The Buie Knife

View From My Window: Fox in Second Frame

Saturday my wife and I spied a small gray fox in our yard in Fearrington Village, between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, NC. Our son later discovered a mother fox and baby foxes in a drainage pipe. We frequently see cardinals, hummingbirds and titmouse at the bird feeder. Click on either photo to enlarge them. (I apologize for the quality of these pictures -- I was using a cell phone camera.)

Discovering Small Town Jewels

At the NC Main Street Conference,  I had a chance to talk with Greta Lint of Asheboro, who provides tourism writing and consulting services. She demonstrated a very interesting site she created for the small towns of Oakboro ("Oakboro Cruise-in & Burn-Out: NC's Largest Downtown Cruise-In").  " ' Build it and they will come,' but only if you promote it" is Greta's motto.

Every small town probably has something unique about it that tourists would like to see. Many small towns just need to discover their own unique assets.

Related:

• Wondering About SmallWander.com

Moonlight Canoe Ride on the Haw River

With a guide and boats from the Haw River Canoe and Kayak Co., my boys, wife and I took a moonlight canoe ride on the Haw River, putting in at Saxapahaw in Alamance County, NC. It was a delightful evening.

We also enjoyed a too brief visit to the town of Saxapahaw, which seems to doing a great job of transforming itself from a former mill village into a tourist attraction and model of environmentally-conscious living. See Sustainable Saxapahaw: Community-wide Conservation and Smalltown Living, in Fifteen501 magazine.

A Quick Dip in the Atlantic in November; Tour of Delightful Aquarium and Ft. Macon

Who says you can't have fun at the beach in November? This weekend, we discovered Atlantic Beach, near Morehead City, staying at the Windjammer Inn for $50 a night. We toured the fascinating new Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. My 10-year-old son Alex and other kids "interviewed" a diver while she was underwater surrounded by sharks. He touched a Manta Ray's "gooey" skin, and it closed its jaw around his finger, but then swam away. Alex also stroked hermit crabs until they climbed out of their shells.

I'd like to return after Alex turns 12 years old so we can go on kayak and canoe tours through the marshes with aquarium staff.

I'd also like to return to Atlantic Beach or Morehead City some time to charter a boat for a deep sea fishing expedition, as long as it could be guaranteed we wouldn't get sea sick. What I most remember about deep sea fishing with my dad at age 10 was spending most of the trip lying on a bench vomiting, with the wind blowing in my face.

Despite temperatures in the 50s, on Sunday Alex and I braved the lake-like ocean for invigorating quick dips. I was amazed at how crystal clear the water was -- I could see my feet even when the water was up to my chest. We built a sand castle, went on long beach walks, and explored Ft. Macon. 

Entrepreneurship in Robeson, Scotland Counties of NC

I've written before of my concern for the economy of my native Scotland County, NC. It's good to see the opening of a Center for Entrepreneurship in nearby Pembroke, in Robeson County. The Sandhills Business Times is helping to create a positive climate for business development. I was particularly impressed with their recent piece on Cypress Bend Vineyard near Wagram, how it's bringing tourists, and is a community gathering place for good music, good drink and good food.

Probably another force for economic development of the region would be if the indigenous Lumbee Indians receives tribal recognition by the federal government (background from American Indian News Service). The tribe could then apply for a gaming license, to open a big casino in nearby Robeson County. This could transform the region into the "Las Vegas of the East," which some fear would create gambling addicts and increase crime. But it would definitely draw tourists, and open opportunities for other entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Life in North Carolina: A Visit to Mayberry, Mt. Airy, N.C.

Hometown of Andy Griffith. We had fun! See enlarged version.

Blog for Bill Leslie, Tarheel Traveler

http://html.wral.com/sh/blogger/tarheeltraveler.html

How Do We North Carolinians 'Hold On to the Caring'?

The most striking quote in The News and Observer package on "What Do You Need to Know to Be A TarHeel?" comes from Kathryn Estrada, a homemaker and newcomer, who finds her Raleigh neighborhood personality-less, and old-time customs disappearing. (Her quote.) As a North Carolina native who has been away for 23 years, I understand where she's coming from, but thankfully I know where to find the old-fashioned charm, in places like the Mecca Restaurant in downtown Raleigh.

But it's good to keep in mind the words of Jerry Bledsoe: "As North Carolina's cities have boomed and its economy has gone increasingly high-tech, the state's traditional industries and ways of life have gone by the wayside: tobacco, textiles, furniture-making, country cooking and back-road driving. For so long, we were a small-town state. Maybe the change will be for the better, but I doubt it. There ought to be some sadness for what's been lost. We need to hold on especially to the caring that North Carolinians feel for each other -- the look-after-your-neighbor kind of stuff."

Tribute to Hugh Morton and North Carolina

Bruce Johnson writes: "This is AWESOME. Many of the pics are of Grandfather Mountain; others are of NC sports legends, from Charley Justice through Michael Jordan. One of my MOST prized possessions is a book of Hugh Morton's a friend in Raleigh gave me, called MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN NORTH CAROLINA. For you out-of-towners, Hugh Morton owned a big slice of the NC mountains and did a lot to improve them. The flowers are particularly beautiful." Flash Slideshow of Hugh Morton's photograms set to Scottish Music, from The Charlotte Observer. Click.

Three Days on the Lumbee, or Lumber River

My boys and I spent some time kayaking on the river I grew up on -- the Lumber, or Lumbee as we call it. We put in our kayaks at Turnpike Road north of Wagram and paddled down to McGirt's Bridge. When I was in college, I canoed with three buddies all the way to Georgetown, S.C. The Lumber River flows into the Little Pee Dee River and the Waccamaw River (where we saw alligators) before flowing into the intercoastal waterway. Gradually, I'm retracing that trip -- just not all at once, due to time constraints.  We missed the canoe regatta, which (wonderfully) has returned to Wagram after a 20-year hiatus. But we enjoyed the new state park, where this picture was taken, and I enjoyed reciting "Sunburnt Boys" by John Charles McNeill, North Carolina poet Laurette and a native of Wagram.

More Video of Kayaking on the Lumbee

Alex and Matthew Paddling;

River Rats;

Down on the Lumbee River;

Sunburnt Boys (enlarged picture>.