Mayberry Days' Spirit Not Dampened by Drizzles

My 2008 Mayberry Days experience was not dampened this year in spite of rains that would not go away! Hurricane Kyle was inconsiderate enough to send drizzles to Mount Airy, North Carolina, most of the day Thursday through Saturday. However, by late Saturday afternoon the rains ended, and Sunday was beautiful for our drive home.

Mount Airy, North Carolina, is the childhood home of Andy Griffith, and one of the primary inspirations for the fictitious town of Mayberry. Every year the town hosts Mayberry Days during the last full weekend of September, and the picturesque town tucked into the foothills of the mountains of northern North Carolina is overrun by fans of "The Andy Griffith Show."

You can't get more Americana than Mayberry Days! Mayberry Days consists of pie eating contests, checkers tournaments, Mayberry trivia contests, bluegrass music, Mayberry memorabilia for sale, skits and impersonators, and a big parade down Main Street. Actress Chevy Anz did her superb Daphne impression for the Mayberry Days parade, tribute artist Barney Woods earned high marks for his dead-on impersonation of Barney Fife, and Goober impersonator Tim Pettigrew was an enthusiastic, crowd-pleaser.

One of my personal highlights was book signings for the poetry book The Mayberry Poem - A Tribute to Mayberry at Mayberry on Main. If you love poetry and Mayberry, you will love this book.

Every time I turned around, I was eating delicious meals with friends at local Mount Airy eateries like the world-famous pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch, Pandowdy's, and Sagebrush. I think we ate three times at Goobers out on Highway 52 with its delicious sandwiches, salads, and entrees! Good food, good company, good times - Hurricane Kyle sure didn't dampen our Mayberry Days spirits or appetites much!

I made it all the way from Nashville, Tennessee to Mount Airy, North Carolina with no trouble finding gas although there were rumors of gas shortages throughout the trip. Prices ranged from $3.99 in Nashville to $3.39 in Knoxville, and around $3.69 in NC. With gas prices high, reports of gas being hard to find, and the rains, Mayberry Days attendance was definitely down this year, but I have no regrets about going. It may have been wet on the outside, but I think we all felt warm on the inside at Mayberry Days.