I've been living in Mocksville since March and Heather has finally graced me with her presence in the booming metropolis of Davie County. She can now report back to home base (Mom and Dad) that I am living in suitable conditions and she even met my roomie (Who has yet to make me into a human shish kebab). While she was here I gave her the tour of the house and revealed that there was a door that I believed went to the basement but had yet to explore it. Mostly because I was too much of a chicken. This house was built pre Civil War and I'm afraid there's something creepy down there. Kim never included the basement on the grand tour and I have yet to see her go down there either but it definitely exists. Heather having a sense of adventure suggested we get flashlights and explore. I put the kibosh on that. I don't want to find something that will make it harder for me to sleep in this house when I"m by myself. I already think I hear music when I"m all alone at night. I don't need to find skeletons to further fuel my imagination that ghosts may live here or agitate anything that does float through the soul of this house. YIKES!

After driving through the heart of Mocksville (which took about 2 minutes) we decided to head into Winston Salem (The big city as described by some people around here). Our first stop on the day of fun was Hills BBQ. This is one of the spots on the NC BBQ that Heather and I are hoping to check off our list (She pointed out that she was the one that discovered that there was BBQ trail and that I was her original idea but that I could sponge off her coolness if I so please, Thanks Jana) Heather also pointed out that I could use some practice parking my car. I guess I leave too much space between my front bumper and the curb. Whatever... Onto the good stuff. Heather had her first Cheerwine, my new favorite drink. It's a cherry flavored cola with a nice red tint. I don't even like soda but I'm hooked on this stuff. It's a NC product and readily available throughout the South. The BBQ was tasty, the hushpuppies a delight and slaw. In NC I have discovered when you get coleslaw you always have the choice of red or white slaw. White is traditional mayo based and red slaw is not mayo based with a red tinge but it's not hard to describe. It's got a horseradish tang and maybe ketchup gives it the red tint but it doesn't taste like ketchup. Either way we were stuffed to the gills. 

Next stop where 2 roadside attractions that I read about online. The first being a Shell station. It's in the shape of the clamshell. It's not functional as a gas station anymore but was made into a visitor info center.  If you want to know a little bit more about it click here.
The second roadside attraction is a huge coffee pot that was used as an advertisement piece for a tinsmith. When I read about it the coffee pot was described as huge ( around 7 feet.) When Heather and I found it I will admit it was big but not as big as we had hoped for. Heather was thoroughly  disappointed, I was tickled pink to have my photo taken with it. Here's a little more info on the coffee pot if you're interested.

Since we were in the downtown area we decided to check out what we could on foot. There is a pedestrian walking path that was a little deserted with a lot of trees/shrubs/underpasses. As we were walking Heather is looking all around and acting like a goof. "What the heck are you doing?" and she says just like my Dad "I'm just being aware of my surroundings!" Then I whip out my kitty claws, I tell her I will protect us and she tells me she's scared that I'm the one in charge of the claws. Psssshhh! After we exit an area full of bushes and shrubs we emerge into the BB&T plaza with lots of cool water fountains. It's at this point I ask her if she saw the homeless person. "What homeless person?" I then tell her they were covered up in blankets behind the bushes that we were just walking past. Look who's aware of their surrounds now! (score 1 for Ashley, 0 for Jana) I know it was Sunday but the downtown section of WS is pretty beat. There wasn't much going on there. I don't think going during the week would make it much better. 

To continue our afternoon of fun I took Heather to my favorite Goodwill. She is the best and worst to take to thrift shops.  Bad because I never find anything when she's around but good because I don't spend any money. To wrap up the afternoon we made a pit stop to Sonic since she had yet to experience the drive through with roller skating attendants and we got some sweet frozen treats. It essentially took the place of my dinner. Heather got a food baby and I was stuffed to the gills. We headed back to the house and spent the rest of our time watching our favorite Jimmy Fallon Youtube videos and cracking up (Heather has the most infectious laugh)