The Unexpected

 What better way to end out the year than a blog post? December in a nutshell- a flurry of activity with a few curve balls thrown in. So many miles traveled. December is always a busy time, but this year more than ever. These are some highlights- 

We started off the month with a wedding- our daughter (to the right of the bride) and daughter-in-law (far left) were in the bridal party so there were 2 dresses to alter (which is always a little nerve-wrecking that one doesn't screw it up!) 

And I spent the week of the wedding baking cheesecakes for the reception. I was told the groom's aunt was making the other half of the cheesecakes, but what I didn't know is that she bakes commercially to sell. I was feeling good about mine until I walked in and saw hers- I almost wilted! I thought I made tall cheesecake with 4 blocks of cream cheese; she uses 5. I'm told she could practically make them in her sleep; it's not a hobby for me and I don't charge enough to make money on it. Oh well, I did my best. 

Arianna gave a killer maid-of-honor speech. Proud mom moment. 

Wish I had a recording of it because it was that good. 

The next week I was in charge of a ladies fellowship evening at our church; we opted to do a craft night. My SIL Ruth taught wreath making; I taught a frosted luminary craft. With soup & charcuterie on the menu. It was so much fun, even though I ached so bad [from working on concrete all evening] till I got home that I could hardly relax to fall asleep.

The school Christmas program was of extra interest this year with Arianna being a teacher. Her students were joyful and exuberant. Avery did excellent with her solo! Can this be the same timid kiddo that had a hard time going to school last year?!  

Somewhere in the midst of all the activity that week, we found out that we will be driving Richard's parents to Florida for the winter. Colton's Christmas program was on the 17th so we negotiated to leave early on the 18th. Richard & I were not on the same page initially about how long to stay in the sunny south; he was of the weeks' vacation mindset and I was more concerned about getting all the Christmas "stuff" done at home. Christmas airfare was the deciding factor; we stayed a week. Christmas preparations got turned over to Arianna & Ang. 

A snow day on Sunday, 14th, was such a gift! We had been so looking forward to a chill Thanksgiving Day which did not happen on account of a very scary medical episode with our grandson the night before. Nothing can prepare you for the sight of flashing lights from police cars and 2 ambulances in your son's driveway late at night, and a floppy, glassy-eyed toddler you love in a paramedic's arms... and following an ambulance to the hospital while shaking uncontrollably from the adrenaline rush that completely reversed the sleeping pill you took 30 minutes before you got the call "he's choking!" 

So getting 'snowed in' was a postponed chill day, an unexpected lovely surprise. 

I hardly moved off the recliner all day. 

I envy people who can fall asleep anywhere; I could not shut my brain off and fall asleep on the 17th. 3am on the 18th found Richard & I hitting the road with Richard's parents, heading for their winter home. They were the ones that wanted to drive straight through, but I'm not sure I would agree to do it again; it was a long day for all of us! Especially those of us who didn't get any sleep. 

We introduced them to Buc-ees in Georgia. They didn't seem overly impressed. That brisket is 😋 tho!   

At last! But it's still an "everlasting" drive from here...😔 We arrived in Pinecraft at 8pm.

There are always lots of maintenance issues to fix and cleaning to do in a house that sat empty for 8 months. This was our first time being the first ones there, helping with all of it. More work trip than vacation. 

Before I cleaned the invasive species out of the landscaping...

After...

Once the sisters arrived, the cleaning went into high gear. 

While we were down there, something exciting happened at home. We already knew about the matchmaking going on and were not exactly surprised. Ugh, it was tough being 880 miles away! Especially knowing that when we get home, they will both fly to FL (completely coincidental) and we'll miss out again. Richard has the advantage of knowing his folks; I do not. I grew up in a different state and social circles so I don't have the same Mennonite Game connections. I have yet to officially meet him, but we've heard nothing but good things. 

We had the most amazing weather while we were there! Balm for the soul. I'm so glad we stayed a week. I would've stayed longer if it hadn't been for Christmas obligations at home. We may or may not be planning a future family Christmas in Florida... 😍

We flew home on the 24th. Arianna picked us up from the airport, giving us a chance to catch up on the events of her life. The next day we hosted Christmas at our house. Easiest hosting ever -when you let everyone else do all the work. 😁

Wyatt is becoming the biggest copy-cat! LOL 

Sticky Hands was a fun new activity Josh introduced. 

The day after Christmas we made food and packed up for the trip east for Christmas with my family. Richard & I drove through some treacherous weather. Our kids opted to come together the next morning and had better driving conditions. My dad is not in the best health, so I really appreciate the effort they all made to be there. 

The next morning we took Arianna to the airport. It was supposed to be a race to see if she could get to FL before we could drive home. A maintenance issue with the plane had her stuck at the airport until we were home, and an [understandably] anxious young man on the other end waiting to pick her up. To our knowledge, there have not been any more unexpected glitches and photo evidence indicates she's having a well-deserved Christmas break from school teaching. The future's so bright I gotta wear shades! 😎

My calendar is so wide open in January that it's almost a culture shock. Shh, don't tell anyone though, I don't want to jinx it! I'm frequently asked if I have any big plans in the new year. Working on the school handbooks is at the top of the list, although I "have the itch" to catch up on scrapbooking instead. In answer to the persistent question about future travel plans, Israel is all we have on the calendar for 2026. 

I hope you have a blessed new year! 

Mayberry with the A-Team

 Someone made the sarcastic remark recently about our travels- "It never stops!" No, it doesn't, and I'm not going to apologize! Everyone has their thing(s) they splurge on- from hobbies, hunting, eating out or any number of things. For us, our kryptonite is travel. I came too close to being a widow to not take advantage of our stage of life. 

So we threw around a number of ideas of what to do for our 34th wedding anniversary, before we decided to keep it lower key. We settled on Mt Airy NC aka Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show of the 1960s. We got mixed reactions from folks who heard what we were doing; some shook their heads, saying "there's nothing to do there" while others smiled, saying "you'll love it". In response to the "there's nothing to do there", our assessment is either 1. your expectations are extremely high and you don't know how to kick back & relax on vacation, or 2. you don't know how to research for a new location. That's all I'm gonna say about that. 

It's a quaint little town with friendly locals. Movie actor Andy Griffith was born & raised there; none of the Andy Griffith Show was filmed there but the script is based largely on people & places around Mt Airy. The local economy is largely driven by Mayberry fans. Not sure we qualify as fans exactly, but it was a good clean show. Unlike most of the nonsense being filmed nowadays. Hollywood needs a Barney Fife telling them to "nip it, nip it in the bud!"  

This mural wall was created with spray paint! Shazam! The detail is incredible. Andy Griffith at different ages. And if you look closely, the shadow of Pilot Mountain is across it. Very cool. 

There is a fleet of 7 restored 1960s cars used to give squad car tours around the town. 

There were 3 cars running continuously that day; we got a Ford Galaxie  with driver Mike. A highlight!

We started & ended at Wally's Service Station. This is an original service station built in 1937 and operated as a Gulf Station and then later as an Esso. One can stop by and drink a cold grape Nehi in a rocker out front; we rocked out front, sans the Nehi, while waiting for our tour time.  

Cool prices, but I'm glad we're not working for 1960 wages anymore

The tour took us to one of Mt Airy's other claims to fame- a granite quarry. He told us it's the largest granite quarry in the world. Wait, I thought when we were at Rock of Ages quarry in Vermont, they said that was the biggest? I Googled it. Vermont is the deepest; Mt Airy is the largest. Got it. Allegedly there is enough granite here for 500 years and it's visible from space. 😮 It was first mined in 1743 and has been in continuous operation since 1889. 

This church was pointed out as built with granite, and we also noticed granite curbs around town. Reportedly the World War II Memorial in Washington DC is made with granite from this quarry.  

The Mayberry Courthouse & Jail replica... Richard sat at Andy's desk.

...where Barney locked up the hardened criminals, including the local drunk Otis Campbell. Our tour guide said the actor who played Otis was very talented because he actually never drank alcohol - his true character was opposite of what he played in the movies.  

This is Andy Griffith's homeplace. He lived here until his high school graduation in 1966, the year before Richard was born. Guests can stay in the home, although we were told there is a 2 year waiting list to get in. It is owned and operated by the local Hampton Inn. The house is decorated in a 1930s-1940s style with Griffith memorabilia, including a copy of Andy's birth certificate. 

This bronze statue captures The Andy Griffith Show’s famous opening scene depicting Andy Griffith and Ron Howard in their roles as Sheriff Andy Taylor and Opie Taylor heading to the fishing hole.

We toured the Andy Griffith Museum, the world's largest collection of Andy Griffith memorabilia. Many pieces were donated by Andy himself, including items from his desk and his sheriff's uniform from The Andy Griffith Show. The museum also houses items donated by other actors, including Don Knotts (Barney Fife), George Lindsey (Goober) and Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou).

This is the rocking chair his dad built for his mom in 1927, to rock newborn Andy. When he moved to California to be an actor, he gifted it to a cousin who later gifted it to the museum. 

Andy's sheriff shirt from the show          Barney Fife suit 

Goober Plye's suit          Goober's uniform and Charlene Darling's outfit

Mayberry Courthouse replica. Several of the props here are original from the show... 

...this is the chair of Deputy Barney Fife. The brass plate on the back says Don Knotts sat here 1960-1965 The Andy Griffith Show 

Mayberry jail keys. The ring on the left is the one that hung on the wall between the 2 cells in the show. 

Murals painted on the walls outside the museum

Included with museum tickets on a Saturday was admission to the Earle Theater for a live radio show, broadcast on WPAQ - the Merry-Go-Round show, at 11 a.m. We slipped in to check it out. We were among the youngest people there! 😄 The theater was built in 1938 and remains much the same as it was in the 1930s. No offense, but the first group wasn't very good... 

...the 2nd group was better. But we had our fill of bluegrass and left before it was over. 

Another famous legend from Mt Airy is the gospel group, the Easter Brothers. They were born and raised in Mt. Airy in the early 1930s. Brothers Ed, Russell, and James began singing in 1953; they were inspired by their mother's banjo playing, and are known for writing over 400 songs, including “They’re Holding Up the Ladder” and “Thank You Lord for Your Blessings on Me”. They were from before "my time"; we're from the era of James' son Jeff & Sheri Easter. The first concert I went to was Jeff & Sheri. This is a tribute mural on a wall on Main St- while not as detailed as the Andy mural, it's still impressive because the rough condition of the brick the artist had to work with. 

We took time to drive on down to Pilot Mountain. The knob has been a landmark for centuries; Native Americans and early settlers relied upon Pilot Mountain to determine their location. Andy Griffith referenced Pilot Mountain in his namesake show when he headed to the “big city” of Mount Pilot; the real Pilot Mountain is just a small town.  

However, upon arrival at the state park, the road up the mountain was blocked off and signs stated the parking lot up top was full. It wouldn't reopen till 3pm. We didn't feel like waiting around 1.5 hrs. As we were leaving, we overheard there is a shuttle van running from the visitor center here, but we decided to leave anyway. One of the most iconic things in Mt Airy is Floyd's Barber Shop, which allegedly closed at 3pm; we wanted to get back in time for that. Richard's hip was bothering him and wasn't up for hiking anyway.  

We weren't after a haircut, but the stories one can enjoy in the barbershop are legendary and it's quite a vintage photo op, too. Floyd, whose real name was Russel Hiatt, began barbering in Mount Airy in the late 1940s, and was the inspiration for "Floyd the Barber" in The Andy Griffith Show. He had planned to retire at 65, but when Mount Airy was reborn as "Mayberry" in 1989 his barber shop was renamed "Floyd's" and business boomed. Floyd passed away in 2016 but you can still get your hair cut in his barber shop. The shop was open the first afternoon we went by, but we figured we had more chances, so we didn't go in. Regretfully, it was closed the rest of the time we were there -in spite of posted hours- so we never got the experience.  

We went in Opie's Candy Store to pick up a treat for our grands. We may have got a small bag for ourselves, too. 

We went up & down the main street, browsing through the shops, including Wyatt's Trading Post, Mayberry Antique Mall and Bear Creek Candy. We went looking for the Whittling Wall. Found it!

Of course, we had to go into Barney's Cafe for lunch one time. We can recommend the Barney burger and grilled meatloaf sandwich. The waitress asked if I want fries or if I'm going to swipe a few of Richard's. How did she guess?! 😁

Highly recommend the Rusty Rooster restaurant! Loved the decor & stick-to-your ribs southern cookin'.

And Whit's Frozen Custard did not disappoint 

And we took one whole day to relax, never left our cute little AirBnB. 

We had a good blend of catching up on our loafing and exploring. 

My latest favorite love song, A Team by Dru Heath...

Together is our favorite place

And I still can′t wait to see your face

When you arrive everything's okay again

Without you there is no me

My lighthouse when I was lost at sea

The two of us we make the perfect team

You′re the yin to my yang

The sea to my sand

I've got your back and you've got mine

You′re my biggest supporter

And I′m your biggest fan

No mountain too high to climb

Cause together I know we can

We build bridges, not walls

You catch me when I fall

We are the A-team, you and me.

We've climbed the hills and pitched the tent

No falling out, no love misspent

The proof is clear in all we do and say

The road ahead is shining bright

With you the dark turns into light

Together there′s no finish line in sight

You're the yin to my yang

The sea to my sand

I′ve got your back and you got mine

You're my biggest supporter

And I′m your biggest fan

No mountain too high to climb

Cause together I know we can

We build bridges, not walls

You catch me when I fall

We are the A-team, you and me

We've missed the trains and flights

Still laugh through sleepless nights

No schedule can define

This perfect mess of yours and mine

You're the yin to my yang

The sea to my sand

I′ve got your back and you′ve got mine

You're my biggest supporter

And I′m your biggest fan

No mountain too high to climb

Cause together I know we can

We build bridges, not walls

You catch me when I fall

We are the A-team, you and me

Ain't nothing we can′t get through

Cause you got me and I got you

We're the A-team

You and me

(All true, except we've never missed a train)

Love ya, Babe! 

That's generally the way it's handled. When somebody marries you, the polite thing to do is marry 'em right back! -Andy Taylor