North Carolina

July 18, 2006


Two Views from the Guest House

My sister Marika & her husband Brian live on a huge spread of land in the foothills of Stokes County, North Carolina. Their 90 acres includes two small lakes and a large beautiful guest house where Kathy & I are staying during our stay. My mother Marta and sister Michele are staying in the main house, which is across a lake from us.

We all drove the 45 minutes down to Winston Salem on our first day here to take a look at Marta’s new condominium home in Tar Branch Towers just on the south side of downtown. It is a brand new, and I mean just completed this week new, but wonderful space that she is thrilled to be in. She is so excited. The movers with her furniture are due to arrive soon, until then she will be staying with Marika. Sadly Michele had to return to Indianapolis after a brief two day stay.

Marta's New Home



After exploring the condo, we got a tour of Winston Salem, which is a nice small city dominated by the Reynolds Tobacco name which basically created the city. We then toured nearby Wake Forest University before heading home for a nice family dinner and some lounging by the pool.

Our second full day here was dominated for us by our afternoon hike to the highest peak in nearby Hanging Rock State Park. Stokes County is the only county in the US with a self-contained Mountain Range, the Sauratown Mountains and hanging Rock State Park is only 4 miles away. Brian, Kathy & myself headed over for an afternoon hike. I was outvoted 2-1 on which trail to take, so we of course choose the most strenuous, longest trek to the highest peak, Moore’s Knob via the Moore’s Wall Loop Trail. The 4.2 mile trail up the mountain to the peak at 2,572 feet, small by many standards but tough nonetheless. I somehow survived as we climbed the observation tower atop the peak for an amazing view of the area. I must admit the pool never felt so good as after returning from that hike.




For Michele’s final dinner, before departing, we all headed to the local barbeque joint, Fuzzy’s for some more authentic regional cuisine. It may seem like a hole in the wall, but the place was packed with locals munching barbeque and enjoying lime flips. We plan to do as many authentic down home North Carolina things as we can during our stay.
Michael, Brian, Marika, Michele, Marta & Kathy

Fuzzy's