Located at a busy intersection so it gets plenty of traffic, this marker points out the history of…read morea local Colonial-era resident. There is a space nearby to stop and read the marker. It has the same text on both sides, reading "Regulator leader. Outlawed after Battle of Alamance, 1771. Nearby house was burned by Gov. Tryon's troops." Online, there is more information. "Two James Hunters--one most noteworthy as a Regulator and the other a legislator--were prominent in North Carolina during the late colonial and Revolutionary periods." "James Hunter, the Regulator, was born around 1735, probably in Pennsylvania... Active in local affairs and displaying some degree of education, Hunter was at the forefront of the Regulator movement in the backcountry. He is believed to have helped write the "advertisements" and petitions, and was entrusted to deliver some of them. While he did not consider himself a military leader and is even said to have refused to assume command at the Battle of Alamance in 1771, Hunter later became known as "the General of the Regulators." "James Hunter, like many of the Regulators, sided with the King during the early days of the Revolution. He went to Cross Creek to join other Loyalists in February 1776, and then proceeded to New Hanover County. Hunter was captured at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge and paroled a few months later. He took the Oath of Allegiance on September 6, 1776, and was accepted as a "free citizen" of North Carolina." Proving that yes, people can change. [Review 19950 overall - 3437 in North Carolina - 924 of 2023.]

Perhaps not as grand or as visited as the VIetnam Memorial in Washington DC but if you counted the…read morenumber of people who passed within a half mile of this place, it might be a fair competition. The North Carolina Vietnam Memorial is located in the wooded area between the two rest areas here along I-85 in Thomasville NC. As with others, the memorial lists the 1620 names of those who died fighting in the "Vietnam Conflict" from North Carolina and also lists their counties. It is made from North Carolina brick. It is a short walk from either, or you can drive from the southbound one. What is relatively unique is that the highway is actually crossed over between exits 96 and 102, making each of the exits a right-lane one even though it is between the two highways. You can still hear the traffic faintly, even from inside the circle. [Review 11685 overall, 1467 of 2019.]

The heart of summer, it was quiet at the rest area and I was looking for something to do, a place…read moreto walk to, so I'm grateful that this was also located here to shake off the drive's weary pace. I took a walk down the stair to the lovely park and left a few kindness rocks behind to spread love out into the world before walking and hoping to find a few doe, alas there were no deer but there were a few bees in flowers. I walked back up. It's a lovely area, it may not be Huge and with statues but it's a somber and respectful memorial to the dead of the Vietnam conflict.

What a cool building for the city offices, they've done a fantastic job updating this. Lexington is…read morea nice little community and the city employees that I met, pretty nice people.

When I do reviews of cities and towns, I always review based on places of similar size. So I would…read morenot rate Lexington against New York, Nashville or Charlotte as examples. More like Lexington vs. Salisbury, Statesville, etc.. Nice town of 18,000 plus population, between Charlotte and Greensboro. Part of the Piedmont Triad with Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High point. The BBQ capital of North Carolina and recognized as one of the top places in the US for BBQ. I had low expectation of Lexington before visiting but I was wowed by how much this small town has to offer. Downtown This may be one of the best downtowns I have seen for a town of its size. Very healthy downtown area. Lots of shops, restaurants and places to get an adult drink. Downtown Lexington has a couple of places that are rare these days. One, a downtown grocery store (old school grocery) Conrad and Hinkle. Two, an old hardware store. Downtown grocery and hardware stores have all but gone away, so it is great to see both of these places doing well here. Parking is street parking, at least I didn't find any parking garages or lots. Signs on Main Street state two hour parking which is better than paid meters like you see in other places. There is a depot district in downtown that has a couple of breweries. This section also has a lot of empty buildings that appear to be old textile or furniture companies. This section of town has a lot of promise if they can get the right businesses to come in. Downtown Lexington is a great place for a day trip. Highly recommend it. Outside of downtown For a city of only 18K, you have about every big box store you need. Plenty of grocery store variety as well. There are at least three wineries close by, including Childress Vineyards on the west side of town. Oh and don't forget about the many BBQ places. I85 runs through the city. This gets you to Greensboro to the north and Charlotte to the south. Winston-Salem is a 20 minute or less drive from Lexington which is great.

This small town is located in Randolph County near North Carolina's Pottery Highway and there…read morereally isn't much. It's one of those "blink and you miss it" spots. If they have a downtown or a police department or even a gas station, I couldn't find it. What I did find is the "WHYNOT" sign and that was good enough for me. The name is really the important thing here. According to legend, the townspeople were in a meeting to discuss what they should name their place. Hours and hours of arguing until one resident stood up and got everyone's attention. "Why not this. Why not that. Why not name the town Why Not and let's go home?" And so they did. Welcome to Whynot. If you're looking for the sign, it is 1402 NC-705, Seagrove, NC 27341. There is a church across the street where I briefly parked. [Review 14998 overall, round number 500 of 2021, number 2862 in North Carolina.]

Growing up in High Point, my friends and I knew about Lydia's Bridge at a very young age. It's one…read moreof the Triad's best-known ghost stories. You can Google "Lydia's Bridge" to read the full story, but the short version is: Girl in white dress on the side of the road needs a ride home. Driver picks her up and drives her home. When they reach her home, she's vanished from the car. Driver knocks on the door of the house and an older woman answers. Driver asks about the girl. Older woman turns out to be the girl's mother and explains that the girl, Lydia, died in a car accident. Her ghost repeatedly does this from time to time. (I think I got the story right.) In elementary school, this story creeped me out. Every time my mom would drive us from High Point to Greensboro and back, we'd have to pass by Lydia's Bridge. I always looked at it, curious about the bridge and wondering if I'd ever catch a glimpse of Lydia. In high school, when my friends and I were old enough to drive, we actually drove out to Lydia's Bridge one night. It was pitch-black dark and terrifying. We psyched ourselves out. The address for this Yelp listing, 500 E Main St, puts you at the Yorkshire Yorkleigh Apartments. We pulled into Yorkleigh Ln, found parking, and walked over to Lydia's Bridge. It's not straightforward to get to. Lydia's Bridge isn't actually the bridge over E Main St, but instead another bridge nearby. Technically, it's a culvert. You can only get to it on foot. You have to walk through some wild vegetation to get there. I've uploaded a Google satellite view picture with this review so you can see exactly where the bridge is in relation to the apartment entrance. After much research, it is believed Lydia is actually one Annie L. Jackson who died in a car accident on Jamestown High Point Rd (present-day E Main St) in 1920; coincidentally, 100 years ago from the time I'm writing this. I posted the Greensboro Patriot newspaper front page article about the accident with this review too. You can read more about how this story was dug up on WFMY News 2's website: https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/lydias-bridge-mystery-solved-famous-ghost-traced-to-real-tragedy-local-family/487001437. A good story to read about Lydia was written by Lisa O'Donnell of the Winston-Salem Journal, published on June 16, 2018: https://www.greensboro.com/news/local_news/ghostly-jamestown-hitchhiker-reveals-herself-to-researchers/article_8f0d6ce6-71d2-11e8-920f-7f045391a3c2.html.

Also located in front of the Randolph County Courthouse, this monument is composed of nine engraved…read moregranite slabs arranged in a semicircle. The slabs increase in height toward the center, and the center slab topped with an eagle. There are three flagpoles behind the slabs, which today at half mast had the US flag, the North Carolina state flag and the POW-MIA flag. The center slab reads, "They stood in the unbroken line of patriots who lived to bear their country's arms. They died to save its honor and keep aglow the flaming torch of freedom." The slabs list all of those from Randolph County killed in action. [Review 13936 overall, 1258 of 2020, number 2579 in North Carolina.]

The All Veterans Memorial located in downtown Asheboro between the old and new courthouses pays…read moretribute to those who died from Randolph County in WWI; WWII; Korea; Vietnam; Lebanon; Panama and the Persian Gulf Wars. The names of each of the men and women who paid the ultimate price for freedom are inscribed in the granite memorial. POWs and Wounded Warriors are also acknowledged. This is one of the nicer memorials I've seen.

This nicely maintained historical marker is at the center of Downtown Lexington in front of the…read moreCounty Courthouse. The building itself is beautiful but was not open for tours at the time I passed through town. The marker reads: "Old Davidson County Courthouse. Completed 1858. Interior was burned 1858, rebuild ca. 1867. Fine example of Classical Revival style." Stop by and tour the building. I'd love to see pictures of the inside!