Mount Holly/Whats for dinner

  

     Todays edition is my favorite kind of blog, it has more pictures than words.

What is this?

    As the title says we are going visiting, and Mt Holly is my chosen destination. I am surrounded by little towns, villages and even tiny cities, and from time to time I like to get my camera and just walk around one of those places with no plan in mind, except a nice walk, and hopefully a few photogenic opportunities. Mt Holly never disappoints. 

  Mt Holly gives the impression of being a small lazy one horse town that if you blink you will miss it. That couldn't be more wrong. Mt Holly is a vast area of land that has so much to offer, in town and its outskirts as well. The part you might call the downtown area has always been a cool spot to be, and now it is growing and getting even cooler. As one shop owner said to me as I was picturing the street, " Mt Holly is about to put itself on the map of places you wanna see." Through out the year they throw a bevy of festivals and parties in the streets, the Witches Ball and the Ice Festival are 2 of the biggest, but there are many others all year long.

   I wasn't there on a day when a festival was happening, It was just a normal Tuesday on a warm sunny spring afternoon. The streets were bustling, and life was happening. 

   What I call Mt Holly proper or down town is a mix of urban growth and country charm. A creek (or is it a river) winds through the town giving way to many cute bridges and water life sights. The bridges never disappoint me and I always find a good photo or 2. This time I got my favorite of the day shots. Yep I know they are ordinary see em every day geese, but just look at the colors of the water the reflections and the power in their movement. 

             I did say favorite right.

 Mt Holly has loads of free parking that is easy to get to and to use. I never worry about parking because of this, and the entire town is walkable from the parking area. I use the same area all the time when I go to the town and this time was no different, what can I say I am a creature of habit. Even the parking lot offers you a glimpse of the wonders you might see. I opened the car door and before my foot touched the ground my camera was in my hand and set. Right in front of me was a new, well new to me eating establishment with so much character and cuteness it was begging for its picture to be taken. Getting shots around all the people was the trick. Don't let the lack of people fool you, I had to wait, leave come back and wait some more to get this place people free. I din't eat there but the amount of people from all the businesses in the area standing in line tells me Donkey Steaks in Mt Holly is a place to try.

  Once I saw the castle tower, MY castle tower, I lost all interest in Donkey and his steak, I lost all interest in food. There it was, off in the distance but still close enough to reach the tower in every little girls fairy tale.

  There was even a crow laughing and cawing in the trees above me as I stood on the foot bridge admiring the pretty tower in the sky. 

      Maleficent vibes were strong within me. 

 Continuing on, crossing over the foot bridge I leave the creek and my tower behind, and step into the bustling downtown metropolis. 

   Unlike many tourist towns, Mt Holly is a real working town, where you find all sorts of businesses from the specialty to the mundane, they are just housed in vintage buildings built in a time long gone. Quaint and functional all in one.

  Nope there wasn't a car show, just a nice day to be out driving with the top down. 

 Across the Main Street is the true tourist side of town.

  The buildings are older and unique in their style and history. The businesses they house are practical but aimed for the visitor that wants to enjoy the feeling of yesteryear. I am sorry about the wires in so many of these shots but they have to be there and as much as I would like to, they won't let me move them for a picture or two. 

    I enjoy all the shops on this side of town and peek in when I can. My heart breaks that Village Quilter is no longer there but it will heal in time I am sure. I find the name of this one shop, that I have never been in, to be the funniest of all, and that is The Crow Bar, considering it was the old jail.

  All around the downtown area, Mt Holly is growing, not just new buildings going up, but they are taking what is already there and re making it or keeping it the same and just fixing it to be usable once again. I was happy to see a new roof going on this building because that means it stays and gets a new lease on life.

  This one was an old factory I believe and it was gutted leaving just the shell. I have pictures of that, or at least I took pictures of the shell and I even had a few printed up, I just can't find them as of this moment. The building turned out to be very handsome it is welcoming, and fits in nicely with its surrounding area.

They left so much of the outer shell as they found it, that fitting in I think was pretty much a given.

  There are two buildings in Mt Holly, both private homes that I just love. One for its roof top. I am always drawn to it even if I can't make it appear photogenic,

and the other house has a porch that just sends my imagination to Savanah on a warm summers day sitting there with a cold drink just watching the world pass by. It is a favorite spot for me, and I do go out of my way to see it every time I visit Mt Holly.

    I alway have to stop in and say hello at Kitchen 87 even if I am not going to eat. It is hands down my favorite eating establishment in Mt Holly or any where else for that matter. 

  If you ask me out to lunch, my reply will always be Kitchen 87.

On the way back to the car I spotted these two birds having a good time picking at the crumbs from leftover lunches. They really wanted me to move on so they could back to it, and telling me so in no uncertain terms.

The babies are here and growing each day. I have snapped a photo every day with my phone when Momma and now I think Dad also, aren't anywhere near to get upset. I took the shots of Mamma feeding and sitting in the nest through my dirty window and screen so excuse the cloudiness of the photos, but I thought you would enjoy seeing Momma in action.

 No matter how I tried I couldn't get the photos to load in order. I believe the last photo is May 6, and the the top photo with the open beak on the baby is today.

Whats For Dinner:

  Since I was out and about I figured why not stay out. We have a new Bakery and Coffee shop in town, Tabernacle that is, just down the road a piece from me. 

   Their menu is full of mouth watering sandwiches, the coffee smells delightful and their bake goods make the perfect breakfast, lunch, or dinner any time. 

     Really while it does appear to be coffee, soups, sandwiches and bakery goods, the servings  are plentiful, satisfying and would make a perfect light dinner as well as a good filling lunch. As far as I can tell this is a family owned and run business, I didn't ask but the welcoming, glad to see you atmosphere says intimate personal family, rather then corporate owned and run cold as steel another one around the corner kind of places. I know they make me feel welcome every time I go there, and this last time I felt like family, as I walked in and started using the phone to take a few pictures, and the Momma of the shop yells " No No don't take the pictures, wait til she finishes cleaning( referring to her daughter.) She then laughed and went on about her business. Friendly, warm, welcoming, with very good food. And my new favorite donut.

 I hope you enjoyed this little peek at small town USA, and I hope you visit me again soon.