Watching the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall has stirred up some memories for us.  Considering that we’ve never even been to Germany, Dearly Beloved and I inadvertently became part of a mystery that involved that wall about 23 years ago.

One of the largest industries in our state is tourism and for several years my friend Martha and I worked locally as “Information Specialists.”  Sounds impressive maybe, but after several rounds of budget cuts in intervening years, many of those positions on the state level were eliminated and outsourced to the women’s prison.  Call with a tourism question and you’re apt to get a prisoner.  Back then, though, we did our jobs enthusiastically, carried around  business cards with our high-falutin’  job titles and hey, we were free range!

Most questions were routine, but we answered with flair.  Once, when a woman called for directions to the sports arena I asked her where she would be coming from so that I’d know how to route her.  I meant what local address, but she answered, “Indiana.”  I should have clarified, but since we’d driven from NC through Indiana many times and I knew it by heart,  I directed her over the Ohio River, through Kentucky and Tennessee, highway by highway, and delivered her to the door of the coliseum.

She wasn’t even impressed.  Just said, “Thanks” and hung up, like that’s the answer she expected.  Sometimes, though, the answers weren’t even what WE expected.

When a handsome young man came into the office one summer day and asked, in precise English but with a pronounced German accent, how to get to a small mountain town a couple of hours away, he wasn’t asking for directions, but for transportation options.  Because he was under 21, he was unable to rent a car even though he had the funds.  There was no bus nor train service; it was an isolated little place.  The short answer was, “You can’t get there from here.“

When we asked why he was going, hoping to steer him toward more accessible areas of similar interest, he opened his backpack and, from a neat folder, pulled out a copy of a birth certificate.  His father’s birth certificate.  An American soldier father he’d been trying for years to find.   One of the few clues he had was on the certificate: his father’s place of birth.  The little mountain town he couldn’t reach.

Having never known my own father, his story pushed buttons in me I didn’t even know I had.  He had managed to come all the way from Germany to North Carolina and it seemed incredible that lack of bus service would stymie his efforts.  He was a slightly built young man and even though his English was excellent,  hitchhiking was not a real option.  Before he left to go back to his room at the YMCA, I had promised to drive him to the little town that weekend.

We went, we saw, we found nothing.   A couple of old-timers there had only the faintest recollection of a family by that name, but they’d moved away decades before.

Monday he was back at the office again, pulling out more papers, including copies of some of his father’s military records.

His story was baffling.  He had been born and raised in East Germany, getting out by proving to authorities that he had an American father.  He had been living with his mother’s brother in a West German city.  He had not seen his East Berlin mother and older brother for several years.

“She must miss you!”

“She is COMMUNIST!” he answered, scornfully.

We continued our search, but it is difficult to explain exactly what that entailed because truthfully, I don’t remember all the steps.  I talked to military people, law enforcement,  DMV personnel.  My “Information Specialist” title of a government agency took on new importance when I didn’t specify “tourism.”

The phone calls took me across the country and eventually a sheriff on the west coast agreed to assist.  He  could not give me information directly,  but would send a deputy to leave a message at a home belonging to someone with the name we were seeking.

About 10 PM that night the phone rang and a deep male voice told me he had found a message from the sheriff to call his daughter at my phone number.  He said he didn’t have a daughter.   I explained that I had been seeking information on behalf of a young man searching for his father.

Our conversation was odd.  He sounded guarded and suspicious, wanting to know how I had found him…and why. Was  I military?  A private detective?

He told me briefly that he had been a prisoner of war, had been involved with Radio Free Europe, had been covertly rescued by the millitary.

I had questions, too. . . prisoner of what war?  POW’s marry and have kids during their captivity?  Prisoner of whom?  Since he didn’t even HAVE a daughter, what made him call?  I found his story as baffling as he found mine.   I didn’t ask him to clarify;  it wasn’t my business.  I was helping a teenager  find his father.  Did I have the right guy?

Yes!

I gave him the phone number of the Y and the next day,  the young man appeared at the office again, smiling broadly. “I talked to my father!   I’m going to see him!”

He had to go back to Germany for his university classes though, and would have to do so on another trip.  We saw him twice more in the ensuing months and he told us that his newly discovered father was a west coast news anchor.   He also traveled to meet a cadre of aunts and uncles all over the country, becoming enmeshed with the family he had been seeking.

After a couple of years, we lost track of him, but when the Berlin Wall came down a few years later,  I couldn’t help but wonder whether he and his mother would be reunited.

He’d have to do it without my help.  I couldn’t handle a trans-Atlantic search.  Besides, by then I was no longer working in tourism.   But someplace behind bars, an Information Specialist with literal–if not conventional–ties to law enforcement, could perhaps make a few calls. . . .

As we move down the East Coast, our romantic tour intensifies. Enjoy stargazing and camping out, beach bumming and dining out—all in the name of love (cheesy background music starts…).

Welcome to the mid-Atlantic region of love!

• Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD Romance – Have a romantic picnic in Washintgon, D.C.’s 70-acre White House President’s Park just outside our nation’s capitol, then get a couple’s massage at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental Spa.
• Eastern North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland Romance – Choose a beach area, bring a blanket, and take refuge from the sun under a big beach umbrella with your honey. See the ocean at North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Virginia Beach, or the Assateague Island National Seashore Beach in Maryland. Head back inland a bit and spend some time-for-two at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa near Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia!
• Southern Appalachian Mountains Romance – Get some R&R and a much deserved massage at the Homestead Resort & Spa in Hot Springs, Virginia.

Have fun, you lovebirds!

• Romantic Getaways in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
• Not too late for a second honeymoon (or third, or fourth, or fifth…)
• TripCart’s Posts on Romantic Getaways
• The Best Designed Hotels in the US
• Valentine Vacation Getaways

My new favorite website is visitnc.com.  If you are considering a visit to or move to NC, you must check out this site.  This well designed, comprehensive plethora of information is easy to navigate and serves a broad audience from tourist to resident. Whether you want information on recreation, parks, lakes, beaches, the mountains, small towns, B&Bs, hotels, festivals, concerts, cook-offs…its all there.  To learn about living in the Raleigh Durham and Chapel Hill area, navigate to the links to the Piedmont area or just search by city.  One of the incredible things about living in NC is that we enjoy a very diverse landscape.  Living in the triangle, we are just a couple hours from the beautiful NC beaches and a couple hours to the majestic Great Smoky Mountains and the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.  The Piedmont is a very special place.  North Carolinians enjoy year round golf, gardening, boating, hiking, biking, nature and bird watching.  As a community, we support the arts and preserve our heritage.  So check out this website and find out what is so special about living in North Carolina.

www.visitnc.com

For some of my other favorite links and local tourism information, please go to my website or contact me directly at 919-357-6064.

Back to school this year is definitely at its most exciting. First of all, it’s my senior year, which is pretty cool in itself, but more importantly…I have a car! My mom got a company car, so my dad took her car and I got to take his! I drove back down to school with another friend from Richmond and now I’m parked outside my dorm, ready to make a list of all the things in North Carolina that I want to do in the next few months. I plan on driving all over the state and seeing and doing everything! Senior year is supposed to be fun, right? This area I’m starting with is kinda near Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Asheville. Sort of near the North Carolina-Virginia Border in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region.

• Tweetsie Railroad Theme Park – Blowing, North Carolina – Looks totally cheesy, but I doubt I’ll have any trouble filling up the car for this one!
• Pisgah National Forest – North Carolina – This is near Tweetsie Railroad, so maybe we’ll do some camping while we’re there.
• Western North Carolina Nature Center – Asheville, North Carolina – Why not?
• Blue Ridge Motion Pictures – Ashville, North Carolina – Who knew there was a movie studio in North Carolina?
• Chimney Rock Park – In the Appalachian Mountains, supposed to be beautiful, and if we plan it well, there are concerts and festivals going on every so often.
• Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa – Ashville, North Carolina – I’m going to have to think of a really good excuse to get my parents to chip in towards this one…

It’s gonna be a great year!

• Flashback to my Dolly Parton days…
• Dread going back to school? Try going back to an old Schoolhouse turned B&B!
• Cool and Fun Things to Do in Roanoke, Asheville, Smoky, Blue Ridge, Shenandoah and Southern Appalachian Mountains
• Fall Foliage in Roanoke, Asheville, Smoky, Blue Ridge, Shenandoah and Southern Appalachian Mountains
• Getting to Roanoke, Asheville, Smoky, Blue Ridge, Shenandoah and Southern Appalachian Mountains
• Places to Visit in Roanoke, Asheville, Smoky, Blue Ridge, Shenandoah and Southern Appalachian Mountains
• Spas in Roanoke, Asheville, Smoky, Blue Ridge, Shenandoah and Southern Appalachian Mountains

My 4 year old son has mild asthma and I was looking something up on WebMD when I came across this article about the worst asthma cities in the country. The article takes into account various different factors, including asthma prevalence, poverty levels, asthma death rates, air quality, and pollen scores. This report was put out by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Of course Atlanta made it to the list (where we live now), and Knoxville, Tennessee is the number one worst place for asthma and Memphis is number five, and those aren’t too far from where we used to live. So now I feel a little guilty that maybe I’m perpetuating Justin’s condition by living in the wrong spots… Maybe next we’ll move to Alaska. Here’s the list:

10. Greensboro, North Carolina (from No. 8 in 2007)
9. St. Louis, Missouri (from No. 28 in 2007)
8. Greenville, South Carolina (from No. 34 in 2007)
7. Charlotte, North Carolina (from No. 14 in 2007)
6. Allentown, Pennsylvania (from No. 16 in 2007)
5. Memphis, Tennessee (from No. 30 in 2007)
4. Atlanta, Georgia (from No. 1 in 2007 – an improvement!)
3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin (from No. 7 in 2007)
2. Tulsa, Oklahoma (from No. 25 in 2007)
1. Knoxville, Tennessee (from No. 4 in 2007)

Other cities from the Top Ten last year include
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Raleigh, North Carolina, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Little Rock, Arkansas.

The saddest part of this study is that a leading cause of death in asthma patients is the lack of health care in poverty stricken areas. Pollution is a huge factor, but with proper health care, asthma can be controlled.

I swear to god I was looking up the Bridal Veil Falls and not playing out some sort of childhood wedding fantasy…and I came across the fact that Bridal Veil Falls is a really unoriginal name for waterfalls in America, as there are quite a few. The one I was looking at is in Nantahala National Forest which is not as close to school as I thought it was. So I got distracted and read about all the Bridal Veil Falls in the country…oh, procrastination!

The most famous Bridal Veils are at Niagara Falls. It’s the smallest of the three major falls, but still looks beautiful (never been, but looking at gorgeous pictures). The Cave of the Winds tour (not really a cave) brings you 20 feet away from Bridal Veil Falls. I want to go!!!

There’s the Bridal Veil Falls State Park on the Historic Columbia River Scenic Highway in Oregon. I’ve actually been to the Columbia River Gorge, like when I was 6, my mom took me to visit a college friend of hers. So there are pictures of me in front of some waterfall, but don’t know which one, and neither does my mom.

Utah has it’s own Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon (called bridal veil park).

There are Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite National Park.

I thought maybe I was being really ditzy and that maybe Bridal Veil Falls is like a specific type of falls, I dunno something to do with rock formation or atmospheric something or other. but they’re just pretty falls that look like a veil.

Wikipedia has a huge list. Here is a sampling:

• Bridal Veil Falls, Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, Arizona
• Bridal Veil Falls, Catskill Mountains, New York
• Bridal Veil Falls, DuPont State Forest, North Carolina
• Bridal Veil Falls, Eldorado National Forest, California
• Bridal Veil Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan
• Bridal Veil Falls, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Bridal Veil Falls, Niagara Falls, New York
• Bridal Veil Falls, Bridal Veil Falls State Park, Oregon
• Bridal Veil Falls, Bushkill Falls, Pennsylvania
• Bridal Veil Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
• Bridal Veil Falls, Provo Canyon, Utah
• Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California

I dunno. Maybe that’ll be of some use to someone. Ok, gotta do my hoooooooooomeeeeewooooork! Stop distracting me!

• Yosemite’s mighty treedom
• Top Ten National Parks for Kids
• Interesting Educators’ Programs

Yes, that’s right, TRYING so very hard. I have 2 weeks of spring break (which is why I’m home and not in North Carolina) and I THOUGHT that I’d just get to chill at home (with that minor excursion to Virginia Beach. But instead, my parents just sprang on me that when they drive me back to school (which is always really nice of them to do instead of putting me on a bus – see I know how to be the grateful child too) we’re going to leave a few days early to spend some time at Stone Mountain State Park.

I actually just took a minute to google this place and in so doing, I’ve already calmed down a bit. How bipolar do I sound?? It just that the last few days that I was planning on being in Richmond, overlap with another friend coming home from college for the weekend, though the truth is, I think we’ll still overlap for a day. Anyways, apparently we’re going to Stone Mountain with the Casons b/c Jocelyn goes to school with me and we’re friends and all so I shouldn’t complain too much.

Also, I just don’t like surprises.

So actually this place looks pretty cool. There’s rock climbing and fishing and my mom said she didn’t know yet if we’d camp out or get a cabin. And we’ll be driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway to get there which is supposed to be pretty. Apparently it’s “a shame” that I now live in NC but haven’t really traveled through the state.

Though I have been to places on the coast like Hammocks Beach State Park on Bear Island and Carolina Beach State Park, which is so far my most favorite beach ever, but that could be because that’s where I met Ricky (the guy my parents hate), though it does also happen to be a pretty cool beach.

And last time my parents drove me to school we went to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. And another time to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher —have I told you about my fishmonging father?

Whatever. My mom asked me to go online and find things we can do at Stone Mountain so that’s why I’m here—any suggestions?

I am in the worst mood ever, and sometimes the only thing that makes me feel better is to drive to Short Pump Mall. Besides the fact that it reminds me that Richmond doesn’t suck as bad as it used to, there also happens to be a Barnes & Noble right next door where I can go and mope over a cup of coffee and a self-help book.

I’m at home in Richmond visiting my parents (I’m in boarding school in North Carolina for my last year of highschool…b/c I WANT to, not b/c I’m a bad kid…) and every time I come home my parents get on my case about this guy who I’m seeing that they don’t really like so much. It just really stresses me out because I respect my parents’ opinion so much and they usually respect my decisions, so then I just start to doubt how I feel about Ricky and then I get all anxious and insecure and ARGH!!!

Anyways, that’s not why I’m writing here. I just found this site and like the idea of sharing nice travel experiences, so I thought it would be a good idea for me to focus on something fun my family did and then I got carried away with my rant so now I’m going to try and back up a bit.

Out of all my 17 years on Earth (all of which were spent in Richmond), my family has never once gone to Virginia Beach. I’d gone only once or twice with friends, but never as a family (i.e. never staying overnight in a nice hotel). So we went earlier this week, stayed in a Holiday Inn (that’s nice compared to the dumps I’ve crashed at) and actually had a good time. We spent a lot of time on the beach and on the shops that line the coast. Got some chotchkas and some food that’s probably really bad for you (and yet so good). When we needed a break from the sun we hid out in Lynnhaven Mall for a few hours. There’s a Barnes & Noble there, so we were all happy (we’re all big readers). I even begged my parents (who gave in!) to take me to the Build-A-Bear Workshop which was SO MUCH fun! (Yes, you read that right, I’m 17 and begged my parents for a stuffed animal…and got it, hee hee.) We actually went back the next day for a movie. Saw Shine a Light which was pretty good, but apparently I’m “too young” to get all the references. The Rolling Stones are pretty retro these days and since retro means kinda cool, I kinda know a thing or two about them (or at least that’s how I had to spell it out to my parents who for some reason thought my interest in 70s music meant I was snorting cocaine). Sometimes I feel like my parents are immigrants, though my family’s been in this country pretty much since it started.

At some point in there we also went to the Virginia Aquarium Marine Science Center for my fish-enthusiast dad.

Ok, I actually do feel a little better. See, self-help books do help! (I had read in one of the books in my stack to write about sometime good to take the focus off the bad.)

Sales of Susan Barringer Wells’ new book, A Game Called Salisbury are progressing well. Susan was featured in the Greensboro Daily News, I believe on Sunday, February 10, 2008. Susan has a book signing coming up at Barnes & Noble in Friendly Shopping Center in Greensboro this week. I wonder if anyone from the New York Times book review department has caught wind of Susan’s new book. If anyone out there from The New York Times, Washington Post, or anyone else would care to comment on the book, let us know.

The Lost Colony in Manteo North Carolina. Most people, including myself, believed the English colony to be the first European colony in the US. However, recent archeological finds near Morganton NC have revealed a Spanish colony settled in NC 30 years prior to The Lost Colony. The Spanish built Fort San Juan in the Catawba River Valley near Morganton in the foothills of the NC mountains. Archeological finds match up with written descriptions from Spanish history.

To find out more about the history of the Spanish in NC and
Fort San Juan visit:

http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/168/entry

UNC TV, NC public television, will have a segment on Fort San Juan, Thursday night, January 31, 2008. The show is a regular feature and is called “Exploring NC”.

To learn more about  North Carolina Click here

A great historical building in downtown Greensboro NC is for lease at 121 South Elm St. William Clarkson Porter, a druggist,  built the building in 1873. O’Henry worked for his uncle. Later, Lunsford Richardson, the inventor of Vicks Vaporub, bought the building. The building is composed of 2 stories of over 9,000 square feet of office space and includes a 3,000 square feet of basement for free. The office space is being leased for $ 13 per square foot. Inquiries should be directed to Fred Preyer of the Bissell Companies.

Under the heading of the rest of the story, Lunsford Richardson Preyer, better know as L Richardson Preyer, was a descendant of the founder of Vicks as well as being a judge and congressman from NC. He was a member of  the House Select Committee on Assassinations, which investigated the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I have 2 connections to he and his family. I played little league baseball with his son and later worked for an accounting firm that did work for his family.

To learn more about Greensboro and  North Carolina Click here

 

One of the more famous ghosts of NC is Lydia, who purportedly haunts an old underpass on highway 70 near Jamestown NC. Jamestown is a small town between Greensboro and High Point. The first time I heard of Lydia was probably in the late 50’s on The Good Morning Show on WFMY TV, hosted by Lee Kinard. The telling of the encounters with Lydia sent shivers down my spine. My friends and I traveled there a few times but never experienced anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps we should have traveled alone. Quite a few people over many years claimed to pick up a young female hitchhiker that would even converse with them, but would eventually vanish into thin air. One such encounter had her vanish at her destination. The man goes to the door and ask questions. Indeed Lydia did live there but was killed on the way home from a dance. Apparently there was a young woman named Lydia that was killed, which makes the apparition more believable. The underpass still stands near the existing road. Perhaps if you visit, especially alone, you will experience the screams or the apparition. Let us know if you do. To see pictures of the underpass and area visit:http://greensboring.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=856

To learn more about Greensboro and  North Carolina Click here

 

North Carolina was the first state to be colonized by Europeans and was one of the original 13 colonies. Naturally, NC is rich in history. Drive through many cities in NC and eventually you will run across one of the many historical markers. Many people know that O’Henry and Edward R Murrow were born in Greensboro. Did you know that RICHARD J. GATLING, inventor of the Gatling Gun, was from NC? His marker is on US 258 northeast of Murfreesboro. Did you know that the first post road from New England to Charleston ran through NC and mail was carried in 1738-39. This marker is on Main Street in Bath. Did you know that Andrew Jackson studied law in Salisbury NC? His marker is in downtown Salisbury. Did you know that The “Halifax Resolves,” the first formal sanction of American Independence, was adopted in Halifax, April 12, 1776. The marker is on US 301 north of US 301 Business (Main Street) in Halifax.

To view a complete list of historical markers in North Carolina visit:

http://www.ncmarkers.com/search.aspx

To learn more about  North Carolina Click here

We just got back from having a wonderful meal at Maestro Bar & Bistro in Pineville NC, just outside Charlotte. The meal was incredible. I had heard that the chef, a graduate of the Culinary Institute and a former chef at Pewter Rose, was famous for his soups and had won awards for his desserts. Now I know why. I am on a diet, so to try the dessert, I had a cup of soup and a salad. The potato soup was the best I have had. I am not a salad person, but the salad was delicious. The chocolate torte dessert was incredible. Some friends of ours had lunch there recently and were very impressed. I highly recommend the Maestro Bar & Bistro. Please respond with your reviews.

To learn more about Charlotte and  North Carolina Click here

We were in Greensboro Tuesday, January 15 2008, when Skybus Airlines began their first hub flight from Greensboro NC to Portsmouth NH. The flight took off at 5:45 AM and was about half full. 750 passengers were scheduled to fly out of Greensboro Tuesday. The Portsmouth NH airport is just north of Boston MA. We could not be at the airport but watched the innaugural festivities on WFMY TV. Skybus Airlines has already begun adding flights above and beyond what they had announced earlier. Skybus advertises 10 10 dollar tickets per flight and has recently offered specials below their other discounted fares. I ran into one of my friends in Greensboro who has been involved in aviation for years. He and I both agree that Skybus has a good chance for success and one of the key reasons is direct flights. He and I both flew other airlines in the past month and we both had major delays or cancellations. We are both of the opinion of why pay the fares of the major airlines when the flying experience is sub standard. Skybus offers fewer services, but the cost is dramatically lower.

The Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro had prepared well for the additional flights with new construction and food vendors. The afternoon flight to St Augustine was nearly full. Skybus is phasing in new flights all over the US.

To learn more about Greensboro and  North Carolina Click here

 

Travel in NC is typically not a problem. However, we do get snowfalls (occasionally big snowfalls), hurricanes and some traffic problems, so I decided to provide information on webcams in North Carolina.

Asheville

http://www.live-photo.com/

High Country, Blowing Rock

http://www.highcountrywebcams.com/webcameras_BlowingRockRoad.htm

Charlotte TV WSOC

http://www.wsoctv.com/wxcam/1920382/detail.html

High Country, Grandfather Mountain

http://www.highcountrywebcams.com/webcameras_grandfather.htm

Greensboro downtown

http://www.carolinanet.com/centercitypark/

Kill Devil Hills Avalon Pier

http://www.avalonpier.com/piercam.html

NC highway conditions

http://www.usroadconditions.com/nc.shtml

Ocean Isle Beach Surf

http://www.saltyssurfshopoib.com/index.cfm

Raleigh WRAL TV

http://wral.com/weather/image/1001636/

To learn more about  North Carolina Click here

North Carolina and Florida have had a strong connection for many years. Many Floridians spend the summer in NC in such places as Asheville and Hendersonville. Now there is another connection. Many Floridians are moving to North Carolina to escape hurricanes, high taxes and traffic. Many of these people originally lived in places like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Instead of moving back home, they have moved halfway back, hence the name half backers. Drive around many places in NC such as Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh or the mountains and you will see a lot of license plates from Florida. Some are vacationing or spending the summer in NC, but now many of them are permanent residents.

Florida, like NC, is a large and diverse state. It still has appeal to a great many people, expecially retirees. One of the nicer areas of Florida is Sarasota. Homes can be found there from the modest to the grand and of course some with incredible views. To learn more about Sarasota and Florida, visit:

http://sarasotacommunities.com/

http://flluxuryhomes.wordpress.com/

To learn more about NC visit:

http://ncrealestateforum.com

Skybus Airlines has announced 2 new flights from Greensboro North Carolina. The new destinations are Chicago via Gary Indiana and Philadelphia via Wilmington Delaware. The flights begin March 13 2008. Skybus Airlines has 10 10 dollar seats per flight.

To learn more about Greensboro and  North Carolina Click here

 

If you want to know about the real people of North Carolina, the old times, of struggles to stay alive, and of the oral traditions of story telling, passed down and transported from the British Isles, study the life of Ray and Rosa Hicks. Ray passed away a few years ago. I had an opportunity to visit Ray and Rosa through a mutual friend and sadly, did not make it to their home on Beech Mountain before he died. Ray Hicks was one of a few remaining NC mountain men, passing along the old traditions of story telling, moutain lore, herbal medicine and life in the mountains before times got easier.

Ray and Rosa Hicks were featured on public tv in North Carolina on UNC TV years ago. I have a copy of that documentary and I treasure it. The show opens with a haunting banjo tune and a misty view of the mountains where they lived. The Hicks are shown in their daily life on Beech Mountain, living life the old way, carrying water in from the nearby spring house. However, much of the show centered on Ray and his animated telling of the jack tales. Ray has received numerous awards and was considered a national treasure. Ray also sings traditional songs, some of which are sung in a blues type way, from the gut, revealing hard times and suffering. People like Ray and Rosa Hicks are hard to find these days. Down home folks that are hardworking, genuine and unpretentious. As Ray said to his audiences, I am just the way in front of you as I would be at home and indeed he was. The last genuine man.

To learn more of Ray and Rosa Hicks, go to:

http://www.folk-legacy.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=38

To learn more about  North Carolina Click here

 

North Carolina, aside from being the 10th most populated state and having a prosperous real estate market, abounds in scenic beauty and consequently has a large number of state parks and recreation areas. Here is a list of the NC state parks and recreation areas:

carolina beach state park, chimney rock, cliffs of the neuse state park, crowders mountain state park, eno river state 
park, falls lake recreation area, fort fisher recreation area, fort macon state park, goose creek state park, gorges state park, hammocks beach state park, hanging rock state park, jockey’s ridge state park, jones lake state park, jordan lake recreation area, kerr lake state recreation area, lake james state park, lake norman state park, lake waccamaw state park, lumber river state park, medoc mountain state park, merchant’s millpond state park, morrow mountain state park, mount jefferson state park, mount mitchell state park, new river state park, pettigrew state park, pilot mountain state park, raven rock state park, singletary lake state park, south mountains state park, stone mountain state park, weymouth woods sandhills nature preserve, william b. umstead state park.

Some of my favorites are Hanging Rock State Park, Crowders Mountain State Park, Stone Mountain State Park and Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

To learn more about  North Carolina Click here

 

North Carolina has a rich music tradition that goes back hundreds of years and evolved from music traditions from the old world in places like the British Isles and Africa. My own love of music began in my childhood and covers a broad range of styles from Bach to bluegrass. I play a little guitar, banjo and fiddle. I believe some of it is in my blood. My grandfather played the fiddle and played for square dancers many years ago. I am a member of the High Lonesome Strings Bluegrass Association, and if I can spend more time in Greensboro, I hope to jam more with them.

I have been very fortunate in my life to encounter interesting and sometimes famous people. In the late seventies, I was teaching at a community college in the piedmont of North Carolina. Frank Profitt Jr, traveled the state sharing his old time music, much of it passed down from the British Isles as part of a oral tradition. His father, Frank Profitt, sang and played the old music and ballads. In the years leading up to the folk revival of the 50’s and 60’s, people would come to North Carolina to experience and record the old songs. One such song was Tom Dooley, which was made famous by the Kingston Trio. Frank Profitt Sr sang and played this song, but he sang it as Tom Dula, based on a real character that was hanged for killing Laura Foster. Tom Dula and Laura Foster lived in the North Wilkesboro NC area near the mountains. Frank Profitt Jr sang and played the song for us as performed by his father.

Another song that Frank Profitt Jr sang for us was 4 nights of a drunk. It has 4 stanzas, each relating the nightly return of the drunken husband and what he believes he sees upon returning home. The song is humerous and I still remember the words. A few years ago, I was listening to NPR and music from the British Isles. They began playing the same song, but it was the original version that was carried to America. Same theme, with slightly different words, but immediately recognizable.

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I have been watching Skybus Airlines and flights out of their new hub in Greensboro North Carolina as well as their everyday low fares and recent discounts. Yes, they had some problems over the holidays. So did the other airlines. At least you know up front you are saving a lot of money and not paying much more for a lousy travel experience.

We flew US Air Christmas day, attempting to fly direct to Seattle Washington. We had the tickets for at least a month with seat assignments. We arrived at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport well in advance. Upon getting our tickets, we were advised to immediately check in at the departure gate. We did so and were informed that a smaller plane had been substituted. We got on a list and had a slight chance of making it. We had several discussions with US`Air staff about backup plans and being able to fly within 24 hours. Here are my conclusions:

When US air employees, mechanics, etc., learn of a problem, they log it in the computer system. However, the staff at the departure gates are often informed at the last minute and the ticket holders are not, even though they have our phone numbers. I got online with several sites as soon as I found out and located multiple seats on multiple flights. When I mentioned this to the US Air staff, they said they showed no availability. It did not look good. I kept inquiring about one flight and finally were guaranteed a seat on a later flight after 10:00 PM to Minneapolis MN and a next morning flight to Seattle. We did not make the first scheduled flight. We were suppossedly 7 and 8 on the list and it appeared someone got ahead of us unfairly. If there was a problem with the original plane, I get it. US Air’s system for handling these situations is flawed. I believe the staff at the gate was doing their best, although I was not that impressed. As always, the problems start at the overpaid top.

Therefore, why should I not fly Skybus Airlines. They will improve their system and I will save a lot of money and fly direct to smaller airports. Read more about Skybus and the Greensboro hub at:

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/NRSTAFF/876025828

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The Rathskeller restaurant in Chapel Hill North Carolina, a legendary hangout for UNC and other college students  for many years, has closed. Apparently, the business and contents were seized for non payment of taxes. The fate of the restaurant is unknown. The restaurant, on popular Franklin Street, has a lot of problems including a dilapidated building. The restaurant had been in business for almost 60 years and I can remember it being a hot topic in Greensboro when I was in high school.

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Want to go Skiing in New England? Want to visit Boston? Want to get away to a warmer climate this winter? Skybus Airlines is offering $ 20 flights from Greensboro North Carolina and other locations to select destinations such as Boston (Portsmouth New Hampshire) and Fort Myers Florida (Punta Gorda). This is in addition to their already existing $ 10 flights that are offered as 10 per flight.

By the way, the Piedmont Triad International Airport, located just outside Greensboro North Carolina, is a pleasure to fly in and out of.

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North Carolina is rich in history and is the ancestral home of a great many people in the US and elsewhere.  The first English colony in the new world was in North Carolina and although I have seen no proof, it would not surprise me to encounter a descendant of The Lost Colony, although their whereabouts was never confirmed. My ancestral roots go back to the early to mid 1700’s in North Carolina and before that to England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Holland and possibly France.

If you have North Carolina ancestors, especially if they go way back, tell me about them. Perhaps we are related, as we all are if one goes far enough back in history.

Also, has anyone out there taken part in The Human Genome Project?

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