Old Salem

North Carolina – Saturday, March 2

With all of my donations done and only 4 miles of walking to finish before leaving North Carolina, I headed for the historic Old Salem part of Winston-Salem. Salem was originally settled by a group of Moravians from Pennsylvania, and Winston was founded nearly 100 years later. But Winston grew fast because of the successful tobacco industry, and quickly became bigger than its much older neighbor, and they consolidated in the early 1900s. The drive was pretty and Old Salem was a wonderful restored town to walk through. Many of the homes had been built in the 1800s and some are still lived in today. The sidewalks and streets were brick, and with the smell of woodsmoke in the air on this chilly day, I could almost think I’d gone back in time. There was an old set of mounting steps to get into a carriage or on a horse, and several old wooden rain barrels were out in the yards, which I realized later were garbage cans! We walked past Salem College, which is a small women’s college founded back in 1772 and it just blends right in with the old town. There was also a girl’s boarding school from 1805, so some communities thought about education for girls back then! There’s a big coffee pot at the end of town which is a local landmark – a smaller version used to be in front of the tinsmith’s shop back in the day. We also walked on the “strolling path” that was built to connect Old Salem with the downtown area. And then my North Carolina walking was done.

So I wrap up State #23, with another 56 miles walked in Lumberton, Whiteville, Wilmington, Jacksonville, New Bern, Plymouth, Kitty Hawk, Raleigh, Old Salem and several river trails, bike trails and rail trails. And all 7 donations were given – Holy Grounds, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Jacksonville USO, Coastal Women’s Shelter, The Beach Food Pantry, Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill and the Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen. And I continue to learn and soak everything in!

I headed north, still listening to the weather forecast, and decided that this would not be a good week to be in West Virginia – a couple of snowstorms and mountain roads do not seem to be a good combination so once again, Mother Nature has taken it upon herself to change my plans!