Having lived in New Orleans for a few years, the music and culture have become a part of me. I listen to brass music and can cook a mean pot of Gumbo, and a bottle of Abita beer always makes me smile. Never do I miss New Orleans more than during Mardi Gras. For those who don't know, Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" and is the day before Ash Wedesday, the first day of lent. Before giving up things for the forty days before Easter, you should do them in excess, and that is what Mardi Gras is all about: fun, dancing, silly costumes, food and drink. While I would love to spend every Mardi Gras in Louisiana, it's not always possible, but I do always try and celebrate it in whatever way I can. Even when I lived in Japan, I had a Mardi Gras party to celebrate with my friends. This year, I celebrated it with the wonderful people of Marshall, North Carolina with a parade, music, food and drink...
f you had told me a few weeks ago that some of the best music I would see in North Carolina would be in the back room at a Barber Shop, I would have looked at you a little funny. Today I'm here to tell you it's true. For over 50 years, local musicians have gathered in the back room at The Barber Shop in Drexel, North Carolina and picked some tunes, chewed the fat and created one of the most wonderful music experiences in the country.
It all started when Lawrence Anthony was getting ready to deploy for the European theater during World War II. He picked up a guitar in Washington State for just $3 and carried it with him throughout the war. The guitar rode with him in his tank as he followed General Patton into battle and he would pick it during his downtime...
When I set off on this journey, it was with a certain mental picture in my head. I hoped to find off-the-beaten-track places, meet local characters, listen to some great music and find some delicious local foods. Never would I have guessed that I could find all of those things in one place at one time, but that's exactly what happened when I walked in the door of Priddy's General Store outside of Danbury, North Carolina.
I had found Priddy's on a really great website for the North Carolina Blue Ridge Music Trail, but I didn't know what to expect as I drove down Sheppard Mill Road out of Danbury. About two miles out of town, an old white wooden store came into view. The lights were on and there were fires burning outside and I knew this must be the place. As I walked from my van through the cold winter night, the smell of something good cooking and the sounds of sweet bluegrass filled the air. It made me smile before I even walked in the door...
I absolutely love being at the beach in the off-season. I always have. I don't like crowds, traffic or waiting in line for things, so I will sacrifice being able to swim in the ocean for the solitude of the beach in winter. To me, that is the only sacrifice. Everything else is pretty much the same. My two visits to the Outer Banks of North Carolina these last few months have both been in the off-season, and both were amazing.
Back in October, before setting off on this current journey, I had to take Shadow Catcher, my van, out on a test run. I wanted to be sure everything worked, to see how it handled on long drives and what I might need to add or remove from my packing list. My folks were headed down to the Outer Banks for their annual vacation there, so I decided to join them...
Okay, so I'm going to cut straight to the chase: I have never really understood why anyone would get excited about Eastern Carolina Barbecue. I mean, I get it, they cook the whole hog, but what difference does that make if the finished product isn't good. Yes, seeing a whole hog being cooked is visually appealing, but we're talking about food here - if the taste isn't there then who cares what the cooking process looks like? And that "sauce" which is vinegar with some pepper flakes floating in it? I don't know which is more unappealing, bland mushy pork or a mouthful of vinegar. I want to like Eastern Carolina Barbecue, but I've always just found it incredibly ordinary. I never really got it, and i have tried it plenty of times. So while I had high hopes for the Skylight Inn, as it is lauded as one of the places to get good Carolina barbecue, I was pretty skeptical about the whole process. It's amazing the difference one meal can make. Not only was this the best Carolina Barbecue I've ever had by far, it was some of the best barbecue period I've ever had...
It is very exciting to have entered the second state of my journey, North Carolina. North Carolina has a lot of history, some of which I know and some of which I hope to uncover for both of us in the month or so to come. It's nice to be here.
I began my journey into the Tar Heel State by visiting the tiny town of Halifax, and more specifically Halifax State Historic Site. This seemed like an appropriate place to start my travels in the state, not just geographically, but because of the history of the area. It was in Halifax, on April 12th, 1776 that the underground, non-British, Fourth Provincial Congress met and passed what became known as the Halifax Resolves. The Halifax Resolves essentially authorized North Carolina's delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to vote for independence for the colonies...
West Virginia is now behind me, fading away in my rearview mirror, but not in my memory or my heart. I chose West Virginia to start this 4 year journey for a reason. West Virginia is one of the most misunderstood states in the country. People have an image in their head of a bunch of backwoods hillbillies picking their banjos and sipping moonshine from a mason jar. And there is certainly some element of truth to that, but that isn't the whole story. West Virginia is a beautiful place with a wonderful State Park system, some top-notch universities, a deeply proud musical tradition, some fun and vibrant cities and a host of off-the-beaten-track sites, shops and restaurants to enjoy. The people, though maybe a little shy, are kind and friendly and generally very welcoming.
One of the things I was looking forward to the most in my travels through West Virginia was the opportunity to listen to some great Mountain Music. West Virginia music leans heavily towards bluegrass and country, with a wonderful dose of mandolin thrown in now and again. There are many other kinds of music around the state too and you can check out my favorites on my West Virginia Playlist HERE or on Spotify HERE. There are some legendary venues around the state, too and I was really happy to visit some of these. This is a quick look at some of the great and not so great spots I found in my travels.
My musical journey through The Mountain State began at The Troubadour Lounge outside of Berkeley Springs. I'm kind of sorry it did. This bar was owned by country music legend Jim McCoy until he passed away in 2016 and houses the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. I'm told it was quite the place back when Jim was running it. When I pulled in, it looked like...
Food is an interesting and underrated form of communication and an essential part of travel. Even if we are cooking for ourselves, regional differences can be spotted in grocery stores from place to place. Things you may have never seen or heard of are piled high and the locals are all grabbing some. Every state has its culinary specialties and must-try delicacies and ideally when you try them they will help you understand the State or region better. Hopefully they’ll be made with local ingredients and you can get a taste for what grows in the area, and there will probably be hints of where the people who make them came from as well. America is and always has been a great melting pot of flavors from around the world and our culinary traditions are ever-shifting. I encourage everyone to be bold when travelling to new places and eat as locally as you can. You know those big national chains will be mediocre at best. Even if you want fast-food, the local option it bound to be better. Use Yelp to sift through them (with a grain of salt obviously, but a 1 or 2 star place is probably that for good reason), or better yet, ask the locals. Here are seven of my favorite meals from the month I spent in West Virginia..
Finding a true multi-generation craft shop these days is getting harder and harder. Finding one where you can actually see the products being made is even harder still. I treasure these finds because they are so rare. Having been to factories which churn out thousands of pieces an hour, all exactly the same, it is nice when you can find somewhere where things are made one at a time and each piece is unique and distinct. Wandering into Appalachian Glass in Weston, West Virginia I knew I was somewhere special. In the hour or so I was there, I saw really beautiful glass ornaments being blown by hand, learned some history about the area and the industry, had a cup of coffee and walked out with some beautiful hand-made glass pieces in my hand and a smile on my face...
’m going to go right ahead and say it. In the incredible ethnic food scene that stretches across America, the most inevitably disappointing is Italian. I don’t know why this is, but it’s true. Having spent plenty of time in Italy I know how good Italian food is. The Italian-American population is huge, and if you go by their houses you will find amazing dishes in every pot. Why then is it that every time I go to an Italian restaurant I find it so underwhelming? If I order pasta I usually feel as though I could have made better at home in 20 minutes. It’s actually gotten to a point where I won’t even go to an Italian restaurant anymore. This is why Muriale’s in Fairmont, West Virginia was such an amazing find...
Leaving Spencer, West Virginia, I travel out state highway 14, make a left on Colt Ridge and then a right on Colt Run and just like that, I find myself in a different time. The road turns quickly to a one lane dirt track through the woods and leads deep into a hollow. Having spent enough time in West Virginia now, my hope is that I won’t see a massive coal or lumber truck come barreling around the corner towards me. I don’t, and soon I find myself bouncing happily down a West Virginia back country road and quickly pull up at my destination under a sign that reads “Hatfield Farms”.
Hatfield Farms is home to Devil Anse Hatfield’s Great Great-Grandson Mark Hatfield and his wife Brenda. It’s also home to their latest business ventures: Hatfield and McCoy Vineyards and The Sweeter Side of the Feud Winery and Distillery...
