Ronnie decided he should pass us just as we arrived at the turn for US 52 business, so of course they missed the turn and didn't answer their cell phones when I called. I was a bit perturbed at this point. Finally they answer their phones and I tell them to meet us at the visitor center. Bob and I arrive there and park out front. We go into the visitor center and find out just what to expect on this Mayberry day, when Ronnie calls Bob's cell phone and says they decided to park at the other end of town and if we could walk in that direction and they would meet us 1/2 way. Ok so by now I'm starting to get a little hot under the collar. We walk down several blocks to find they haven't walked a single block to meet us half way. So now I'm more than hot I'm steaming. Apparently the vacation I scheduled for Bob and I has now become about everyone but us. They were late getting to Winston-Salem, they were late getting to breakfast, didn't follow us as they should have to Mt. Airy and now can't follow a simple direction to meet us at the visitor center nor attempt to meet us half way. At this point I decided that I wasn't going to waste any more of my trip waiting for them. I took Bob by the arm and directed him to the closest attraction on the map.
We walked To the Andy Griffith playhouse and were serenaded by the sounds of budding artists. Well ok serenade and artists both were stretches, but I commend them all for effort. We were headed to see the home Andy grew up in when I realized the map was not exactly to scale. What appeared to be a couple blocks past the playhouse turned out to be many more.... So we took a shortcut back and met up with the others again. We stopped in Floyd's barber shop where Bob dared to get a hair cut.
That wasn't Floyd. Floyd was busy snapping polaroids of the folks that wanted their pictures on his walls. I believe someone said that Floyd had something like 20,000 pictures on his walls of visitors. Patty and Linda stopped in Opies Candy store and though I avoided that one it must have been something extra special cause they spent at least 20 minutes oogling the goods.
Bob and I had our eyes open for interesting souvenier to bring back to the gang. We did finally find something for everyone. Then it was time for lunch and it seemed that no one could decide. We ended up in a restaurant that had some good southern cooking. We then made our way through the emporium that was in the same building as the restaurant and encompassed 3 floors. It had some interesting items and the top floor had a line forming to get autographs from some of Mayberry's actors. James Best whom I recognized from The Dukes of hazard, but apparently had been in Mayberry at some point and Betty Lynn who played Thelma Lou.
Bob and I decided we'd had our fill of "Mayberry" and we let everyone know we were heading back to Winston-Salem. We drove across town and stopped at the old filling station and the courthouse. It was a hoot. Bob pretended to be Otis and locked himself in the jail sell, I have it on video but don't have a clue how to post it here.
It wasn't long before they showed up back at the motel and we decided to go out for dinner. We followed Ronnie and eventually we got to the restaurant which for some reason the name is escaping me at the moment. In the middle of dinner, now mind you this was a late dinner so near 9 pm, I received a phone call from the nursing agency that is responsible for the nursing care my daughter receives. The staffing coordinator calls to say a nurse has cancelled her shift for the next morning and they have no one to take her place. I'm furious! Bob and I don't get away for dinner or a date night because of the difficulties surrounding nursing care for Nickie. These few and far between times we are able to take mean far more than you can imagine.
