The REAL Mayberry
We are just back from a 10 day trip across the Carolinas and Virginia with much to write about. We visited many areas but we’ll start with our visit to Mount Airy, North Carolina……The REAL Mayberry!!!
Mount Airy is located in the far Northwest corner of North Carolina just outside Winston-Salem. This town has grown over the years but the downtown area still holds it’s charm and history from the days when Andy Griffith called it home. A stroll down Main Street will lead anyone into thought of what the days were like in the 40s and 50s when Andy was a youngster living in the area.
We started our day at Wally’s Service Station where we had a squad car tour booked in a replica patrol car from the show. Here we were met by a 34 year law enforcement veteran from the area who took us on an approximately 30 minute tour of the area pointing out many points of interest along the way. We were also told stories from Andy’s past and given information that even an Andy Griffith aficionado such as myself didn’t know!!
Much of the area is based around the show and not the other way around but there are some spots that are directly related to Andy himself. We tried to follow in his footsteps during our visit starting with a stop for lunch at the Snappy Lunch. This is the restaurant where Andy ate quite often making the pork chop sandwich famous. We did try this on our visit and I have to say that Andy had good taste!! A word of not here is they close REALLY early so plan to be there and finished by a little after 1:00pm!
After filling our stomachs at the Snappy Lunch we walked next door to Floyd’s City Barbershop where we were greeted by Bill Hiatt, the son of the legendary local “Floyd.” Bill was full of information and enjoyed talking to people about the history of the shop including his prized possession…….the chair where Andy Griffith sat for haircuts from 1947-1952!
After enjoying the history and taking our photo op in the famous chair we moved on down the street to Walker’s Soda Fountain for dessert. This location is full of memorabilia and was formerly Lamb Drug where Andy worked as a soda jerk in his younger days. Here we enjoyed some amazing floats and splits while taking in the decor.
Our final stop of the day was a visit to the Andy Griffith museum and the Andy Griffith Playhouse. Here we were able to see many of the actual items from the show and learn about the life and career of Andy.
Overall this place is a must see for anyone who likes the Andy Griffith Show. There’s something here for everyone including the kids. You can stay at the Mayberry Campground like we did, book a hotel or reserve a stay in Andy’s boyhood home for the night! Regardless of how you visit just make it happen.
Check out our YouTube video of the trip to see all the highlights. Also take a moment and hit the subscribe button. We have new videos come out every Monday evening. Until next time……….
