we stopped there in time to catch the
free, weekly Sunday Bluegrass Jam at
the Floyd Country Store. This was my
second exposure to blue grass music
which would continue at Blue Ridge
Music Center museum and other
stops along the way.
A former hippie community, Floyd
is an artsy small town with a farmers
market, artisan trail, small boutiques
and galleries, independent restau-
rants and more. Art festival junk-
ies can easily spend more time (and
money) in the little local shops.
Morning put us back on the
parkway headed for waterfalls,
wildflowers and Mabry Mill at Mile
Post 176. Winding to Mile Post 199 we
left the parkway in search of Mount
Airy, North Carolina. Mount Airy is
the birthplace and childhood home
of the late actor Andy Griffith and
served as a model for the quintessen-
tial television town of Mayberry. At-
tractions and museums in town hon-
our its broadcast fame.
While the route was short, we filled
the gas tank at least once while cruis-
ing the area. And, I didn’t even stop
at the many antique stores along the
route. We posed, feet on the desk,
in Sheriff Andy Taylor’s office and in
the town jail before taking a vintage
squad car tour of Mount Airy. Then,
we shook off the unfortunate rain and
checked in at the quaint Mayberry
Motor Inn, where the owner some-
times dresses as Aunt Bee to greet
guests. Dinner followed at The Load-
ed Goat, which is named after a 1963
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