Ava Gardner Museum, Smithfield, North Carolina

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. 

Retro Roadtrip

I kind of vanished for a bit.  I've been dealing with depression again & I've turned into a hermit, so there's not much to write about.  We did have an earthquake & hurricane within days of each other.  One of my dogs almost died & that triggered the depression.  While my friends were having their hurricane parties, I was busy trying to nurse my dog back to health.  He's fine now, but we spent a lot of money at the vet & money is really tight. 

 

My doctor keeps telling me I need to get out of town for a bit & my mom reminded me that we're having a family get together in a few weeks.  The Mr is working, so I'm taking the opportunity to go home.  Is it stupid for me to spend the money?  Probably.  I really, really need to go home though.  

 

The problem is my mother wants me to ride with her and stay with my aunt.  Six hours in a car, then countless hours of sitting with those two will not be relaxing.  Both deny that there is anything wrong with me and can't understand why I can't find a job. 

 

Being the mature person I am, I have lied to them & said I will be staying with a friend.  It may not really be a lie, but I haven't confirmed it with my friend.  If I can't stay with her, I will stay in a motel. If I tell my mom I'm spending money on a hotel, she'll flip.  She's already upset that I'm driving separately, but if I ride with her, I won't have a car and I'll be trapped.  There are things I want to do while I'm up there & I don't feel like dragging her along or begging to borrow a car.

 

My plan is to go up, do the family thing for a day, then the next day, go and have fun with or without the previously mentioned friend.  The Mr doesn't understand how I could possibly make the drive by myself, but I'm looking forward to it.  I can stop when I want & visit stupid road side attractions/shops without him whining.  What I'm looking forward to the most is staying in one of the little roadside motels on Rt. 30.  The Mr is a hotel snob.  His father spends stupid amounts of money to stay in hotels based on their name and alleged fanciness, so he's spoiled & is weird about where we stay.  As long as my room is clean, I don't care. 

 

When I was little, my family stayed at numerous little roadside motels.  Most are run by couples and can be as cheap as $30 a night.  Yes, there are some scary ones out there (esp. closer to larger cities), but the worst experience I've had was finding a giant hairball in a towel.  The towel was clean, but the manager brought new towels & checked each of them in front of us, then discounted our room. 

 

Route 30 in (Lincoln Highway) has a ton of little motels like this.  My favorites are the ones that look like tiny cottages.  You also drive through neat little towns & can find cool stuff in the shops.  It does take longer to get to Pittsburgh, especially because I ALWAYS get stuck behind an Amish buggy.

 

I've always wanted to stay at the Grand View Point Hotel.  My grandparents used to stay there when they'd go on weekend getaways (I have a photo of them posing in front of it in the 30's).  It burned down in 2001.  As you can see, it's a river boat on the side of a mountain. 

 

 

 There is another one in Lancaster (Fulton Steamboat Inn), but that is too far out of my way.

 

I'm going through Retro Roadmap to see what places are still there, but they tend to road trip on the Eastern side of the state.  I do like to have some sort of plan in place.  Hopefully I'll have an interesting update to post when I get back.