Lexington

This morning while soaking up the last of the free cable at the Knight's Inn, we heard that there was a Barbeque Festival in Lexington, NC, a city which was on the general route of where we were headed. (Actually, we didn't know where we were headed) So we set out bright and early, barbeque on the brain. (We treated ourself to Mexican the night before, so it was time for my next fix of Texas favorites). We arrived a the Walmart parking lot for the shuttle around 10:00. Once on the shuttle, we struck up a conversation with a local guy who was extremely friendly. He was excited to hear we were down all the way from NY. He said this was the best barbeque in the country. I told him I wasn't sure, I was from Texas after all. He said this stuff is different from Texas barbeque, it's vinegar based. Hey, I'm open-minded, I definitely wanted to try this stuff. (Especially after all the junk we've been cooking up on the road). Oh, and lastly, we asked his opinion of where to go in NC since we were passing through. He said definitely go to Oakboro. Stay tuned for what that was like.

We entered the Barbeque Festival at the north end of what I think was Main Street. They blocked off traffic for about five or ten blocks down and all along each side were food booths, exhibits, and crafts. The first exhibit we came across was the Lumberjack Competition. Now, I had seen these things many times on TV and always thought it was amusing how throwing an axe or chopping a piece of wood had become a talent to perfect, worthy of a medal and the worship of many men and women. Well, I went up front and center to get a piece of the action. Not only were there burly looking lumberjack men, there were young guys fighting for the honor of best axe throw. I've never thrown an axe myself, so I guess I shouldn't knock it - I'm sure those things are heavy. We saw some talent out there I believe. Looking around at the crowd, I didn't see anyone about to pee themselves over a bullseye with an axe.. so now I'm almost wondering if it's like an exclusive club.. kinda like a Dungeons and Dragons club. Maybe it's enough to these guys to be cool to each other. OK, so that wasn't all of the festival.

We walked a block further and encountered a sand sculpture about 29 feet tall. It was a large birthday cake with pigs all over it, eating it mostly. And of course there was a pig in a wig popping out the top. This was the 25th anniversary of the festival, so they did it up big. The pigs are the mascot of the festival because barbecue in North Carolina is pork based, for the most part. We did make it down to a booth and both got barbecue sandwiches, Tim's with cole slaw, mine without. It was tasty and we both enjoyed it. Is it as good as Texas barbecue..? Even if it was, would I say so? Probably not:). Darn that Southern pride.

There were also many craft booths with birdhouses, pottery, clothes, jewelry, etc. One of the first booths we came to were selling these hand-sewn bags made from fabric scraps. There were adorable, and I got one for myself. After milling from booth to booth, we stopped by to see the Budweiser clydesdales. They are huge and beautiful animals. I've seen them before, but am blown away by their size and muscles every time I see them. They really look like gentle giants (that's not to say I'd go walking behind one of them!). From here, we went on to one of the many stages set up around the event. The featured entertainer of the evening was Leanne Womack. I don't know that I'm wild about her music, but she really does have a beautiful voice, somewhat like Alison Krauss. The best part of the concert was listening to one of her sideliners that she switched off singing songs with. His name is Jamey Johnson, and he is a pretty funny guy. I'm not saying I agree with everything he sings about, but he is pretty straightforward and hilarious at times. For an example, check out his song "Women." Well, after half dozen songs, I was pooped. We headed back to Walmart, bought the Jamey Johnson CD (yeah, we're bad), and hit the road for our campsite that would put us closer to Oakboro, North Carolina's pride and joy.

Camping was pretty good. We went on a Saturday night before Halloween, which apparently is a big deal in these parts, because there was trick or treating and a "decorate your campsite" competition. We were supposed to vote for the best one, but were having such a fit with our campfire that we never got around to it. We bought a bundle of wood for $3, which we thought was a pretty good deal. Well, little did we know, this was wet wood on a very humid night. We fought with that fire for hours... but the flame would never keep. Well, Tim said it did eventually, but I had long since gone to bed, and when I looked in the morning, there was more wood left than there was burnt. I will give my man credit for fanning the crap out of that wood for hours.. I'm surprised he's not sore today. Oh well. We're not fooling with fires tonight, that's all I know.

(No, it was not as good as Texas barbecue)