to Mt. Airy, NC (9/22/2015)

This morning we finally, and reluctantly, left Ken and Marilyn's house -- our campground for 6 days.  We had a great time here, and it is certainly possible that we will return some year.  But they really need to level out that driveway!  You can see that our back wheels aren't even touching the ground, and yesterday's rain let our auxiliary step sink into the yard a little more, making that first step pretty tough.

They all had a busy day today, so we said our goodbyes to them and they left for appointments, then we pulled out, about 9:20.  We decided to forego the Poplar Forest museum, the site of Thomas Jefferson's summer home, which was literally just down the street.  But we thought it would make us have such a late start that we will save that for our next visit.  Driving out of their subdivision, I finally got a picture of the sign they use for their slow-down bumps.

It was cloudy this morning, and once we got onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, we encountered a lot of fog, sometimes so thick it was very difficult to see the side of the road, much less any scenic views.  But when it cleared, we had some pretty scenery.  This scene looked like a picture postcard. 

 The leaves are just beginning to turn, but occasionally we would get to see a little color.

We also came upon a large pumpkin patch -- almost ready to pick.

We got on the Parkway about 10:25 a.m., at Mile Post 106, where we got off it last week.  Last week, we didn't see any wildlife.  But today we saw 5 turkeys and 20 deer, so that was a successful day!  We crossed the North Carolina state line about 2:00 p.m.  Joe remembered Paul Croxton telling us a couple years ago that North Carolina's fuel was expensive, so Joe found a gas station in Virginia, within sight of the Welcome to North Carolina state sign, and fueled the RV for $1.999.  Sure enough, North Carolina's gas was $2.11 and $2.09.

Joe mentioned Andy Griffith's Mayberry, and I said I thought it was in North Carolina, but I had no idea where.  So I did a voice search on my SmartPhone and found out it was at Mt. Airy, which was only about 20 miles up the road (about 6 miles off the Parkway).  We had stopped for lunch at Mabry Mill, right on the Parkway, about 12:30, and he said he wanted to drive about 3 more hours, but that all changed when we decided to stop in Mt. Airy.  There was even a Mayberry Campground that was Passport America (half price), so that all worked, and since I'm feeling pretty crummy with my cold, I certainly wasn't opposed to calling it an early day. This is actually a nice campground, very roomy, full hookups, nice grassy areas between camp sites.

 So we got off the road about 2:30, having driven 153 miles.  While Joe set up the RV, I laid down and finally took a short nap.  About 5:15, we decided to drive into town and see what we could see, knowing that the museum and most stores would have closed.  We passed a few tobacco fields, and a brushy area right by the interstate with beautiful red bushes.  I don't know what they are, or if they bloom all fall, but they were certainly pretty.

Our car (and RV) are both filthy after driving on the Parkway today, after yesterday's rain and in today's fog, so we pulled into a carwash and got the car cleaned up.  Unfortunately, the RV won't fit.  We found the Andy Griffith Museum, and caught sight of Barney's squad car in front of us.  We saw it parked on Main Street a little later.  We parked and walked up Main Street for a block, but everything was closed except Opie's Candy Shop.

Main Street, Mt. Airy (Mayberry)

We found a neat bear, a photo of Andy and Opie, but it wasn't a very good likeness.  At the end of the street, there was a neat little city park that seemed like a good fit for Main Street.

We decided this was worth another trip in tomorrow, so we hope to go in some of the shops, find the Old Jail,  Wally's Service Station, etc.  They offer Squad Car Tours, but we will probably skip that.  Then we will either spend another night here, or get back on the Parkway and continue on.  Joe thinks he's getting my cold, so we may just stay put and try to get to feeling better.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Sunday and Monday at Stuckeys (9/20-21/2015)

Today we got to slow down just a bit, but Marilyn is keeping us hopping.  While they went to church, Joe and I did a couple of errands -- haircut for me, shopping for new camera bag at Target and Walmart.  We got home in time to watch most of the Cardinal's excellent football win, so that was a little rest, but then it was time to go off to the church picnic.  That was fun -- they roasted a pig, so there was barbeque pig and chicken, hot dogs, sauerkraut, baked beans, potato salad, etc., and a whole wall of desserts.  Sarah and Jimmy were there with their family, so we got to watch the little girls run around, they are so funny.  And we finished the evening watching a little more football.

I finally remembered to take some pictures of our camping location here at the Stuckey's.  We've made a couple of suggestions for improvements -- like leveling out the driveway, but otherwise this is a first-class place to stay.  We are treated like royalty, and we are having such a good time Joe is thinking about building a permanent camping spot here.  It's like a first class bed and breakfast -- we bring our own bed, but Marilyn feeds us breakfast (and dinner).  And we get to see deer in the backyard about every day.

Monday was a trip to Appomattox, the historical location of General Lee's surrender to end the Civil War on April 9, 1865, just 6 days before Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865.  It was raining when we woke up and we tried to wait that out, but finally gave up and just headed over.  I took advantage of their hospitality and began doing our laundry, so I got that all caught up today.

Appomattox is about 30 miles away and we hoped the rain would stop by the time we got there, and it did slow down to a sprinkle while we were there, but got heavy again on the way home.  They desperately need the rain, so we didn't complain too much.  Although I am now getting a cold, but I think that started a couple days earlier.

So we arrived at the Appomattox Court House and toured it, then went over on the porch of the Clover Hill Tavern and listened to a Living History guide tell what it was like after the war.  He was very dramatic, very good, and it was good to be reminded of this historical time.  He was in period costume, as were two soldiers who came up on the porch after the "tour" was over.

They had a copy of the Terms of Surrender as an exhibit, and set up in one of the rooms were printing presses to print off the paroles for all of the Confederate soldiers.

Although we began our tour at the Courthouse, the actual signing event took place at the McLean House.

Our tour of this House included an outside "warming kitchen" (no picture) and some slave quarters.

The village here had a population of about 150 people at that time.  When all the soldiers converged on this area in those battles, the population numbered about 100,000. 

We grabbed some lunch/dinner in town before heading back to the Stuckeys.  It rained all the way home.  Marilyn had been making some phone calls to the "cousins" so I had more Family Tree work to do on the computer.  We've put in a lot of hours on this effort in the last week, but we still have a few blanks to fill in.  But it's sort of a passion for both of us, so it was time well spent.  Then we watched Monday Night Football until we couldn't stay awake any longer (Marilyn and Julie watched Dancing with the Stars).  Another full day, and now I have a cold so I'm a bit under the weather.  We plan to leave tomorrow, but we've had such a good time here that it is hard to pull out.  However, Mike McRae calls about every day wanting to know if we've left yet (we are heading to his house next), so I guess it's time to get back on the road.

Michael Williams Family (9/19/2015)

Today's agenda was spending most of the day with Michael Williams and meeting his family.  He had invited us up for breakfast.  They live about 30 miles from Marilyn, so we got an early start and headed to his home in Amherst.  He has a lovely home on 11 acres, and he and a buddy were sawing up a big oak tree in the back yard when we arrived.  I think his wife Nicole got the chore of fixing breakfast since he was working outside, but it was delicious, and we got to get a tour of his home and meet the family.

Michael's Marine Corp career wall

Next up was his son Gavin's football game.  Gavin is in 6th grade and plays both offense and defense.

Gavin suited up, number 81

Leilana (plain gray t-shirt), Lauren (gray tank top)

We got behind 18-0 in the first half but came back and won the game.  It was their first game of the season (their first "scheduled" game was a forfeit by the other team so they hadn't play yet this season).

 Our final event of the day was a birthday party for Chris (rumor has it that he turned 43 today, but I think it's a secret).  Chris brought steaks and chicken to grill, and Marilyn fixed lots of goodies to go with the meat.  And Jenny baked a delicious carrot cake from scratch, which was awesome.  So when all the kids got there, it was something of a madhouse, but the food and companionship was great.  It was fun to get to be a part of the evening and to enjoy their family.

A fun evening and great food.  The little girls kept us entertained. Another busy day at the Stuckeys.