June 6, 2011: Mt. Airy, NC

We spent the day in Mt. Airy. It was a small town north of Winston-Salem.  It was best known as the town that Andy Griffith grew up in.       The TV show, "Andy Griffith Show" was based on this town.     We took the squad car tour that took us first to the huge granite producing site.       This granite was used in building many of the buildings in Washington D.C.   Granite weathers very well, so you don't have to clean or replace it.   

The Sheriff took us down Main St.   We saw the barber shop that Andy Griffith got his haircuts at.   Saw the famous restaurant "Snappy Lunch" which is the only restaurant mentioned in the TV show.     Again, we went by the childhood home of Andy Griffith.

It was fun to take this tour around town.      Then, mom and I went inside the courthouse which was based in the show.      We went to the Andy Griffith Museum.  Andy's good friend in town is the person responsible for getting this museum started.       They are still friends to this day.

Andy Griffith started out his career in gospel music. He performed in some plays in school.      He attended the University of North Carolina near Raleigh.    He has been married 3 times.   He adopted a son who died of alcoholism and has 1 daughter.  He has been married to his last wife, Cindy, since 1983.

Andy currently lives in a North Carolina coastal city.

We had lunch at the Snappy Lunch.    The breaded cheeseburgers were delicious. Andy used to come to this restaurant at lunch as a kid, as the school didn't have a cafeteria.      
We stopped by the Floyd's barber and met the barber who has cut Andy's hair many times.      In fact,  he works from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has cut hair for almost 64 years.
He took a picture of us and will put it on his wall collage.   He has over 18,000 photos of people who have met him. They are all over the walls in the barber shop.   Each haircut is still $8.

We went on a tour of this Gertrude's home.  The lady conducting the tour was very hospitable. She invited us to sit down and chat and have us some water.  She gave us hugs on the way out.   I sure love this southern charm and friendliness.      It is nice to see people not in such a hurry, too.     I prefer not to be rushed anymore with things.       I don't think I could live in a city like Chicago again, as I enjoy medium to smaller cities.    

June 5, 2011: Exodus Church, Charlotte & Mt. Airy

I was super excited about going to see Jerry (Jay) Depoy's new church, Exodus, which was in the Asheville Community Theater in downtown Asheville.     We got to the church around 9 a.m. and had a nice chat with him.   His family new a pastor in Asheville, who provided them with a beautiful home in Mars Hill, which is north east of the city.      When Jerry first moved to Asheville in Sept. 2009, he worked in the men's department at Dillards and then waited tables.      I am sure I will have to work retail when I first move somewhere, until I can find a full-time job.     The best case scenario would be to have something already lined up before going, but we will see.    Jerry and I hugged and so did Jamie and I.  It was so good to see both of them.   I used to attend Jerry's church in Muskegon 3 years ago. It was called Lakeshore Community Church which was in the Harbor Theater.    

Exodus Church is similar to Lakeshore Community Church. It was so good to hear one of Jerry's wonderful sermons.  He truly has a gift for reaching out to people through his sermons.     My mom enjoys his messages, too.

I talked with a couple of gals after the service.    One of them, Mandy, was from South Florida. She works at the local health department as a health educator for reproductive health.     The other gal was from Grand Rapids.      Mandy said she came to Asheville without a job and was able to find one within 2 months, so I felt a little better about that.

After church, mom and I headed east towards Winston-Salem.     We saw the city, Rutherfordton, and decided to go to it, as my mom's friend's brother lives there.     Then, I looked at a map and noticed that Charlotte was only about an hour away, so decided to drive around there.     Charlotte's traffic was horrible.   There were about 4 lanes of traffic all through there.     Today was Sunday and the traffic was bad. Imagine what it would be like during the weekday?     I think I can scratch Charlotte off my list.  

We did find Billy Graham's library in Charlotte.  Unfortunately, it was closed as it was a Sunday.     Then, I drove around downtown Charlottte.    The highways getting to downtown were horrible, but once I got downtown, there were hardly any cars, so I could drive slow through there and look at the surroundings.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Mt. Airy tonight.      Mt. Airy is the home town of Andy Griffith.  We found the home he lived in from 1935-1966.   Our hotel has a deal where you can spend the night at Andy Griffith's house for $175.   I tried to convince my mom we had to do that, but she didn't go for it.     That is too bad as that would have been cool.

June 4, 2011: Asheville

Mom and I left the hotel a little after 9 a.m. and spent the entire day exploring Asheville. First, we went to check out this apartment on the north side of town. It was alled the Springs of Asheville. The apartments were built in 2009 and way up in the mountains. They were similar to the apartment we are currently living in, in Norton Shores. I thought they were gorgeous. The view of the mountains was spectacular. It was about 1 mile from the nearest grocery store.



Then, we went to the Asheville Mall to check that out. Of course, we had to stop at the Barnes & Noble store. Neither one of us was impressed with the mall. If you know the two of us, you know that whereever we live, there has to be a nice mall and a Barnes & Noble nearby. We thought the mall seemed dark and gloomy inside. It had a Dillards, but didn't have the Ralph Lauren and Jones New York brands in the petite section, which is what my mom likes.


After the mall, we drove to Biltmore Village and did a little shopping. We had a bite to eat at the Biltmore McDonalds, which was featured on the Travel channel a few years ago. It is supposed to be the fanciest McDonalds.


Then, we drove on the south end of town to Hendersonville, which is about 18 miles south of Asheville. We didn't like Hendersonville at all. We both thought it was too much of a hick town for us. It had a pretty courthouse, though.


My friends, Jerry and Jamie Depoy, who were from Muskegon, moved to Asheville almost 2 years ago. They live in Mars Hill which is about 16 miles northeast of Asheville. I thought that area was gorgeous. It is way up in the mountains and the most beautiful area. There is a liberal arts college there that had a beautiful campus. We drove all around it. We found the elementary school which overlooked the hills.


Then, we went back to downtown Asheville and walked around. We stopped at the Chocolate Fetish store and got a piece of their chocolate. We went to the Grove Arcade. Unfortunately, the stores closed at 6 p.m. which was disappointing.


We found where Jerry Depoy's new church is located (inside the Asheville Community Theater). Tomorrow, we plan to attend his service, which I am excited about.


For dinner, we went to the Olive Garden.


I talked with several people today about the job situation in Asheville. Most of them said finding a job here is either tricky or challenging. I have done alot of research online which said the same thing. The city is great to visit as a tourist, but different if you live here. There are a lot of hippies and artists here. It is great for people watching. I am just not sure it is the place I want to live. Hoping I can find my new home soon. I don't want to stay in Muskegon after next year. I had planned to only live there a few years after living in Chicago, but ended up there 10 years now. I need a new place to live, so could use some prayers in finding that place.

June 3, 2011: Lexington to Asheville

Mom and I got up around 7 a.m. today, as we knew we had quite a bit of driving to do. After breakfast, we packed up and drove through the rolling hills in Lexington, KY to a small town called Paris. We were't too impressed with this city. I did think they had a beautiful courthouse. I wish the court house in Muskegon was not so ugly.


Then, we drove to the city of Georgetown, which we had driven around 2 years go. The traffic was worse this time around. It was very charming 2 years ago, but then again, that was in the fall and not during the summer vacation season. We drove through downtown Lexington, then headed toward London, KY.


Colonel Sanders had his first kitchen in London where he came up with the spices for his fried chicken. Then, we went to the Original Kentucky Fried Chicken, located in Corbin, KY. We had a nice chicken dinner there. They have a museum there, with a replica of his first kitchen. He started the business as a place for travelers to dine, get gas, and spend the night. There was a courtyard motel hooked onto the restaurant back in the day. Actually, he was known for his country ham. People would stop here to gas up, spend the night, and then get a nice dinner.


I had mom do some of the highway driving, as I had done alot of driving already. The mountains through Tennessee and North Carolina are gorgeous. I made my mom stop on the side of the road by the North Carolina sign, as I wanted her to take a picture of me next to it. I don't think she was happy about it, as she is a nervous driver, but glad she did.


Thank goodness we have our GPS as that has helped us out on all of these driving trips. I did have a few problems around Asheville. The exits seemed to come too fast so I kept missing them. The GPS just re-calculated and got us to our hotel off of Tunnel Road.


We had a delicious pizza at the chain restaurant, Mellow Mushroom on Broadway St in downtown Asheville.
I was glad to get back to the hotel before it got too dark. I hate to drive in unfamiliar areas when it is dark.

June 2, 2011: Lexington, Kentucky

We met Jeanne and her husband, Kevin in Nunica and drove in my mom's new car to Frankenmueth to pick up their car that was being fixed. I had a great time chatting with them. Jeanne and Kevin would be great companions on a road trip. They are so funny. They treated us to breakfast at IHOP.


After we dropped them off in Frankenmueth, we took US 23 South to I-75 toward Lexington, Kentucky. Mom did the driving around Dayton, OH which was a mess, as they were doing so much road construction. I took over driving outside of Dayton and drove around Cincinnati, which was absolutely a nightmare. I have been through Cincinnati before, but never this bad. Once we got into Kentucky, the traffic was so much nicer. I love the rolling hills. Tonight, we are staying at the Fairfield Inn at exit 115. We split a turkey and dressing dinner at Cracker Barrel. I asked the waiter about the job outlook in Lexington. He said there are alot of jobs. He said that Louisville had alot of crime, so he didn't recommend that city. We talked to the clerk at the hotel, who said she loves Asheville.


Both my mom and I loved Asheville when we went there 2 years ago. I have heard that isn't as easy to find jobs in Asheville, as it is in the Raleigh area. I have researched online and both show about an 8% unemployment rate. I have been researching all of this for about 3 years now. It will be nice to check out these areas in person and see if this is a place we want to move.


My mom has Sirius satellite in her car, so we were listening to the Casey Anthony case on Headline News. I thought it would be so funny if we were down in Orlando and got in line at 3 am at the Orange County Courthouse to be one of the lucky 60 peolple to get to sit in the courtroom and listen to the procedure. That is the type of crazy stuff I like to do on a vacation.

May 20, 2011: Muskegon Memories

Muskegon has never been my favorite city, as it has had many issues over the years, such as high unemployment.  However,  I have lived most of my life in the area.  I have had both good and bad memories of Muskegon.     Lake Michigan is a true asset for Muskegon.      There are some beautiful areas of Muskegon, especially around Norton Shores, Hoffmaster Park, and of course, our lakes.   There is a nice path that goes along Pere Marquette park which my mom, Maggie, and I love to take walks on.      

There isn't much to our current downtown.    We used to do our shopping at the Muskegon Mall in downtown Muskegon, but has been torn down.    Now, we have a newer mall out in Fruitport, which was very much needed for the area. 

Ryke's Bakery is the best bakery in town.   They have the best butter creme frosting on its cakes.     Plus, they make the best flat butter cookies.  My Uncle George loves those cookies and I try to bring him a container of them when I go visit. 

I am very thankful that I grew up on Lawnel Avenue in Norton Shores, as I had many kids to hang around with growing up.

I am not sure what the next chapter will be in my life, but hoping to find a city that is warmer and has enough activities to keep me busy.        

 

May 14, 2011: Bible Studies

For most of my adult life, I have tried to be involved in a bible study through my current church.     When I started at Calvary Bible back in 2001, I was in a bible study at a lady's house in Norton Shores.  I met Janelle Humble in that study.  Then, I left that church and went to Lakeshore Community Church for a few years.    Jerry Depoy Jr. was the pastor at this church.  It was held in the Harbor Theater.   I really enjoyed his sermons there.     He now lives in Asheville, NC and has a new church.

In 2008, I started attending Bridge Bible Church and saw in the program that Janelle Humble was in charge of the women's ministries.   They were going to start a women's bible study in the fall, so I started to go to that.  I met some wonderful women there such as Michelle Cramblet, Beth Evans, Beth Keur, Alicia Belrose, Shannon Pothoven, etc.    

No matter where I live, I hope to be a part of a women's bible study and continue to worship God and be in fellowship with other Christians.