The Bestest Day Ever

 

This day was the bestest day ever. I ended up in Mayberry. Yes, that Mayberry, the town with Andy, Opie, Aunt Bea and my personal favorite, the deputy above all others – Barney Fife! I can not tell you how excited and happy I was to be here. The town is actually called Mt Airy, but it is where Andy Griffith was born and raised and what Mayberry was modeled on. In the town, there is Floyd's Barbershop and you can get a Barney Burger down at the local cafe. Mt. Airy is very proud of her native son, as well she should be. I stayed at the Mayberry Campground, where most of the streets were named after characters in the Andy Griffith show.

Maybe this is why I was so excited about being in Mayberry. 

When you go to the Andy Griffith Museum, you get a paper sheriff's badge that will allow you to enter. Nice little museum. Since it was a Saturday, it also got you admission into the Earle Theater. WPAQ Saturday morning Merry-Go-Round is a live radio broadcast set in a vintage movie theater. This show is the second longest currently running live radio program in the nation. They feature regional music and have hosted some of the greats: Carter Family, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe among others. I jumped at the chance to actually go see some live music. I can't tell you how nice it was to hear live music again. Live music can actually do your soul good.

Hubert Lawson and the Bluegrass Country Boys
A family band.  Mom, Dad and their two boys

Mayberry is not all that was happening or happened in the area. Eng and Chang Bunker ended up settling in the area around Mt. Airy after they made it big in the side show business. Eng and Chang were conjoined twins who were born in Siam (Thailand) in 1811, hence the name Siamese Twins. They were joined at the chest by a thin piece of skin. Their livers were connected through the band. Nowadays, it would have been a simple surgery to separate them but back then, it would have been a deadly procedure. They made a fortune in the curiosity business and came to Mt. Airy where they bought land and were very successful farmers and real estate investors. They each married and between them they had 21 children. Many of their descendants are still in the area. Mayberry Campground is located on what was their land and there is a house on the grounds, built by one of their sons.

Speaking of the campground, some of my neighbors decided to feed me. They grilled a whole thirteen pound turkey and I have to say that it was the moistest white meat I have ever tasted. I am not a fan of white meat, it is usually much too dry. There were sweet potatoes with walnuts, some long skinny green things and a to-die-for banana pudding. Evidently banana pudding is a standard southern dish. It was so good that it could make you consider moving down south.