Mt. Airy 'Mayberry', NC at Christmas

Back in December we took off for what's become a kind of annual December road trip.  This year we headed back to Biloxi, Mississippi.  In order to get the most out of the trip, I researched everything to see along the way.  As it turned out, Mt Airy NC wasn't all that far off the main highway we needed and I thought it would be pretty to see at Christmas.  We went in the fall of 2021 and it was fantastic.  I knew Christmas would be great.  Andy Griffith was born in Mt Airy and this is the REAL 'Mayberry' and it's so, so worth seeing no matter what time of year.  

No matter how many times I uploaded the pics, they continue to load last to first and I just don't have the motivation to fix them.  So they are in the order of 'after dinner to mid afternoon'.

This is in the park downtown.

It was ICE COLD the night we were here.  In the teens.  The crescent moon was so crisp!

Store windows downtown were gorgeous.  So festive and homey.  Truly a throwback to a simpler time.

We stayed here.  I try to go with the local 'mom n pop' places whenever possible.  

Andy's office and the jail cells. 

Otis' cell.  Decorated for the holidays.

The Darlins! 

Goober says 'Hey'! 

The Darlins' shack

Country singer Donna Fargo is also from Mt. Airy.  She had a hit in the early 70s, 'Happiest Girl in the Whole USA'. 

Last time we went in 2021 I made Russell pose under the sign and theatre. It was just too cold this time to ask him to get out of the nicely heated truck. 

There are tours around town in the sheriff's car.

We ate breakfast at this cafe the first time we were in Mt Airy in 2021.  Tons of Don Knotts and Barney memorabilia and autographs inside!

Decorated upright basses all over town.

Fans of The Andy Griffith Show will remember their frequent references to Mount Pilot.  That's the real Pilot Mountain, just southeast of Mt. Airy.

Intrepid Travelers

We were both kind of dreading the trip home cause that is one long drive from Orlando to Cape Cod.  We're talking about 1,200 miles!!  We left about 7:00 AM to head north.

White palmetto tree as seen on the flags and state symbols.

I thought this was unusual for a major highway, to have the trees so close.

This rest stop is about 3 miles north of South of the Border.  I was so creeped out that I wouldn't use their bathroom so Russell stopped here for me!!!

Very blurry cause it was about 6:00 but we made it to Virginia the first day, and stayed in Emporia.  After a delicious meal at Cracker Barrel we checked into a hotel and crashed for the night.

 Up real early in the morning to continue on.

Got to the Capital Beltway around DC right at rush hour so it was definitely slow going.

 Loved this truck.  I lived for Scholastic Book Fairs in elementary school!

Maryland by mid morning....more traffic around Baltimore.

 I didn't realize we were going to pass through Delaware too...I was lucky to grab my camera in time!

We could have branched off to avoid the DC/Baltimore metro area but we had one more stop to make on the way home, in South Plainfield, NJ.

Russell got antipasto salads from this place called Pizza Stop that would deliver to the Halls Warehouse a few blocks away.  He hasn't had one in well over a year since his forced retirement.  He was so excited to stop here on the way home.  We got here about 2:30. 

I got a really good pie.  I miss NY/NJ style pizza!

He was so very happy to see that they hadn't changed anything with the salad.  He got two.

Aw look how happy!!!!!

The rest of the trip home was uneventful and we were in the house and relaxing by about 8:00 pm.  This was easily one of the best vacations ever....from seeing the boys and doing Halloween with them to living out my dream of seeing Harry Potter World, it was a perfect trip.  Made a lot of memories and had a lot of laughs.