{"id":3902,"date":"2017-10-27T13:51:45","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T17:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?p=3902"},"modified":"2017-11-28T10:06:30","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T15:06:30","slug":"travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Debi Lander
\n<\/em>mail@floridanewsline.com<\/em><\/p>\n

North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a 1962 Ford Galaxie squad car. That memory lane transported me into a 1960s time capsule. Siren blaring, we cruised past white-stone buildings, the old Earle Movie Theater, a hardware store, Floyd\u2019s barbershop, and Snappy Lunch. My driver, Allen Burton, a life-long resident of Mount Airy, points out that Andy Griffith actually grew up here. \u201cThe Andy Griffith Show,\u201d a popular \u201860s television show starring Griffith, was set in Mayberry, a fictitious Mount Airy, N.C. <\/span><\/p>\n

The town offers nostalgic scenes \u2014 manicured neighborhoods with pretty postcard homes, where children can still bike safely to a friend\u2019s house. Why I bet you could still borrow a cup of sugar to bake a batch of homemade cookies served up like Aunt Bea\u2019s. <\/span><\/p>\n

The childhood home of Griffith, a small, one-story bungalow is available as an overnight rental. His parents lived there until Andy moved them to Hollywood. Griffith kept a lifelong friendship with childhood pal Emmett Forrest. Forrest returned the favor with the town highlight, the Andy Griffith Museum. <\/span><\/p>\n

Allen relays bits of history about the town and its famous landmark, the world\u2019s largest open-face granite quarry that still operates today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jumping out of the squad car, a bit less fidgety that Deputy Fife, brings you to photo-worthy Wally\u2019s Service Station, built in 1937. Wally\u2019s stands next to a replica of the Mayberry Courthouse. Visitors can sit behind Andy\u2019s desk, type on the vintage typewriter, and pretend to place phone calls through the operator. The two memorable jail cells (town drunk Otis\u2019s home away from home) still stand across from the room. Like Otis, you can lock yourself in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Floating in Mayberry\u2019s easy atmosphere took me all the way back to childhood. Don\u2019t count the years, but Baby Boomers like me grew up with Opie \u2014 Andy\u2019s son on the show, played by Ron Howard, who left Mayberry behind to become an acclaimed movie director and producer. I still recall the nervous, ineffective antics of Don Knotts as Barney Fife, girlfriend Thelma Lou, Floyd the barber, and, of course, Goober and Gomer Pyle, the mechanics. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Andy Griffith Museum offers a small gem packed with memorabilia. A bronze statue of Andy and Opie heading for the fishing hole stands outside. It\u2019ll get you whistling the show\u2019s theme song. The inside features original cast costumes and set props. Iconic signs from the show\u2019s courthouse doors read \u201cSheriff\u201d and \u201cJustice of the Peace\u201d and the original items from Sheriff Taylor\u2019s office remain on display, with video clips as background. The museum memorializes Andy\u2019s career from his early radio days to his role as Matlock in a 1986 \u2013 95 television series <\/span><\/p>\n

Rerun Fan Club members descend upon Mount Airy each September for Mayberry Days to celebrate the down-home town and show. They spend hours in the museum, which the less dedicated can do in 45 \u2013 60 minutes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Other sites of note include the Mayberry Distillery, run by Van McCoy, surprisingly a retired monk and another hometown boy. I found his tour a hoot, and not just for the generous moonshine tastings. The Mayberry Motor Inn dedicates a room to the late Frances Bavier \u2014 \u201cAunt Bee.\u201d A window inside the inn provides the portal to the \u201cwarm and fuzzy\u201d she brought to every situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Remember Mt. Pilot? Actual Pilot Mountain State Park, nearby, invites a drive to the top and a hike around \u201cthe Knob.\u201d Views of the Yadkin Valley, a booming wine region, are spectacular. A getaway to the area featuring mountains, bluegrass music, Mayberry, and Merlot makes a budget-friendly but memorable escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

Visit <\/span><\/i>www.bylandersea.com<\/span><\/i><\/a> to read more of local travel writer Debi Lander\u2019s stories and travel tips.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo courtesy Debi Lander<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Andy Griffith\u2019s original in desk in the museum<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a 1962 Ford Galaxie squad car. That memory lane transported me into a 1960s time capsule. Siren blaring, we cruised past white-stone buildings, the old Earle Movie Theater, a hardware store, Floyd\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,4],"tags":[9],"class_list":{"0":"post-3902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-creekline-st-johns","8":"category-mandarin","9":"category-ponte-vedra","10":"tag-travel"},"yoast_head":"\nTravel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry - Florida NewsLine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry - Florida NewsLine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Florida NewsLine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheFloridaNewsLine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-27T17:51:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-28T15:06:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"288\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"199\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@floridanewsline\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@floridanewsline\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/\",\"name\":\"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry - Florida NewsLine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-27T17:51:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-28T15:06:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#\/schema\/person\/f112e5505697e0e24f438c3562ad0fcc\"},\"description\":\"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg\",\"width\":288,\"height\":199},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/\",\"name\":\"Florida NewsLine\",\"description\":\"The Newspapers Everybody Gets\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#\/schema\/person\/f112e5505697e0e24f438c3562ad0fcc\",\"name\":\"editor\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry - Florida NewsLine","description":"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry - Florida NewsLine","og_description":"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a","og_url":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/","og_site_name":"Florida NewsLine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheFloridaNewsLine\/","article_published_time":"2017-10-27T17:51:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-11-28T15:06:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":288,"height":199,"url":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@floridanewsline","twitter_site":"@floridanewsline","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"editor","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/","url":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/","name":"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry - Florida NewsLine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg","datePublished":"2017-10-27T17:51:45+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-28T15:06:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#\/schema\/person\/f112e5505697e0e24f438c3562ad0fcc"},"description":"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com North Carolinians may call it Mount Airy, but it\u2019s still Mayberry to me. Imagine cruising down Main Street in a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/FNL-Travel-Return-to-Mayberry-1711A-LO-RES.jpg","width":288,"height":199},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-return-andy-griffiths-mayberry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Travel | Return to Andy Griffith\u2019s Mayberry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#website","url":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/","name":"Florida NewsLine","description":"The Newspapers Everybody Gets","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/#\/schema\/person\/f112e5505697e0e24f438c3562ad0fcc","name":"editor","url":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3902"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3998,"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902\/revisions\/3998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}