Mount Airy, NC, has always been fairly local for us, but we’d never taken the time to visit. Now that we’re embracing the road life, it felt like the right next stop. Naturally, we chose Mayberry Campground, a nod to the town’s Mayberry legacy—simple, classic, and welcoming.
Mayberry Campground turned out to be a great find. Wide-open spaces of freshly cut green grass gave it a peaceful, open feel. The roads and campsites were gravel—not just any gravel, though. It was so clean and bright, almost white. We later learned it was granite gravel from a local quarry, which explained the unique look and feel.
But this trip would mark a change in how we travel.
On Monday morning, we visited the local shops in downtown Mt. Airy. What an awesome small town! Great local shops; Mill Creek (an Amish store/eatery) for lunch. Very good!
Monday afternoon brought some intense heat, and after lunch, we headed back to the campground to cool off. In the past, our habit was to cram in as many sights and stops as we could whenever visiting a new place. But this time, something felt different. We were starting to feel the pressure of trying to “do it all.”
While cooling off and scrolling the web, I found a place that sounded perfect—cool (literally), interesting, and just 30 minutes away. So we hit the road again. What we didn’t expect was that the next six hours would completely change our direction.
We spent the afternoon deep in thought. Decisions that had been simmering in the background came to the surface. Some choices were made quickly; some with more conversation—but by the end, we were aligned and ready. We knew what we wanted, and we made it happen.
Because of that, our trip took a detour. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent heading back home. We had to empty our 5th wheel onto the deck—because something new was coming.
