Duplin County, North Carolina

Duplin County Courthouse

I drove down to Duplin County to explore over the winter break, and had a fun time! Duplin County is a very rural county, and a pretty one. Duplin County was formed in 1750 from New Hanover County. (Later, Sampson County was created from part of Duplin County.) The county seat is Kenansville, named after State Senator James Kenan, a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War.

After a nice drive through the town of Warsaw, I found the town of Magnolia next. I enjoyed looking around Magnolia, and even found the library (which shouldn't be a surprise to those who
know me! Speaking of libraries and books, there's a book by a Magnolia native, Clara Baker McGrath, called Magnolia Girl's Adventures. After graduating from high school, she left Magnolia for Washington, DC, to work for the FBI.

Magnolia Cemetery

I also visited the Magnolia Cemetery, where I found a geocache.

Next, I visited the unincorporated community of Chinquapin. It's a small town with a rich history. It also has a couple of notable former residents. Caleb Bradham, inventor of Pepsi, was born there. Also, American author Randall Kenan spent time on the family farm in Chinquapin as a young child.

My last stop in Duplin County was in the town of Rose Hill. I stopped at the Duplin Winery, the largest winery in North Carolina. I didn't have take time for a tour that day, but I enjoyed a late lunch at the Bistro there. After lunch, I went down the street to visit The World's Largest [Operational] Frying Pan. It was covered up the day I was there. It would be interesting to see the frying pan in action!

World's Largest Frying Pan in Rose Hill

The rest of my Duplin County photos are here.

Davidson County, North Carolina

I visited Davidson County recently, and really enjoyed exploring the area!

Before I started driving from my home in Durham County, I knew I wanted to start out at The Big Chair in Thomasville, North Carolina. The Big Chair is a huge Duncan Phyfe chair in downtown Thomasville, in honor of Thomasville's furniture industry. Since we have a Duncan Phyfe couch and chair (from my grandparents' house) in our apartment, I wanted to see the big one! It was quirky but pretty in its own way, and fun to see in person.

After finding a geocache near The Big Chair, I drove around town a little bit. Thomasville is a cute town.

After that, I was ready for lunch, so I headed to Lexington for some barbecue! Lexington has several BBQ restaurants, but I stopped at a place called Lexington Barbecue for lunch. They served Lexington-style barbecue, of course, which is different from eastern-style barbecue served in Eastern North Carolina. I did an informal poll on my Facebook page, and while some people didn't care, others were adamant that one or the other was the best in the state! There's a Wikipedia article here about the barbecue debate. Our State Magazine weighs in here.

Next, I visited Boone's Cave Park, a pretty county park named after Daniel Boone. It's possible that Boone may have spent some time in a cave in a park. I thought I'd make the trek down to the cave, but I got several flights down the wooden stairs with no end in sight, so I turned around on that warm and steamy afternoon. It's a pretty park, though, with trails and a nice bathroom stop.

On the way back toward home, I decided to find a winery in the area, and with the help of Google Maps, I decided to try Childress

Vineyards in Lexington. I'd never heard of Childress Vineyards that I could recall, so I enjoyed the stop very much! I enjoyed seeing the vineyard, and stopped in the main building to look around. It was about 4:00 when I stopped in, so I missed the tours and official tastings for the day, but I got a small taste of the 2014 Petit Verdot, which I enjoyed a lot!

I made a few more small stops along the way, and found a few geocaches too! It was a fun day in Davidson County! My photos from the day are here.