Monday, December 13
After a hectic day of packing our Uhaul box on Sunday, Monday started off with paying people to haul away the couch we couldn’t sell and shoving the remaining junk into our 2003 rusty green Subaru Outback. We were so fortunate to meet our DC friends for one last lunch at our favorite brewery, Other Half (which started in Brooklyn and opened a location while we were living in DC). We ordered food from Baker’s Daughter, reminisced, and tried to pawn off our sad plants and cleaning supplies to our friends before hitting the road.
We headed south, to Tarboro, North Carolina.
My Grandpa, Baker Joseph Shelton (Papa Joe) was born in High Point, North Carolina. He was one of 6 but I think his favorite sibling was his older sister Annie Laurie. He also always spoke very fondly of one of Annie Laurie’s daughters, Mary Ann, who even visited us in Arizona when I was living with him nearly a decade ago. Mary Ann and her husband Rusty graciously offered for us to stay with them in Tarboro to see the country and meet my distant family.
After a 4 hour drive we followed Mary Ann’s directions: we turned left at the light, right onto the dirt road, and parked in the yard. We weren’t totally sure if we were at the right house, but saw lights and heard people, so we stepped onto the porch. I gently knocked on the glass front door and we heard the voices grow louder. All of a sudden a thigh-high little boy with shock-blonde hair came out and immediately hugged my leg. A black farm dog followed, tail wagging chaotically, excited to jump on us. Then Mary Ann and Rusty appeared and welcomed us in. Apparently their son and one of their daughters had come over to the house with their kids to meet us and welcome us to Tarboro. They offered us beers from their local brewery – Tarboro Brewing Company – and served us delicious chili and baked potatoes while we talked and got to know each other. It was the kindest, warmest welcome to any place I’ve ever experienced and probably ever will.
Tuesday, December 14
The next morning they fed us coffee cake, bacon, eggs, and fruit. Then Rusty took us out to show us around. First, he had to take care of an errand. Rusty and Mary Ann are both ‘retired’ but Mary Ann runs a gift shop on Main Street (called ‘Rusty’s Gift Shop’) and Rusty makes and sells his famous Peanut Brittle (‘Rusty’s Peanut Brittle’). He stopped by the ‘factory’ where we watched as peanuts were unloaded and brittle loaded into a pickup truck driven by a kid on winter break from college (who said “yes sir” and “no sir” to all of Rusty’s questions). Then we went to the old fabric mill. The production operations have now all relocated overseas but they still receive products to sell in the US. On the day we visited, defect socks were being sold at wholesale prices. Some socks were as low as 25 cents a pair. I bought two pairs for all my family and paid $18.
By this point, Carl and I referred to Rusty as the Mayor of Tarboro because he knew and greeted every single man, woman, child, and dog we saw. He gave us a tour around town – driving past all the main sites and giving us the 5-second history tour. We saw the Tarboro common (the only other original town common besides Boston), several historic houses (including private tours of his children’s houses), the riverfront walk, and the historic Main Street. Then we went to the brewery. Normally the brewery is closed on Monday and Tuesday but Rusty walked in the door and made his presence known and the gracious bartender (a fellow Shelton, to whom I’m likely distantly related) came out from the back and poured us some samples. Then Franklin, the mad scientist brew master, emerged and gave us the grand tour of the brewery. Many of their beers are titled ‘Small Town’ something. Small Town Homecoming was their Hazy and Small Town Wedding was an IPA session. I especially liked Home for the Holidays, a spiced ale, and Sunny Side Up was a golden coffee ale that was tasty and fun to drink because it tasted like coffee but looked like a light beer.
From here Mayor Rusty parted ways with us for a bit to go take care of other errands. We walked around downtown and then met up with him and Mary Ann for lunch at On The Square, which is owned and operated by their daughter and her husband. Opposite two proud parents we ate an amazing Reuben and chef salad. Rusty showed off the dinner menu and we decided we will have to go back to have the full culinary experience.
After lunch we stopped by the gift shop and I picked up some little gifties for my nephews. Then Carl and I went back to the house and walked around the 40-acre property. Mae West (the black farm dog from a prior scene) followed us all the way out – ducking into the forest and re-emerging just as we thought we’d lost her – herding us back to the house.
That night Rusty and Mary Ann cooked us pork chops with cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes with brown sugar. I also tried their cocktail-hour favorite, Cava, a Spanish wine. We ended the evening watching the UNC basketball game and working on some Sudokus. Carl and I were grateful to have such good tasting home cooked food and a cozy night with such nice people – a true break from our hectic city lives.
Wednesday, December 15
Carl and I were sad to leave Tarboro and say goodbye to Mary Ann and Rusty. We were lucky to see another of their children who drove out of her way (late for school!) just to see us. Rusty cooked us another great breakfast and they gifted us with some souvenirs before we left.
Then we drove to Asheville, NC.
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