Mount Airy NC and the Mayberry Days Festival

A system of wooden flumes carries water to the gristmill.

There are a number of other restored buildings adjacent to Mabry Mill. This one is an actual working blacksmith shop...  

... and inside is an actual working blacksmith.

Inside the sawmill...

I love walking around among these beautiful old buildings. My lifelong dream of having my own time machine is never going to happen, but at least there's places like Mabry Mill where I can capture the feel of yesteryear.  

This is probably the same "recipe" that Granny used to make her lye soap even after the clan up n' moved to Beverly Hills. Making this stuff sure kept poor Jethro and Elly May busy. 

Here's one final photo from this wonderful piece of American history.

Since you enjoy history, can I assume you have explored two historic locations closer to your home?
 
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg, IL
http://www.lincolnsnewsalem.com/
 
Pine Creek Grist Mill @ Wildcat Den State Park near Muscatine, IA
http://www.pinecreekgristmill.com/
 

6star


Since you enjoy history, can I assume you have explored two historic locations closer to your home?
 
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg, IL
http://www.lincolnsnewsalem.com/
 
Pine Creek Grist Mill @ Wildcat Den State Park near Muscatine, IA
http://www.pinecreekgristmill.com/
 

  
 
I've never been to either Muscatine or Petersburg, but I'll keep them in mind for my future travels. Many thanks for posting these links. 

Leaving Mabry Mill, I drove west on US 58 to have lunch at one of my favorite places in the area, the Hillsville Diner.

I try to get over to the Hillsville Diner for a meal every time I go down to NC, although it doesn't always work out that way. Today it did, but I was disappointed to learn that I missed out on getting to see Mac, the owner, by about ten minutes. Oh well. I ordered my favorite meal at the diner, hamburger steak with mashed potatoes ( real! ), pinto beans, and cornbread... and of course sweet tea with lemon. Nothing fancy, but I enjoy it.

After lunch, it was down to Fancy Gap to get back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway...  

The parkway took me several miles west to Pipers Gap Road, which winds its way down the mountain and eventually leads back to Mount Airy. Here, the road crosses under I-77. I was told that a new truckstop is planned for this interchange. 

NC, I'm in a hotel room in Gatlinburg TN as I am typing this.  Today, I did this route.  I highly suggest you do it but only if the brakes on your car are in good shape....

http://www.cherohala.com/location.html

Cheesehead, I'm very envious. I'd love to be sitting in a hotel room in Gatlinburg right now ( there's no country ham anywhere near where I'm sitting. ) That Cherohala Skyway website is a real eye-opener. How is it that I've never heard of this road before? I really appreciate this information, and now I've got to figure out how to work a drive on this incredible highway into the itinerary of my NC roadtrip next May.

Now back in Mount Airy, I had a few hours to kill before it was time for the Dillards concert at the Andy Griffith Playhouse; this concert is the event that kicked off the Mayberry Days Festival that weekend. I'd bought my ticket for the concert back in December and had really been looking forward to it. Since I did have time to kill, I headed over to a major Mount Airy landmark that I didn't find time to photograph back in May. 

Besides the Andy Griffith/Mayberry connection, Mount Airy is famous as the home of the world's largest open-faced granite quarry; in fact, "Mount Airy white" is considered some of the best quality granite available. North Carolina Granite Corporation has been in business since 1889, but the actual operation of the quarry goes back to 1743.
 
                                                   www.ncgranite.com   

Anyone care to guess what material NCGC's headquarters building is constructed from? You have five seconds... 

NC Cheesehead


NC, I'm in a hotel room in Gatlinburg TN as I am typing this.  Today, I did this route.  I highly suggest you do it but only if the brakes on your car are in good shape....

http://www.cherohala.com/location.html

Any good eateries in the area? I've driven a good amount of this several times but never had time to experiment:-)