Along the Virginia–North Carolina border, 12 miles southeast of Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 200 via US-52, Mount Airy (pop. 7,156) was the boyhood home of Andy Griffith, who based much of his long-running TV show The Andy Griffith Show and the spin-off sitcom Mayberry, RFD on the region. If you have fond memories of Opie, Andy, Barney, and Aunt Bea, you’ll definitely want to visit Mount Airy, which has effectively re-created itself in the image of the show. Eat an ever-tender pork chop sandwich, raved about by Gourmet Magazine and Oprah, at the very popular Snappy Lunch (closed Sun.; 336/786-4931), at 125 Main Street in the compact downtown business district, and admire the 8x10 glossies of Mayberry actors and their local lookalikes at Floyd’s Barber Shop, next door. Or head a few blocks west to Aunt Bea’s BBQ, 425 Old US-52, and stay the night at the comfortable, clean and inexpensive Mayberry Motor Inn ($50 and up; 336/786-4109) across the highway—just look for the black-and-white Mayberry sheriff’s car parked out front.
The Mayberry mania reaches a peak during Mayberry Days in late September; details on this (and anything to do with Andy Griffith) can be had from the Mount Airy visitors center (336/789-4636 or 800/576-0231), at 615 N. Main Street.
