This time my road trip was a success! My friends & I had a great time. The Ava Gardner Museum is in Smithfield, NC. I normally have problems when I go to North Carolina. The drivers are terrible and there is always one person that yells at me for bizarre reasons. I even got a free milkshake at a 50's diner style McDonald's even though it came with obsessive staring.
It was ridiculously hot down there. Temperatures were in the 80s. Gross.
The museum is really nice. It seems small at first, but there is a lot of stuff packed in. We watched a 20 minute video before we looked around. The woman working there gave us a little bit of info before the video, but seemed too busy to chat. The video room has three paintings by a fan of Ava's, but there are more in the library. There is also an original chalk/pastel piece from The Barefoot Contessa film. The portraits are very well done. The woman told us that the artist (Bert Pfeiffer) was a bit crazy, but we read he suffered from Porphyria. That will make you crazy.
They have a nice selection of movie posters, personal items & clothing from various movies. The highlight for us was the Bert Pfeiffer paintings.
The costumes are nice too, but you end up jealous of her 18" waist. We stood in front of the black dress from The Great Sinner trying to figure out when our waists were even close to 18".
We picked up a few things in the gift shop. They have a nice selection there, too. Sweatshirts are $20 & they come in different colors. I liked the design on the sweatshirts better than the t-shirts, but they didn't have the color I wanted in my size, so I got the t-shirt. They don't have women's cut, so I'm going to alter it. I wanted to pick up a poster for my room, but couldn't decide. They sell most posters framed for a few dollars more (in store, not online). I might be going back in a few months when my cousin is in town, so I can get one then.
The weird thing they sell is moonshine jelly. We bought a jar, but were a little afraid of it. We haven't tried it yet.
We dropped our purchases off at the car & decided to walk around Smithfield. We were thirsty, but the diner and bistro were closed. There was a coffee shop, but that seemed like it was closed as well. We did see the movie theater that Ava and her mother used to go to and found a second-hand clothing store. We didn't have any luck there, but we weren't looking very hard because we wanted something to drink.
For some reason, Smithfield has 5 law offices and 3 bail bond offices. The town is 3 blocks long (the downtown area). We found 2 hat stores, too. There are outlets and chain restaurants right next to I-95, but we were hoping for some antique stores & cafes.
The cemetery where Ava and her family are buried is right outside of the town, so we went to visit.
One of my friends is a huge fan of outlets, so we headed there next. The layout of the outlets makes it hard to shop, at least for those of us that can't walk very far. We went into a few, but left empty handed. Outlets used to have great deals, but those days are long gone.
After dinner, we headed back to Virginia. We had a great time & I recommend the Ava Gardner Museum even if you're just a casual fan. It's right off I-95 & you can always use a break from driving.
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