Mayberry and Goober hats...

Today was a much-anticipated day off from school. It was a teacher/faculty day for the professors to figure out our midterm grades (what? midterm already?), so my family went on a little day trip. We went to Mt. Airy, North Carolina, the hometown of Andy Griffith and inspiration for Mayberry! And it was so much fun. I've always loved "The Andy Griffith Show," it's second only to "I Love Lucy." Mt. Airy was so charming...not quite so wonderful as Mayberry, but I guess that's impossible. Anyway, this post is so stuffed with pictures that it might explode.

The weather was so beautiful. It started out foggy and cool, but turned out sunny and nice.

We visited Floyd's barber shop, which was very cute. The older gentleman who cuts hair actually favors Floyd in some way. He was very friendly and funny. When I had my back turned looking at the walls (which are absolutely covered in photos of his customers, from local kids and adults to Oprah and Andy Griffith himself), he came up behind me with his scissors and jokingly said, "How much did you say you wanted off?" He said not to let anyone cut my hair. But his customer offered to pay for Cody's haircut when Cody took off his hat (Cody has the most amazing hair).

Finally, proof that ice cream is a health food. I've always believed it, but now the whole world can know.

This is the inside of the Snappy Lunch, where we had our lunch. It's really popular with locals, us tourists (including the 2 or 3 tour buses that came when we were there), and everyone else, so it was packed. It's a tiny little hole in the wall, but the food was really good. Dad had the famous porkchop sandwich. Andy Griffith used to eat at the Snappy Lunch when he was young because the school didn't have a cafeteria. It's mentioned in an episode of the show.

I love this statue of Andy and Opie. It's very sweet. The nearby museum with tons of memorabilia was closed for construction, which was disappointing.

Probably my favorite part of the whole day was the recreation of the jail. It was so realistic, almost exactly like the one in the show. The details were amazing.

There were two cells, and a perfect sheriff's desk and corner. The sheriff sign was reversible, exactly like it was supposed to be. There was a typewriter, a Bible, history and law books, a radio, a fan, a file cabinet, and a record player, among other things.

Wally's service station and the squad car!

Otis was wandering the streets while we were there. All he wants is someone to play checkers with.

"Did you hear about the fight in Opie's Candy Store?" he asked us. We said no, and he replied, "I heard two suckers got licked."

This house was famous for something, I think. We didn't go in, but the gaezbo (sp?) was amazing. It was like woven and carved, not solid. It was beautiful.

This was Andy Griffith's homeplace for many years. It's owned by the local Mariott and you can rent it out for the weekend!

This is the world’s largest open-face granite quarry. It was pretty amazing...the granite supposedly is 9,000 feet deep, and it can be seen from space. This is just part of it and see the truck for an idea of the size.

So, we had a great day in Mt. Airy. I only wish we could have stayed longer. For someone who loves old things, like me, it was even better. The stores are full of Andy Griffith, Lucy, James Dean, Elvis, and other old memorabilia, from t-shirts to tin signs to pictures. We even went in two little fabric stores. But the best part was getting to see that there are so many other people who love "The Andy Griffith Show," too.

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)