looked like a fun place and it was. A whimsical wine bottle sculpture greeted us on our arrival. I tried seven different wines, then she mixed some of the wines and I tried those. Ok, I bought three bottles, one for my daughter. She directed us to winery #3 that sells organic wines in town. Off we go, well, winery #3 was closed for lunch, but there was a cute quilt shop across the street so we went in to admire the handiwork. I love quilts and a few years ago Lenny bought me an Amish quilt in Lancaster, PA. The winery was still closed when we exited the quilt shop, so we drove around looking at all the older stately homes. Making our way back to Mt. Airy, we found the cemetery where Eng and Chang Bunker are buried. Eng and Chang are the famous Siamese twins who lived here, married sisters, and raised their 21 children. The campground we are staying at is owned by a direct descendent.  There was an older gentlemen at the cemetery sprucing up his parents graves and he took the time to give us a little personal history lesson on the area. He pointed out the farmhouse of one of the brothers lived that was a 1/2 mile away. Then he told us where Andy Griffith’s grandparents were buried in the cemetery. Thank you Mr. Kemp for your time and hospitality. Back to the RV to relax a bit before going out to dinner at the Golden Coral. Then when we got back, our friends from Long Island had finally arrived. We haven’t seen Bill and Kathy since the summer when we were in the Poconos. We sat and chatted with them for awhile, planning out tomorrow’s adventures. We got back to the RV just before it started to rain. It’s ok if it rains at night. So, all in all, it was a hodge podge kind of day, wineries, cemeteries, and friends.  Thanks for traveling along with us on The Thomas’ Trails. Until next time…

Pilot Mountain

Another beautiful day here in Mayberry! Today, we took a drive to Pilot Mountain. Located less then 20 miles from Mt. Airy, it was a lovely drive. When we got there it was HUGE! Being from the NYC area, I’m not used to seeing mountains that large with a huge knob on top. We decided to take a drive through the campground area and while the sites were nice, it is not something we would take our motorhome to. The roads are too steep, the sites are not level and are very small, but the view is amazing. From there we continued up the mountain. At times, I had to close my eyes. I don’t like heights and some of the drop offs were more than my heart could stand. We finally got to the top and what a view. Words cannot do it justice so enjoy the pictures. Len climbed to very top and took some more pictures. Enjoy the views.

		Pilot Mountain VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A lovely sunset topped our day. Thanks for traveling along with us on The Thomas’ Trails. Until next time…

Mayberry

Today we got another late start, but it wasn’t because I slept in! It was because we are having a problem with our car. Yesterday when we got here and Len disconnected the car from the tow bar, it wouldn’t start. He thought maybe he left a light on, but this morning it wouldn’t start again. When we finally got it started, (thank God for jumpers) we went to the gas station, filled up and it took FIVE minutes to get it to turn over. It’s not the battery because the clock still works, the windows went up and down, etc. so we’re not sure what is going on, but will need to get it checked soon. After dropping off some mail at the post office, we walked over to The Snappy Lunch to enjoy their famous pork chop sandwich. I had mine all the way (chili, onions, coleslaw, tomato), Len just had chili on his. After lunch, Len went in to Floyd’s barber shop and got an $8 haircut. No offence, but Floyd needs to retire. Len was in that chair for an hour! I walked across the street to the wine shop, tried some different wines, found one I like. I am enjoying a glass as I write this blog. From there we went into Opie’s Candy Shop and then up the street to the Ice Cream Shop and had Ice Cream soda’s. It wasn’t busy so the owner sat down to talk with us. We told him how we live in our RV and travel. We continued to browse through the shops finishing up at the music shop owned by James Easter of the Easter Brothers. We enjoy Blue Grass and Southern Gospel and talked with him for a bit. Found out he and his brothers are performing at the campground this Saturday and they are having a southern bar-b-que, so we extended our stay here until Monday. That gives us plenty of time to see the rest of the sights and tour some more wineries. We walked back to the car and guess what??? Wrong! It actually started. Who knows what’s up with this engine! We drove over to the Andy Griffith Museum 

where they are doing construction on the sidewalks, so we walked down stairs, through an alley and then up stairs to enter through the back door. It was interesting, but no photography was allowed inside the museum, just in the lobby. Then we returned the same way and went to see the display on Eng and Chang Bunker, the Siamese twins whose descendants own this campground. It was a long afternoon and a lot of walking, but we enjoyed every minute of it. Look for more posts this week as we explore more of Mayberry and the surrounding area. Thanks for traveling along with us on The Thomas’ Trails. Until next time…

Travel Day

Travel days for us usually start early, depending on how many miles we’re covering. Well, today we were traveling about 200 and I slept in! All these recent time changes has reeked havoc on my body. Well, at least that’s what I keep telling myself. We finally left Pride RV Resort in Waynesville, NC and pointed our coach eastward then north to Mayberry Campground. While much of the fall foliage is past peak there were still magnificent views around every bend in the highway. Then came the signs. Not the “here’s your sign”, sign. No these signs would make most newbie RVer’s nervous. 6% grade ahead for four miles. 35 MPH speed limit for trucks down the other side of the Smoky Mountains. The smell of hot brakes as you near the bottom of the hill. Run-away truck ramps, not one, not two, but THREE of them as we continued down the mountain. Oh, how I enjoyed the views as Lenny drove. Oh, how Lenny gripped the steering wheel as I oohed and ahhed! I-40 is a wonderful drive across NC, except for one section that was tooth rattling. Before we knew it we were heading north on 77 to our destination of Mt. Airy, NC. For those of you who may not know, Mt. Airy is the town that Mayberry, RFD is based on…The Andy Griffith Show. Now, I am much younger than my husband, He remembers The Andy Griffith Show, I don’t. It went off the air in 1968. In 1968 I was still a toddler, not even in school yet. But I will let you know that I was out of diapers. It was almost 5 by the time we were in our sight and set up so off to dinner we went. A friend had recommended the Prime Sirloin Buffet up the road. Diners and workers were all dressed up for Halloween, so we told told them we were dressed up as RVers! LOL Anyway, after dinner we went for a drive through town. Tomorrow looks like a busy day, so much to see and do while we are here. It’s getting late and if I don’t get to bed, I will turn into a pumpkin, no pun intended. Thanks for traveling along with us on The Thomas’ Trails. Until next time…

Sunset in Mayberry