The Savvy Traveler

Special Information for the week of September 27, 1997
 
Mayberry Daze

Topic:Andy Griffith town
Keywords: Mayberry
Description: The Andy Griffith Show" Rerun Watchers Club (TAGSRWC)

Places of interest in Mount Air

Getting there--

From Charlotte: Take Rt. 77 N, to exit 100, take 89 east into Mount Airy
From Winston-Salem: Take Rt. 52 N, to Highway 601 intersection; turn right at light (601 N), follow 601 into downtown.
From DC: Interstate 66 W, to 81 S, to 77 S, then exit 100, take 89 E into Mount Airy.

Visitors info:

The Surry Arts Council
Andy Griffith Playhouse
218 Rockford Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
Tanya Rees, Executive Director
910-786-7998
800-286-6193
Sponsors of Mayberry Days; have schedule info, etc.; also sponsor dramatic performances in Andy Griffith Playhouse, located in historic building that was once Andy Griffith's former school.

The Mount Airy Visitors Center
615 Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
910-789-4636
800-576-0231
Info on Mayberry Days and other local events/attractions. Home of Andy Griffith Museum, admission free. Open 7 days a week.

North Carolina Travel and Tourism
301 N. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2825
919-733-7559
800-787--670
Info on travel to Mount Airy and other regions throughout state. Where to stay:
Mount Airy has several charming bed & breakfasts, located within easy walking distance to downtown. Here are two; contact chamber or visitors center for more.
Merritt House Bed and Breakfast
618 N. Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
Rich and Pat Mangels, Hosts
910-786-2174
800-290-6290
e-mail: dmac2895@advi.net
Rates: $65-$100 per night; business rates and discounts for stays longer
than 5 days. MC & Visa; personal or traveler's checks.
Beautiful, brick Victorian house, just a few minutes walking distance to town. Nice big front porch with plenty of rockers for putting your feet up and relaxing. Great homemade breakfasts! Private baths, one with whirlpool. Picnic lunch baskets, fruit baskets, birthday celebrations available at extra charge.
The Carriage House Bed & Breakfast
218 Cherry Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
John and Linda James, Hosts
910-789-7864
800-707-8798
Rates: $60-$100 per night, double occupancy, plus tax. Check, Visa & MC.
Corporate rates available.
Charming, homey atmosphere; close to town; lots of personal attention. Spacious sitting room with TV and VCR with extensive collection of Andy Griffith Show videos. Horse-drawn carriage rides offered at extra charge. Complimentary tickets to downtown cinema.

Restaurants:

Snappy Lunch
125 North Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
910-786-4931
Hours: Mon., Tues., Wed. & Fri. 5:45 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. Thurs. & Sat. 5:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Oldest eating establishment in Mount Airy, opened in 1923. Home to famous fried pork chop sandwich. Excellent (and hearty!) breakfast biscuits. Mentioned on Andy Griffith Show. Very inexpensive.

Aunt Bea's Hickory Smoked Barbecue Dairy Barn
Hwy. 52 North
Mount Airy, NC 27030
910-789-3050
Hours: 5:30 am to 10 pm. 7 days a week
Country hickory smoked BBQ pork dishes; breakfast served all the time. Inexpensive.

Other attractions/shopping:
Specialty Gifts
140 North Main
Mount Airy, NC 27030
910-789-2260
800-551-7970
Lots of Mayberry T-shirts, coffee mugs, tapes, memerobilia, etc.

Mount Airy Art Market
175 Main Street
910-719-2787
Conisignment shop run by Surry Arts Council featuring crafts and artwork by local artists, plus selection of Mayberry memerobilia. Located in the old Lamm's drug store; refreshments available at original soda fountain counter.
If you're all Mayberry-ed out, there are other things to do and see in and around Mount Airy.
Mount Airy Museum of Regional History

301 North Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
910-786-4478
Hours: Tues,-Fri. 10-4; Sat. 1-4 p.m.
Admission: $2 adults, $1 children
Displays releted to historical, cultural and natural heritage of northern North Carolina and southwest Virginia. Museum Shop.

Trinity Episcopal Church
472 North Main Street
Mount Airy, NC
Oldest church in Mount Airy (circa 1896). Built from local granite; copy of chapel in Oxford, England.
Siamese Twin Burial Site
White Plains Baptist Church
Old Highway 601
White Plains, NC
Burial site of famous 19th century Siamese Twins, Eng and Chang Bunker, who married two North Carolina sisters and settled in Mount Airy in the 1840s, after having passed through region as part of Barnum & Baily Circus. Eng and Chang farmed and became involved in local politics; fathered 21 children; many of their descendents still live in region. Burial site 4 miles west of Mount Airy.
Laurel Hill Farm
J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace
Ararat, VA
701-251-1833
Boyhood home of confederate Civil War hero James Ewell Brown Stuart, one half mile from state line and five miles from Mount Airy.

Museum of Jurassic Technology

Topic:Museum of Jurassic Technology
Keywords: museum odd jurassic history anthropology technology
Description: A museum where it's hard to tell truth from fiction. Displays an eclectic mix of pieces
Phone: 310-836-6131