Mayberry revisited, and other summer stuff.

Most of us from the sixties Geezer generation grew up watching "The Andy Griffith Show"


Ron Howard (Opie) and I are only a few months apart in age.

True diehard Mayberry denizons know that Mayberry in reality is Mt Airy NC, the small town where Andy grew up.

The fictional town of Mount Pilot, where Barney took Thelma Lou for Chinese food is actually Pilot Mountain, another small town 20 miles further on NC Hwy 52.
The town is named after the unusual looking peak, which as also a State Park.

The Queen and I needed to 'get out of town' last weekend, our soldier had Reserve Duty and was away for the weekend.

So we drove up to Mt Airy for the weekend.
I drive past Mt Airy many times on business, but since the I74 extension opened a few years ago, I had not been in the actual town for decades.

We had dinner in old downtown at the Pandowdy restaurant, named after their signature Apple dessert. It was definately a local hangout, and as it still is in most small towns in America the prices were amazingly affordable.
We paid just over $30.00 for dinner, a comparable meal here in Raleigh would run over $45.00 for the two of us.

After we ate we strolled the streets of 'Mayberry'.
The town merchants fully capitalize on it's ties to the T.V. show.
There is a Floyd's barbershop, an Opie's Candy Store, BlueBird diner, etc.
The 'Snappy Lunch' diner made famous by Andy's mention on the show is still in operation.
Ironically it was mentioned in our local paper last Friday.
The joint is well known for it's Pork Chop sandwich, (real healthy, I know!) cooked on a streetside grill behind a plate glass window.
The elderly fellow that had been doing the cooking for several decades finally had to retire last week.

We listened to an open air concert for awhile, the group played top forty hits from the sixties, right up our alley.
As we strolled back to our car, we witnessed what appeared to be an extremely drunk (he had a snootful, as Barney would have said) man literally hanging on the lamp post, with a Mason Jar of 'shine' in his hand.
He was yelling at the top of his lungs "Yeehaah", and waving at what little traffic passed by.
The fact that he was dressed in a manner very similar to Otis Howard, the lovable drunk on the show who locked himself up every Saturday night should have aroused my suspicions.
"We town drunks have our standards, Andy!"
The next morning Queen Felicia asked a local merchant about him.
"Oh, that undoubtedly was Hillbilly Jim, he owns the gift store across the street. Sometimes he also dresses up like the Hillbilly from the old Mountain Dew commercials"
She could tell that the woman was less than amused by Jim's antics, but we thought it was a hoot.

Soon after an exact replica of the Black and White squad car from the series drove by, driven by a close facsimile of Goober. Tour rides in the car can be purchased for a modest price.


There is a replica of the Jail and sheriffs office in a gift store where photo's can be taken, and other memorabilia scattered throughout the town.

Did Mayberry ever really exist? The small towns where my parents grew up were not that far removed from the atmosphere depicted in the show. My dad was raised in a similar community less than 150 miles away, as was my mother.
It was truly a simpler time in which to grow up.
That is why the show is still popular in syndication over forty years later.


Queen Felicia points at the famous "Black and White" from the show.





Notice that she is also wearing black and white, always fashion conscious and dressed for the occasion!

Saturday we drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to our favorite Winery, where we dined outside on the patio overlooking the Mountains Al Fresco. (Just exactly who is this Al Fresco, and why should we care?)

Afterwards we went outside for a Jazz and Zydeco concert with the gorgeous mountains for a back drop.



The weather was uncommonly mild for July, and we had a wonderful time.

We drove into Pilot Mountain on Sunday morning, hoping to find a cafe or coffee shop open where we could get a good coffee and a pastry for breakfast.
The town is much smaller and less developed than Mt Airy, but we found one shop just opening up, "LivinLattes"

The owner, who looked like one of the surfer dudes that I knew growing up in S Florida sat down and talked to us for a spell.
We discovered that he is a pastor, who uses both of his businesses for outreach, and he and his wife were expecting their seventh child any day now.
He was a very interesting guy, with unusual ideas for reaching and influencing his town and raising his children.
Needless to say he did not have a lot of support from the local church.
The same timeless message, but with new (actually very old) methods sometimes threaten and alienate folks.

Western North Carolina, due to it's natural beauty attracts a lot of artistic people.
That we knew.
We were not fully aware though that it also attacts a lot of occultists and Druidic sorts as well, for many of the same reasons.
He mentioned the resistance he was feeling from many that follow that lifestyle in the area.

They walk into his cafe expecting a typical Bohemian somewhat left wing coffee shop, and are very surprised and then put off by the actual atmosphere and messege that is made obvious.
The shop right across the street from his was a so called 'New Age' shop.
The area also is polluted with drug traffic, due to the fact that it is still mostly rural and undeveloped, hence hard to patrol.

We were all three amazed at yet another 'chance encounter' on the road less travelled that sometimes brings people of like mind together for much needed personal renewal and refreshment.
Jonathan changed his sermon topic for that mornings service in the cafe to reflect that very point.
livinlattes.com is their web site, if you care to visit.

Last of all, we actually drove up to the Pilot Mt park, something that I had never done in the literally dozens of times that I had driven past it.

It is a beautiful place, as you can see from the pictures.

There is always a remnant of God's people out there, and you don't always meet them in Church.
Rock on and continue to keep the Faith, fellow Pilgrims!





The Queen drinking her Livin Latte, and taking in the wonderful vistas.