Vacation Day #2

Today we arrived in Mount Airy, North Carolina. It was a little over 4 hours but it's through the mountains. So we were very happy to get here safe. We didn't have any problems at least. A little rain but not bad enough to bother us. We also got to stop at the Tamarack which is an artisan center in West Virginia we love stopping at on our way through this way. It's way way overpriced things but makes a great stop for lunch and stretching our legs.

We made it here at about 3pm. We have stayed here multiple times but never went to the downtown area. A friend who lives nearby told us we can't miss it. When you check in at this hotel there is a sign that says Welcome to Mayberry. The first time we stayed here I had no idea why. This is Andy Griffith's hometown and the downtown area is where The Andy Griffith Show started to be filmed before they moved it to California. So they have the town all setup as a replica of the show.

We found this little museum that was in honor of Andy's life. Here is a picture of Mom and Jeremiah ready to explore the museum...

After that we found this tour that took us around town and showed us a lot more of the history of the area. We just LOVE doing these kinds of things because we learn so much and see places we wouldn't see without it. Today was no different except...

We rode in a replica cop car from the show for the tour. Right before this picture Jeremiah was handcuffed for stealing chickens. But then he was uncuffed and got to ride shot gun and be a deputy for the tour. We learned so much. I didn't know this is the Granite city. We got to pull in and see the huge open granite mine they have here...

The granite from this very mine has been used in 12 building in Washington DC. So many memorials, monuments, and many many other things. The list was so long. The one that really stood out to us was the Wright Brothers Memorials which we've seen in Kill Devils Hills OBX North Carolina one of my favorite places in the world. He said the granite runs under the whole town.

We were so thankful we found this fun tour. Jeremiah had a blast. We got to our hotel just in time for more rain. But we were already settled in for the night. We are actually staying here for two nights. Tomorrow we are getting to see friends we normally only get to see once a year. They live nearby and we are getting together for lunch.