Well I know we haven’t “officially” started our summer road trip. BUT this was a post worth mentioning. You know how you live right beside something really cool but you never go there, or take time to appreciate it, because its right in your backyard. You put it off because you can always go there anytime. Like the fact that John and Danielle both grew up in various parts of Pennsylvania and neither one has been to Gettysburg (#shameful). Seriously, how can we call ourselves History teachers and natives of the Keystone State without ever going to Gettysburg. Its on the list.
It’s also worth mentioning that Summer 2016 is as being called “The Summer of Yes”. If one of us suggests something the answer has to be “YES”.
Danielle: “Do you want to go to Greensboro tomorrow to get our history on?”
John: “Yes.”
So Saturday we headed to Greensboro for some history and breweries. Two of our Three favorite things. Its only about 2 hours from Wendell, NC and it was a good day for a drive. Our first stop was the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.
This was a battlefield during the Revolutionary War and is a park of the National Park Service. We started the tour in the Visitor Center toured the small museum/exhibit they had, which included a drum that was reported to have been carried at the battle. We got a stamp in our National Parks passport book and picked up a map. The weather was fantastic, 80 degrees, no humidity. Rare for this time of the year. We made the decision to walk on the pedestrian trail, about 2 miles round trip. There were a lot of monuments and historical markers along the way to tell you what you were looking at.
The main attraction, and commander of the Southern Campaign at this battle, was Nathanael Greene. This is the magnificent statue to honor him. Cornwallis was Greene’s British counterpart at this battle. Apparently he was afraid of old Nate.
We finished the loop and found out there wasn’t REALLY a courthouse there. At least not anymore.
So after spending the morning learning about Nathanael Greene, we worked up an appetite and decided to head into downtown Greensboro and have lunch at Natty Greene’s Brewery. There use to be one in Raleigh, NC that we would frequent but sadly it closed because the rent was too damn high. We figured the original one would be even cooler.
Food= good. Beer= better. Summer time brings the delicious wheat beers back to the menu and their Hessian Hefe is one of the best. After lunch we walked a few blocks down the historic Elm Street in town. Some cool shops, people outside doing Yoga, and a few panhandlers. But everything was clean and everyone was friendly.
Our next destination was the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. It is located in the F.W.Woolworth’s building that was the site of the 1960 Greensboro sit-in movement. You might recognize this famous picture.
We weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside of the museum but it was really great! We had a great tour guide that lead our group through the museum that included some interactive exhibits and visual images. The main attraction of coarse was the lunch counter that was still intact from this time period. They had a reenactment video followed by a interactive map that showed other sit-in movements throughout the country.
The tour in total lasted a little longer than an hour. After a quick visit to the gift shop, we decided to visit one more brewery before heading back home. With a name like “Pig Pounder Brewery”, we knew we had to stop there.
They brew primarily English Style Ales (at least thats what the guy behind the bar said). They don’t serve food but you can get some delivered from Burger Warfare nearby. But the highlights included the “Pigmosa”. Basically orange juice and some amount of beer. It would be excellent Breakfast Beer for a early morning tailgate. The other highlight was the old type writer you were encouraged to type a note and pin it to their board.
After John finished his great American novel on the typewriter, we decided to head home. We had a great day in Greensboro and felt like we got a good taste of the city and would definitely come back sometime soon! Now guess we should start packing for the rest of the summer…
Dietz Summer Road Trip 