Mayberry USA; Mt Airy, North Carolina

Visiting Mt Airy, North Carolina, is reliving the best of the 1950's and 60's with Andy, Opie, Barney, Aunt Bee, Floyd, Goober, Gomer, Helen Crump, Thelma Lou, Howard Sprague, Otis, and all the other good citizens of Mayberry. As you walk along the historic Main Street of Mt Airy, you feel as though you might just accidently run into Andy Taylor or Barney Fife standing on the next street corner. Historic Main Street is the 1950's at its very best. Memories of Andy and Barney are found in the windows of every storefront. Spending time in each of the stores gives you a feeling that this is not your usual "tourist trap", this is the real deal. Mayberry is alive and well fifty years later.

Andy Griffith can be mighty proud of his hometown, the people are authentic. When they greet you on Main Street with a southern drawl "good mornin", you find yourself saying "yes...it is a good mornin". Or while dining at the Chile Verde, which happens to be the hot spot in Mt Airy, you can hear a good old greeting of "Well, look who's here...Uncle Buck...how ya'll been".

The air is fresh, the sun shines brightly, and the Main Street is spotlessly clean. Walking down Main Street past Floyd's Barber Shop you realize that the more things change, there are somethings in life that time has not and most likely will not change. Operating since 1929, not much has changed at Floyd's. It appears to still be the gathering place of the good old boys of Mt Airy, and a scent of osage in the air. Next door to Floyd's is the Snappy Lunch, serving Mt Airyan's diner food since 1923. Across the street is the Mayberry Five and Dime. Up the road is Wally's Service Station. Down the road is Mount Pilot. Spending time in Mt Airy you come to understand why Andy never carried a gun, and why Barney was allowed one bullet which he kept in his shirt pocket. This is small-town America at its very best. Within a few minutes, you'll find yourself whistling the Andy Griffith Theme Song. I can't think of a better way to pass the time o' day.

The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry may have been a fictional account of the humorous, and good life of a southern town, but as I discovered, Mayberry is alive and well in Mount Airy, North Carolina. So like Andy and Opie, take down your fishing pole and head to the fishing hole of Mayberry USA, and on the way, maybe skip a few skippin' stones across the lake.

Until my next travel adventure, Guymon says goodbye from Mayberry USA, Mt Airy, North Carolina.

Mast General Store; Valle Crucis, North Carolina

Located in a picturesque holler in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains surrounded by barns of drying tobacco leaves, the Mast General Store is a real old-fashion shopping experience that will entertain all who step through its 1883 doors. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Mast has something for everyone, including such Appalachia goods as Moonshine Jam, Corn-Cob Pipes, Washboards, Red Union Suit Long Underwear, Hickory Rocking Chairs, and old-fashioned Nostalgic Wooden Toys. If your not interested in any of the Appalachian essentials of life, the Mast General Store advertises over 500 different varieties of candies, everything from old-time favorites as Wax Bottles, Wax Lips and Fangs to Pecan Divinity.

The Mast General Store opened it's doors for business in 1883 carrying such everyday essentials from "cradles to caskets". W. W. Mast's sales advertising was simply and quaintly stated as "Quality Goods for the Living, Coffins and Caskets for the Dead". Although I did not find the casket parlor, I did find a large selection of cast iron goods, jams and jellies of every flavor imagined, stone ground meal, as well as an excellent selection of outfitter clothing and footwear. If for no other reason, visit Mast to buy a glass bottle of Coke, sit at the checker's table next to the old oversized pot-bellied stove, and treasure for a while the good old days.

But visiting Mast is not the only reason to venture west of Boone, North Carolina, the scenery will beckon you even deeper back into the holler for some spectacular Appalachian scenery. I visited Mast on November 10th, and the fall colors varied from yellows, oranges, to deep hues of maple reds. I would encourage everyone to put the Mast General Store in northwestern North Carolina on your list of places to see. I promise you'll be amazed and entertained as you walk back into a general store from the late 1800's.

Charles Kuralt described the Mast General Store as "All general stores are satisfying to visit, but one of them, the Mast Store, is a destination". I too am glad to have taken the "road less traveled" and the unforgettable two hours I spent walking the wooden floors of the Mast General Store.

Until my next travel adventure, Guymon says "goodbye y'all" from the Mast General Store, Valle Crucis, North Carolina.