Judy Grillo
  • Home
  • Writer
    • Services & Clients
    • Rates & Terms
  • Teacher
  • Trainer
  • Reveler
  • Blogger
  • Listener
  • Home
  • Writer
    • Services & Clients
    • Rates & Terms
  • Teacher
  • Trainer
  • Reveler
  • Blogger
  • Listener

The Other Carolina

5/5/2019

5 Comments

 
Just an hour from Greenville, I rolled into Flat Rock, North Carolina and arrived at Connemara, the home of Carl Sandburg and his family from 1945-1966. A week ago, my knowledge of Sandburg was his famous poem, "Fog," which did influence me to write in high school. I've now learned enough about this writer, musician and activist to know that I want to know more. When Sandburg and family moved from Michigan to Flat Rock, they packed more than 17,000 books -- that fact alone endears them to me. In this beautiful place, Lilian became internationally known for breeding dairy goats and ran the business, while Carl published one-third of his literary work during this time. In three hours, I toured the home and property, and hiked Little Glassy Mountain, but I could have stayed longer to simply sit, as well as experience the interesting little village of Flat Rock. Note to self. 

Whistle along with me. 
When planning my departure from Greenville, I seriously considered camping in the Pisgah Forest and hiking Mount Mitchell, but I haven't given up on the thought of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail some day. So, from thoughts of the woods and the mountains, I went straight to another pull -- the kitschy tourism of Mount Airy, NC -- yes, Mayberry. I'm not sure what would be happening in this town if not for the birth of Andy Griffith here, but it is now all things Mayberry, from a museum to a main street that's thriving, thanks to his hometown re-creation in the sixties. 

I'll let the photos speak for my visit, yet I have to add that one of the amazing "by-products" of my travel is the people I share time with who I would never meet in my day-to-day life. I now hope to return here one June for the annual Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention, a festival devoted to old-time and bluegrass music. Oh, and when I see you, ask me about Eng and Chang, the famous Siamese twins from the 19th century. 
5 Comments

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Author

    Cyclist, writer, teacher, avid reader, bike/ped advocate, nomad, pie lover

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.