Best Hamburger I've Ever Had

   You wouldn't expect a great hamburger from a place named "Wise Guys Pizza", but you would be wrong! I knew we would be making the trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, so I Googled "best hamburgers in Cherokee". My husband and I have a plan to find really good burgers in small towns in each state surrounding Tennessee(so 8 different states). W
   We arrived just after they opened, the only ones in the joint. Of course, this is a "tourist" town, and February is not "tourist season". The titulary pizza had not been made. We ordered burgers, the "100% Angus Burgers", advertised on the sign outside. I got a bacon cheeseburger, with only barbque sauce on it. The prices are better than most fast food chains. The burgers were HUGE compared to most fast food chains. And the taste...we were in burger Heaven! Hands on a Bible, this was the best tasting burger I have ever had in my life! Oh and the fries were pretty tasty as well.
   So if you ever find yourself in Cherokee, on the edge of the Smoky Mountains, looking for grub, please check out Wise Guys Pizza. They are located in the Tepee Village Shopping Center on Big Dove Road just off Acquoni Road-this is pretty much the first stop light on Newfound Gap Road as you come out of the Smokies into town.
   And sorry no photo of the food, that really isn't my 'thing'!

Pink Motel

The Pink Motel, classic neon motel sign, in Cherokee, North Carolina

The Real Mayberry-Mt Airy, North Carolina

   Birthplace of tv actor Andy Griffith, it is believe that he based the town in the show "Mayberry RFD" on Mount Airy.

Weird Wednesday

   This Shell gas station was built in the shape of a giant shell in 1930. It is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in the day when people were just starting to get out in their cars and do road trips. The "heyday" of crazy buildings and roads like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. Very few examples of this "literal architecture" have survived.

White Plains Baptist Church, Mt Airy, NC

Church and burial site of the famous "Siamese Twins" Eng and Chang Bunker. Located in northwest North Carolina just south of Mount Airy.

2015 Year In Review

   In January, we took an extremely impromptu trip to Atlanta. Drove through downtown, visited Stone Mountain and historic Oakland Cemetery.

   In March, we went with Mom to visit family in North Carolina. Visited Wilmington, the Outer Banks-Kitty Hawk and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and eventually to Mt Airy, the real life Mayberry RFD.

   On May 10, Mother's Day, we took a little day trip down to Lynchburg, Tennessee. Didn't see the distillery, but stopped for photos in small towns along the way.

   On May 27 we left on one of our biggest trips as a family. We spent a week on a lightning tour of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and all over New England.

   Finally in October, we went to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains. It was rainy, but we were visiting Mom so it didn't really matter.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

   On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made the first successful controlled flight of an airplane. The first flight was made by Orville and the plane traveled only 120 feet. Wilbur took a second flight 175ft, and Orville took the third flight 200ft. Wilbur made the longest flight of the day on the fourth attempt, going 852ft in nearly a minute of airtime. The accomplishment barely made the news.

December 7th Pearl Harbor Day

   On December 7, 1941, the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked by surprise by Japanese bombers, fighters, and torpedo planes. Four United States battleships were sunk, two more damaged. There were 2,403 Americans killed-68 of which were civilians. Nearly half, 1,177 of those killed were on the USS Arizona. The sunken Arizona is now the base of the Pearl Harbor Memorial.

   I saw the Pearl Harbor Memorial when I was a kid back in the 70s, but I don't have any photos from that trip. Shown on this page at two battleships that are on display here in the United States. Above is the USS Texas. She was commissioned in 1914 and served during World War I. As World War II broke out, she began patrols in the Atlantic. On December 7th she was on rest in Maine. The Texas now is moored next to the San Jacinto Monument near Houston, Texas.
   Below is the USS North Carolina, moored across the Cape Fear River from downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. The NC was commissioned in 1940. She was still in training when Pearl Harbor happened. During World War II she spent time in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. She was decommissioned in 1947 and brought to Wilmington in the 1960s. She is a memorial to all those from North Carolina who were killed in World War II.

National Register of Historic Places

   The National Register of Historic Places was created in the United States in 1966 after the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act. The NRHP is the official list of buildings, structures, sites and districts that have been regarded as deserving of preservation. There are more than a million places in the register, with roughly 30,000 added each year. Inclusion on the list does not guarantee protection, and many properties are lost each year due to demolition and neglect.

Why Do Places Become Abandoned?

   I am obsessed with "abandonment". I am not really sure why. One reason may have to do with my love of history. These places were once a place where people lived there lives. Of abandoned stores, they were a place of employment and where all the locals got their essentials. Perhaps they came to the store once a month, and maybe they even brought eggs from their farm to trade for flour and thread. Many stores were also the post office and a place to just hang out, talk to friends and neighbors, learn the town news.