MOCKSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA (Mark)

This is the view I have sitting at the table in the trailer while working on this post - hard to beat.

Cheri has a three-day quilting retreat.  We are parked about 100 yards from where she is attending, in the JJJ Manor, located in Mocksville, NC.

I had three days left to my own devices.  I had brought my camera and my golf clubs, so was clearly able to amuse myself. 

Colin Creek Golf Club is just south of town.  It is a wonderful golf course with nine greens, and differing tees to make 18 unique holes.  This is very much like a number of courses in Scotland where you will have six or nine greens and multiple tee locations to make 18 holes: a very smart way to save money, as maintenance of greens is the most expensive part of a golf course. 

I got some steps in, pushing my trolley, and played 24 holes before deciding to call it a day.

I decided to explore the surrounding area, got in the Dodge, started rambling, and found an old Presbyterian cemetery.  As sometimes happens here, where graves can be over 250 years old, the writing on the granite has been completely worn away by the decades of weather.

Further along I drove past this helicopter, and I had to double back to stop and take a look:

The way this gunship was built was interesting.  The Bell AH-1 Cobra, also known as "The Snake," was developed much quicker than most military projects.  Time was saved by using the existing engine, transmission and rotor system from the Huey Helicopter.  It is VERY narrow; to fit in the seat you would need to be quite thin.

As I came back into the historic portion of the downtown I was greeted by this:

I decided to just take the one picture and then spend the next day walking the downtown area.

If you are in the historic downtown of Mocksville, you owe it to yourself to stop here and try the cheesecake of the day:

I recommend it highly!  Mountaintop Cheesecakes is a one-man show, but Moto the dog may also be around to say hi if you are so inclined.

The number of murals for such a small downtown area makes for a wonderful walk.

Many of the murals are of historical events, and to see them painted really brings interest to the history of the area.

I believe this next one is not quite historical accurate, but you never can tell . . . .

This is obviously not a mural, but I like the graphics integrated into the concept.

The railroad plays an important part in so many of the towns in North Carolina.

If you look around most towns will have at least one of these:

Cheerwine was invented in Salisbury, North Carolina, about 50 miles from our home.  The claim is that it is "the oldest continuing soft drink company still operated by the same family."

There are many more murals not shown in this post, and many interesting architectural things to see.  But because it is spring I will finish with this:

. . . and go buy more cheesecake!