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A
lot can be said about climbing into your car and traveling
across country... provided it is not in a Trax! We decided
to visit our daughter and son-in-law, Lauren & Nate in
New Bern, NC. Now
we could have flown and gotten there quickly, however we
would have flown over a lot of interesting stops along the
way. Below is a
summary of our explorations on the way to New Bern.
Our
first stop was Nicewonder Farm & Vineyard in Bristol, VA
for lunch and wine tasting. Nestled in the Blue Ridge
Mountains, this stop has it all. A beautiful inn, upscale
restaurant, entertainment, yurts, spa, a working farm, and
delicious wines. The food, wine, and service were perfect. https://www.nicewonderfarm.com
Our
second planned stop was in Mount Airy, NC where we planned
to spend the night and explore the town the following
morning. Mount
Airy was home to Andy Griffith and the inspiration for the
fictional town of Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show. https://www.visitmayberry.com
This town offers great photo ops that transport you back to
the days of Mayberry: Floyd’s Barber Shop, Wally’s
Filling Station, The Courthouse, and you can tour the town
in Barney’s Squad Car. While touring Mount Airy in the
Squad Car, we drove past a mural of Andy Griffith and Donna
Fargo (The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA) that were created
by an artist using cans of spray paint.
Next,
we stopped at Snappy Lunch, where Gina enjoyed their
world-famous pork chop sandwich and I had their large
hamburger, only $5 each.
https://thesnappylunch.com
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After lunch we toured The Andy Griffith Museum and believe
it or not, Mount Airy is home to the Siamese Twins Museum
featuring the lives of Chang and Eng Bunker who were
conjoined twins born in Siam (1811) and later put on
exhibition throughout the US. Eventually they retired from
show business, married sisters Adelaide and Sarah Yates, and
settled down in Mount Airy where they built two homes, where
they alternated homes every three days to spend “alone
time” with their prospective wife. Conjointly they
produced 21 children. The
twins passed away at the age of 62 in 1874.
https://www.surryarts.org/siamesetwins/index.html
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Upon
leaving, we made a slight detour to Fort Bragg Army Base for
a photo op to document where Gina was born. Yes, she is an
Army brat.
Finally,
we arrived in New Bern where Lauren and Nate rolled out the
red carpet treating us to an amazing stay in New Bern, the
birthplace of Pepsi. We
squeezed in so much in three days that it is hard to mention
it all. We had breakfast at Yoder’s Dutch Pantry in
Grifton, NC where the food is delicious and is connected to
a unique store. If you stop to eat, be sure to talk to Corky
the Parrot https://www.yodersdutchpantry.com.
We
had dinner at Beaufort Grocery Co which is located on the
inner banks of this coastal town. After dinner we took a
walk through the waterfront marina https://www.beaufortgrocery.com
We
were treated to a Historic Trolley Ride through New Bern,
managed to escape from the Bear Town Escape Room, and
rewarded with ice cream at Bear City Fudge and Ice Cream
https://www.bearcityfudge.com.
The
highlight was dinner at Baxter’s 1892 which is inspired
after jazz clubs of the roaring 20’s. You feel as though
you have stepped back in time. Dinner, drinks, and music
were top notch.
https://www.baxters1892.com
Heading
home, we stopped at Villa Nove Vineyards to check off a
bucket list stop. We
previously planned to visit this location for an “I Love
Lucy Grape Stomp and Look Alike Contest”, but
unfortunately hurricane Helene came through that area which
cancelled all events and caused a lot of damage in NC and
parts of TN. We had such a good time that we are planning to
go back.
https://waterfrontgroupwatauga.com/villa-nove-vineyard
So,
the next time you are thinking of flying to a destination in
the US, instead hop inside your car, pull up Waze and the
Roadside America app to see what adventures you can
discover.
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