North Carolina

I left South Carolina and headed for Virginia when I was finished at the plantation. I have been to North Carolina several times, and have done some of the scenic trails with my 350 Z, such as the Tail of the Dragon. I considered going back to do it again, but with Virginia on the Appalachian Trail, there would be plenty of scenic roads to drive through once there. (Naturally, a friend from TX inadvertently waited until I was already in VA to let me know he has a young, single friend who is into cars living in Charlotte, NC that I can get in touch with. Had I known that my itinerary may have changed a little... LOL) So most of the day today was spent driving from South Carolina to Virginia, passing through North Carolina.

While in the Winston-Salem area, I decided to stop by Old Salem. I arrived around 4:30 PM and it was like a ghost town. All the stores close at 5 PM and the Tavern (which appeared to be the only restaurant) was already closed. I walked around and checked out the gardens, which is what they are known for. Sadly, most of the gardens were nothing more than mounds of dirt. There were no colorful flowers, though there were plenty of large bees that looked like they were standing guard everywhere I went.







The buildings - school, church, shops, and homes - were either made of brick or wood, and aged themselves. Despite the fact that some looked like they would collapse at the slightest touch, there was a certain charm about the cobblestone or brick sidewalks, gardens, and old buildings.













Finally, once I reached the shops, I noticed a few were still open, so I went inside. I bought spice cookies from the bakery (notice the bags of grits in the picture below) and coffee from the "honey" store. Down Main Street near the stores there were a few people walking around, shopping, or talking. All were very pleasant and neighborly, and all knew each other. It had a similar feel to the small French village from the movie Chocolat. :)









On the way out of Old Salem, there was a beautiful old wooden bridge over the street by the museum, and another small wooden bridge by the parking lot.





As you can see from the pictures, NC was similar to GA with the bare trees, brown grass, and occasional purple and white blossoms. On the rest of the drive to VA, there was just a sprinkle of rain. Other than that, the weather has been perfect the entire trip! (Knock on wood.)











I did find a few more of my license plates on the way: AK, AZ, AR, DC, and Nova Scotia. Still need HI, ID, KS, MT, NM, ND, RI, SD, and WY.