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First Racing Road Trip 2004
First stop, Mayberry - Mount Airy N.C.
I had other reasons for visiting the Carolina's that were race related and I'll get to that in the next article. I just had to stop off in a little town called Mount Airy, North Carolina because it is where Andy Griffith grew up and it was the town that Mayberry, from the famed Andy Griffith Show, was designed from. How many of you are true Mayberry fans? If you are, you've got to check this place out!
As we traveled north, in the distance you could see a round topped mountain and the signs all indicated that it was Pilot Mountain, so named because it sticks out of the landscape and early pilots used it as a landmark. Anyway, I kept seeing these signs and the mountain, not putting two and two together, then it clicked, this was the place that Andy often referred to as "Mount Pilot" in the show. In the show, Mount Pilot was considered to be a big town which they had to travel to on overnight trips, but there really isn't much there. As you can see in the picture, in the backdrop, it is a beautiful small mountain. Pilot Mountain is located only 12 miles from Mount Airy.
In Mount Airy, I first visited the Andy Griffith Visitor Center and Museum.
I didn't want to park my truck in the sun, so I pulled around back of the building. As I parked, my eyes fell on a true discovery for car buffs like me. The squad car used in Mayberry by Andy and Barney to fight crime and sometimes, double date in. The Ford Galaxy 500 was just sitting there with no one else around. I took several pictures which are in the Racing Gallery now. It is impressive as to how well the car, which I found out is a daily driver, has been preserved. I was tickled pink to get to see it up close and to get my picture taken standing beside it. The car is used by visitors to tour through the town to see all the sites. Once inside the Visitor's Center, I found a whole world of information on Andy and the gang from Mayberry. Boy was it a trip back in time for me!
Yeah, that's me with shorts on. Nice knees huh?
Mayberry
Mount Airy North Carolina
Later in the day, we visited the Mayberry Jail or Court House, Walley's Service Station, Floyd's Barber Shop, Weaver's Department Store, the Diner, and Andy's childhood home place. I understand that accommodations can be made so you can stay in the old Griffith home while visiting the area. We saw the Andy Griffith Theater and got to see just how close Mayberry was to Andy's memories of Mount Airy. It was a real good side trip to take and I'm glad I stopped in. If you are a fan, you should plan to visit there soon!
You can visit Mount Airy via the web at http://www.visitmayberry.com Here you'll see most of the sites that I visited. It's a hoot to go back and see where it all began in Andy's hometown. Just take a walk down main street and you can see how Mayberry got it's charm.
Like I said before, I did come to this part of the country on a racing mission, as Mayberry or Mount Airy, was a fun side trip. I visited several racing shops while in the area, starting with the famed DEI Race Shops. Look for the second leg of my first racing road trip for 2004, it's called Dale Earnhardt Inc. or DEI Race Shops.
James H. Jones Jr., A2Z Auto Racing ©2004
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