A parkway of our own

We experienced the Blue Ridge Parkway in almost all seasons today.  Sun, clouds, rain, wind and what Larry described as "blinding fog."  We couldn't see  beyond the road on the sides, and there are no shoulders!  Only thing we missed was snow and ice, thankfully.  Drove about 260 miles and until we were closer to Asheville, we saw almost no cars; after three hours we thought we had seen maybe 10!

To get out of the fog, we drove 15 miles off the BRP to Mount Airy, North Carolina, the hometown of The Andy Griffith Show & Mayberry RFD.   It's a bit schlocky, but people were so friendly and it was fun to see one of Barney's police cars and Aunt Bea's diner.  We ate lunch at The Snappy Lunch, which has the honor of being the only Mount Airy business to be mentioned on the show -- by Andy himself! 

Oprah and Gourmet Magazine have raved about the pork chop sandwich so we splurged and ordered two, the most expensive thing on the menu at four dollars each.  The bologna sandwich was only $1.50.  Have to say we loved the pork chop sandwich!  Wasn't so sure about the chili on it but it was more like a chili relish and it all tasted great.

We were welcomed to Mount Airy as soon as we got out of the car.  Old  fellow sitting on a bench, sort of a self appointed ambassador.  Not many teeth but really friendly.  So was the fellow who offered to take my picture in The Snappy Lunch -- missing a few teeth as well.  Our third friendly fellow stopped his car next to ours, seeing us looking at maps, and asked if we were "hunting up something."  Not so many teeth. 

Mount Airy seemed more "southern" than anything we've seen.  Which made it all the more fun.

Back on the parkway the fog had lifted and we experienced the beautiful scenery again.  Hard to describe, although one ranger called it gentle mountains and with the tree-covered rolling hills in front of them, that's a good description.  There are also broad fields of grass, lovely homes dotting the landscape and tree farms. At other places you drove through archways of trees and walls of room-sized rhodies.  Hundreds of dogwoods lined the road.   The parkway is just the road, not anything off the sides.  In a few places state and regional parks of thousands of acres back up to it. 

We did a few walks in the park areas to see waterfalls, the view from the Lump, and to the top of Mount Mitchell, which at over 6600 feet is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi.  It wasn't too hard, you drove nearly to the top and then walked about 300 yards to a viewing platform on the highest point.

Arrived in Asheville around 9 p.m. - big day!