Summer's End

Today brings summer to its end for me. After spending the past two weeks in the mountains of North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains, we're returning home to family and friends. I'm very happy we were able to spend a few days with our North Dakota friends. Next week I'll be going back to school to work part-time. I am looking forward to seeing everyone there and catching up. They have been back in school for more than a month.

Mt. Airy More Than Mayberry

There's more to Mt. Airy than Mayberry, although Andy Griffith is the most widely known attraction in town. During a weekend in September the annual Mayberry Days will bring 25,000 fans to town in celebration of the fictional town of Mayberry and its beloved residents.

Mt. Airy also hosts other annual festivals such as the Fiddler's Convention and the Tommy Jarrell Festival bringing Old-Time Music lovers & musicians to town. There's community theater at the Andy Griffith Playhouse,Old-time music and dances at the Old-Time Music Heritage Hall & Historic Earle Theater and there is summer music at the Blackmon Amphitheatre.

Mt. Airy is the home of the world's largest open-face granite quarry which has been in operation 125 years continuously. Archaeologists project the quarry will be producing granite for another 500 years. Many homes, churches and other buildings in the area built before World War I  were built of granite from the quarry.

You shouldn't visit Mt. Airy thinking you'll pull up a rocking chair to sit back and relax. This town is alive and well and inviting you to come join in the good times.

No Rush Today

No rush today... we stayed in during the morning, even making breakfast in the motorhome. We did drive into town to see what was there. We found Wally's Service Station where we also photographed the Darlin's cabin, Andy's office at the Mayberry Courthouse.

I Could Use A Nap!

Today has been a very long travel day. It began at 4:30 this morning when my eyes sprung open and were not willing to sleep another minute. We met Rick and Pam for breakfast before getting on the road again. I was doing alright until we got on I-64. I was cold and ready for a nap and we had a 352 mile journey ahead of us. By the time we passed Ashland, I felt as though I had been riding the entire day. What a let down when I saw on the gps that we should arrive at Mt. Airy at 4:30 p.m., and it was still morning. How could time drag on like that?

The highway in West Virginia reminded me of sections of the Alaskan Highway, except there were no orange flags to give us warning.  Thank goodness Vicki was able to chat with me for awhile during the day. For short spans I could focus on something other than the length of this trip. 

We arrived at the Mayberry Campground about 5:00 p.m. After getting the motorhome setup we found  Sue's Seafood & Steaks Home Cooking Restaurant where we enjoyed supper then went across the parking lot to pickup some milk, cereal and eggs. 

Finally, we're in for the night and I'm looking forward to sweet dreams. I can't go to bed too early or else I'll be awake again in the morning way too early, but you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be crawling into my amazing sleep number bed in less than an hour. Sweet Dreams!