The Forever Inn Bed and Breakfast Inn

1.  Exploring Antique Shops, Gift Shops, Restaurants, and Garden Shop/Nursery
 from Sanford to Wadesboro and Back

(1-2 night trips designed for guests coming from Raleigh/Durham, Greensboro
or Winston-Salem with an overnight stop in Wadesboro)

Start at Sanford, NC - From Raleigh, south on Hwy 1 to Sanford; from Greensboro, south on 421 to Sanford; and from Winston-Salem, south on 52, east on 64, south on 15-501 to Sanford.

Explore and discover antique shops, gift shops, good restaurants and a great plant nursery on your way to Wadesboro for a one or two night stay at The Forever Inn. Over the years, we’ve done the research for these trips – exploring, shopping and eating our way throughout central NC. Take a mini-vacation – getting away from the more congested Triad or Triangle areas, discovering the small towns, unique shops and businesses along the way and savoring the slower pace. You don’t have to go far since it takes only about two hours to get from Raleigh or Greensboro to Wadesboro. You can travel the same route on the way back or continue on and make a loop of central NC with the stop-over in Wadesboro. Or make it a 2-night trip (or more). Details on each stop are included below. (Remember that businesses in smaller towns might be closed on Sundays.)

In our travels, we had always driven right past Sanford without stopping but Sanford has a great downtown with a number of interesting places to explore. The antique mall on Moore Street is much larger than it appears when you first enter downstairs. For a light lunch, try Mrs. Lacy’s Victorian tea room for delicious sandwiches, soup and salads. Sanford also has pottery studios, more antique shops, gift and clothing shops and a bistro-style coffee & wine bar, serving light lunch or dinner. (There’s a pottery festival in Sanford every year; the last festival was May 2-3, 2009.)

Next stop:  Big Bloomers near Sanford - If you’re interested in plants and gardening, don’t miss Big Bloomers, just south of Sanford near Tramway. One word describes this place – fabulous! Merrie says, "[t]his is the best nursery I’ve been to in many many years. I love to find out-of-the-ordinary plants and hard-to-find varieties and they have them, row after row. For instance, if you’re into hostas, they have a whole greenhouse full of different varieties."

Next stop:  Cameron - If you have time, the next stop would be Cameron (just off Hwy 1, north of Southern Pines). This cute little town has old houses and shops, lining both sides of the street, filled with antiques and gifts. For lunch, there’s the Dewberry Deli, an old soda fountain, underneath The Old Hardware Antiques store. Or just stop for an ice cream or old-fashioned vanilla coke float. (Twice a year in May and October, Cameron has an Antiques Street Fair.)

Next stop: Southern Pines / Pinehurst / Aberdeen - Continue south on Hwy 1 to the Southern Pines and Pinehurst area. Southern Pines has its own shopping district with interesting gift shops and restaurants. But don’t miss Pinehurst Village, a charming and picture-perfect village with shops (gifts, golf accessories, furniture and clothing) plus great restaurants. Have lunch or dinner and walk around the village, stop for an ice cream and then walk some more. Visit the antique mall on Hwy 1 in Aberdeen just south of Southern Pines. (We recommend the Fish & Chips at either The Darling House or Dugan’s Pub in Pinehurst Village.)

Next stop:  Wadesboro - It’s about 1 hour from Southern Pines to Wadesboro. Continue south on Hwy 1 to Rockingham, through downtown Rockingham and turn right (west) when you get to Business Hwy 74. In a little over 20 miles, you’ll come to the small town of Wadesboro (passing by the Pee Dee Orchards peach stand). The Uptown Wadesboro shopping district is just south of Hwy 74 on Greene Street. Shops to visit include a gift and pottery shop across the street, an antique store and an old-fashioned hardware store just half a block in either direction. Just north of town, there’s a national wildlife refuge with hiking trails and bird-watching opportunities. About 20 minutes north of Wadesboro on Hwy 109 is the small town of Mt. Gilead, home to two antique stores and a new restaurant called The Ford Place.

On the way back home, you can return via Hwy 1, visiting whatever you missed on the way down or travel back a different way, making a loop via Hwy 52. Morrow Mountain State Park near Albemarle offers canoeing on Badin Lake, hiking trails and great views from the top of the mountain. There are also a few wineries in the Albemarle area that you can visit for wine tastings (including Dennis Vineyards, Uwharrie Vineyards and Stony Mountain Vineyards). (Note: A little further north via Hwy 52 is Childress Vineyards in Lexington.)

If you continue on Hwy 52 North past Albemarle, you’ll come across Lloyd’s Antiques, just north of Pfeiffer College in Misenheimer. It’s on the right hand side and is a wonderful antique store. Return south to Richfield and turn left (east) at Hwy 49. Continue to 220 north to Asheboro and then head for downtown Asheboro.

There’s a very large and fun-to-explore antique mall in downtown Asheboro plus a few other shops. Downtown Asheboro has undergone some updating in the past couple of years.

From Asheboro, return to Greensboro via 220 and then west to Winston-Salem or east to Raleigh area via I-40 if you can’t find another 2-lane country road to take you home. Too much to cover in one trip? Come back again.