Small Town America

After spending two days inside the motorhome because of rain, wind and much cooler temperatures, we ventured out yesterday to see what we could find.  We had seen this sign in several places along the  highway, so we decided to check it out.

 

As I stated in an earlier post, there isn't a lot here.  A lot of businesses are boarded up and we've been told Halifax County is the poorest in North Carolina.  So, we couldn't imagine we would find much, but we were mistaken!

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, is on one side of I-95 and Weldon, North Carolina, is on the opposite side, approximately three miles from the campground.  Little did we know the interesting things we would find right under our nose.  


We had driven through a portion of Weldon prior to yesterday.  What we saw was not very inviting, so we couldn't imagine there being shoppes/outlets "along the river," but we figured we must have missed something.  So back we went.

Weldon is known in this area as the Rockfish Capital of the WORLD.

What's a rockfish we asked??  We had never heard of such.  WELL, a rockfish is actually a striped bass.  Every Spring thousands of fishermen flock to the Roanoke River to catch their share of striped bass.  

The City of Weldon was founded by William Weldon, who had been given the land by his father, Daniel Weldon, in the 1700s.   In 1843, the town was incorporated and recognized by the state.  During the Civil War, Weldon was home to a soldier hospital.  In 2009, Weldon was officially recognized by the North Carolina General Assembly as the Rockfish Capital of the World.


We followed the signs and ended up at an old cotton mill that is now home to the shoppes/outlets mentioned on the signs.

The Weldon Cotton Manufacturing Company was a major component of the industrial development of the Roanoke Navigational Canal in the early 1900s.  It was the only textile plant on the canal and produced yarns and underwear.


What a pleasant surprise we found when we walked through the door.  The area to the right was full of wonderful antiques.

Can you say books?

This is definitely our kind of place -- we love browsing

I especially liked this lamp made from an old wood stove

75-piece banquet set

Can you guess what this is?

No, it's not a play house.  It's an early 1900s bird cage.  The top can be removed for cleaning.  The front door opens for removing and placing the birds.  Price tag -- $1250.  I bet you won't find another one anywhere -- esp in such pristine condition.

It says it still works!

Oh My Word, it's neverending

A Victorian settee and 4 matching chairs

Made exclusively from Teakwood -- price tag $3700

On the opposite side of the building were various crafts.

These are folding kitchen islands

These are new, name brand clothes, mainly from QVC.

And then there's the basement bargains

It's neverending

I took so many pictures, my battery died.  You're probably thinking "Thank goodness."  LOL

I'm going to stop for now, but there's more.  We went back to Weldon again today.  The population of Weldon, North Carolina, is less than 3000 and the unemployment rate is 12%, so what else could there be to see?  Well, there is a little more history I want to share, so stay tuned.  One thing I learned is just like with a book, you can't judge it by its cover.  Well, sometimes you can't judge a small American town by how it appears on the outside, but if you delve into it, you may be surprised what you find.

Until next time, God bless.

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Alan survived his two days of working, but his ankle -- the heel bone he broke in '08 -- really bothered him at the end of the day.  Whenever he's on his feet for a good portion of the day, it hurts and makes it difficult for him to walk.  He came home wanting to soak it in hot water.  After he rests it, he's okay, but it happens every time when he spends a lot of time on his feet.

On Wednesday, he and his co-worker moved all the shelving and products (12 feet) to make room for a new freezer.

Once the shelving was down, they then had to move all the products and rearrange them on the shelving.

Job accomplished

The following day, Thursday, they had to move and rearrange the pet section.

Before

After

Last night we attended an Art Show where our granddaughter, Sarah, was a featured artist.

The park has been taken over by Chinooks -- there's a rally happening of the Chinook Owners Club.  Approximately two dozen Chinooks are here.  Most are from the East Coast area, but we did see one from Tennessee and one even from Texas.

Happy to report Nan's husband John is doing better.  Check it out here.  We will continue to pray for John's complete healing.

That's it for now.  Hope everyone has a good weekend.  Until next time, thanks for stopping by.

The RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads

Welcome to Jim and Sandie as new followers.  We are happy to have you.  Their blog can be found here.  Take a few minutes and check out their adventures.  Currently, Jim is facing a health issue, so our thoughts and prayers are with them on a daily basis.  


Speaking about health issues, John and Nan also need our prayers.  For more info, check out Nan's blog here.


I know there are others out there as well who need our prayers for various reasons.  We never know what life is going to throw our way, but one thing we can always rely on is our faith in God.  "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10.


I'm not really a Bible thumper or quote scriptures continually, but I do try to read a daily devotion, but that doesn't always happen.  However, I am a Believer and when God gives me a particular scripture, I feel I should share it.  My Mother always said, "You have to have faith" and "You need to pray" and God rest her soul she is definitely part of the reason I have faith and believe in prayer today!


After spending nearly two weeks in our daughter's driveway, we decided to move to a park 40 miles away.  We had 30 amp and water sitting in their driveway but no sewer.  I used to go into the kids' house and do laundry, but our son-in-law is currently working nights and sleeping during the day.  Not wanting to possibly disturb him, we went to a laundromat.  So, we decided to move to a park where we have full hookups and can use our Splendide -- or the laundromat at the park if we choose.  

We looked around and found a very nice park at Exit 171off I-95, near the town of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.

You can hear 95, but it's far enough off the road that it really doesn't bother us.  And you can also hear a train occasionally, but it's not too bad either.  

Miniature Golf

This is a very nice, relatively new (we think), park.  They accept Passport America, Good Sam's and Escapees for discounts.  We will be here until early May when we will head to Cherokee, North Carolina, for the summer.  We opted for the monthly rate of $500, which is approximately $17 a night, for full hookups, cable and WiFi.  

There are some long-term residents but not many

A dog park

Cabins

A couple of rows with paved sites

A nice pool and hot tub

An outdoor club room

This park gets a lot of overnight traffic from I-95.  Since we have been here, we have mainly seen snowbirds from Canada heading home.  

Since we are beginning to receive doctor bills, Alan has been looking at temporary jobs and thus is working today and tomorrow in Tarboro, North Carolina, resetting merchandise in a Family Dollar Store.  We are very surprised at the number of temporary jobs out there.  This is only a two-day job moving shelves and resetting those shelves. I always thought stores used their own employees to do such jobs, but that's not the case.  They hire independent contractors.  It's not a lot of money, but it's something and more than minimum wage.  I think he was actually excited to be going off to work this morning and doing something constructive.  We will see how he feels when he gets home!

That's it for now -- thanks for stopping by.  Stay tuned to see what we find in Roanoke Rapids.  So far of what we've seen of the town, the park is the best thing going in the area.  We understand this area has been hit hard by the economy and we have seen evidence of that from numerous vacant buildings as we drove around town.

For additional info on the RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads, check out their website:  www.rvresortatcc.com/