Local Pieces of Americana

Been thinking about the farm quite a bit lately.  I guess it's because it's harvest time.  I don't know why, but I always liked the smell of fall.  There is a certain scent around a field when the corn is being picked that I can't really explain.  And I like it!

All of this thinking caused me to get out my pictures for a good looking-over.  So I thought that as long as I have them already out, I'd share some of them with you.  There are so many things about that little corner of the world that are endearing.


If you drive through town too fast (and most out-of-towners tend to), you won't get to see what may be the biggest oak tree in the entire state.  We've often wondered how old it is.  Taking into consideration the slow growth rate of oaks, our best guess is that it must be over a hundred years.  This oak is so big, that it took me, my son, my mother, and my father to encircle its trunk!!!  I swear one of these days I'm going to bring a tape measure.  Just for reference: my son is 5'10.

Each one of its limbs (and there are many!) are big enough to make a large tree all by themselves.  It's truly a beautiful tree, and I'm very pleased that it is quite healthy.  I've tried for years to figure out an angle where I can actually fit the whole tree into my picture.  Here's the view from underneath...or at least as much of the oak as I could fit in my lens.

If you travel a little ways out of town, you'll come to this cozy little town with a population of....2.  Yep, that's not a typo.  There are 2 people in town.  And this is a place I make sure to visit every time I'm Down Home.  Wouldn't miss it.  You see, this little town is called Moonshine.  And if you're ever in the Moonshine vicinity, I would very highly recommend that you stop by the Moonshine Store.  Now, I know what you're thinking...as far as I know, the strongest drink they serve is Birch Beer (Mmm!)  It's a cousin to root beer, without the hops, barley or malt.

Moonshine has THE BEST hamburgers in the world!  If you do get there, you might want to be on time.  Helen closes up her grill promptly at 12:30pm.  They only serve grilled food for an hour and a half Mon through Sat.  The last time we were there, they served up over 1,000 hamburgers.  Think about that for just a minute....Over. One. Thousand. Hamburgers. In. 90. Minutes.  Absolutely astounding.  They do serve several items on their menu, but that was the total for just the hamburgers served.  And they're priced right; 3 burgers, 3 bags of chips and 3 bottles of pop for $16.00.

Several miles to the north, you'll find another small town that offers a business with an unusual way of advertising...and I might add that it's really big.

There's a dirt track nearby...lots of fun, where the boys (and sometimes the girls!) are guaranteed to give you your money's worth!

I guess these things are just slices of Americana.  Things that we've all driven by in passing.  I try to take in all of these little things, and whenever I can, I take the old State Routes instead of the Interstates.  Yeah, it takes longer, but you get to enjoy more of our country.  And if you take a little extra time, you'll definitely get to meet some genuine characters along your way!


~~Diana