A Trip to Mayberry
Our travels this Labor Day weekend took us to the Appalachian Mountains, a first for us, and added one more state (North Carolina) to our “states we’ve visited” list.
Driving
Our initial destination was Wilmore, Kentucky, where we dropped off a trailer at my cousin’s house. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the drive across Arkansas, the boot heel of Missouri, a tip of Tennessee, and into Kentucky.
We ran into an issue with the trailer tires, which delayed us a couple of hours on Friday afternoon, but we still made it to our hotel that night before dark.
Saturday was another beautiful late summer day. I enjoyed watching the scenery change as we drove further east. The Kentucky horse farms with board fences are so picturesque.
We dropped off the trailer and had a cup of coffee with my cousin and his family, and were soon on our way again.
Nada Tunnel and Red River Gorge
As we got back on the road, I said to Lyle, “Oh! I had planned to look at our route ahead of time to scope out interesting places to stop. I didn’t do that.”
He smiled and said, “I might have some little surprises up my sleeve.” And soon he turned off the main highway and headed up a mountain. He told me there was a tunnel and some springs on this road.
The tunnel, y’all. I can’t even.
Lyle drives through the Bobby Hopper Tunnel on Interstate 49 every day on his commute to work. But that’s two lanes each direction with plenty of clearance and lights and everything. This was not that.
One lane. No lights. 12-foot clearance top to bottom, and so narrow I could have rolled my window down and brushed my fingers along the wall as we drove through.
Fortunately, we could see the other end as we entered. Still, it was pretty freaky, and I kinda held my breath as we slowly entered the mountain.
Then we turned around and came back through it because the road on the other side of the tunnel didn’t go where we wanted to go.
We stopped to look at a spring on the side of the road. I wanted to get up closer to see if I could find where the pipe started in the little cave, but the ground was wet and slippery, so I decided not to.
I peeked in the Little Free Library at the Red River Gorge Visitor’s Center, and we got coffee at the Daniel Boone Coffee Shop.
Hazard, Kentucky
Our hotel that night was in Hazard, Kentucky. I checked the Little Free Library app to see if there might be some nearby. There appeared to be several not too far apart, so we set off to see what we could find.
Big mistake! The streets of Hazard are not conducive to out-of-towners skulking around neighborhoods looking for boxes of books. Perhaps the little libraries there work well for pedestrians passing by, but trying to maneuver our pickup on the tight, hilly streets was not a good experience.
I speculated that might be how the town came to be named Hazard. I don’t know.
Virginia
We continued east the next morning across a section of Virginia. The early morning was a little foggy.
We were intrigued by the ivy growing everywhere. Lyle said they had it growing up the side of his house when he was a kid, and he hated having to deal with it. I can understand that, but on the other hand, I think it’s very pretty.
We were tickled to spot a Muffler Man in Coeburn, Virginia. They’re so kitschy, but ever since our Big Adventure in 2021, we’ve kept an eye out for them. I should make a list of the ones we’ve seen.
Mt. Airy, North Carolina
Our main destination for this road trip was Mt. Airy (aka Mayberry). I knew it would be cheesy and touristy—and it was—but, being a fan of The Andy Griffith Show, it has been on my bucket list for a while.
In case you thought Mt. Airy was the real-life Mayberry, it’s actually not. They’d like you to think it is, but no. It’s a charming little town in its own right, but the buildings and places you might be familiar with from the show don’t exist.
Andy Griffith’s boyhood home is there. It’s available to rent by the night. But it’s not the same house Andy Taylor and Opie lived in with Aunt Bee.
You can also take a guided tour of Mt. Airy in a squad car, but your driver won’t be Sheriff Taylor or Deputy Fife. Still, it was fun to see the familiar vintage police cars patrolling the streets.
Blue Ridge Parkway
As we turned west again to head toward home, we took the time to drive a few miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway—another bucket list adventure.
I would love to drive the full length of it sometime, but I’m glad we had the chance to experience as much of it as we did. The Appalachians are truly beautiful, just as I’ve always heard.
This trip brings my “States Visited” tally up to 42. I lack Hawaii, South Carolina, and six New England states. Lyle lacks a few more than that, but not many. I doubt we ever make it to Hawaii, but we hope to add more eastern states to our list before too long.
