Author Archives: patsypridgen

Remember the North Carolina tourism slogan: Variety Vacationland? Our state reaches from the coast to the mountains. Something for everyone! Living in the eastern part of the state only two and a half hours from the Atlantic Ocean, my something … Continue reading →

It’s been called the delicacy of the South, and garden experts say it thrives in the scorching heat of humid summers. My husband would disagree that okra is a delicacy, but I can vouch for the fact that it does indeed flourish … Continue reading →

A person can travel far and wide but to see sheer geographical beauty and awesome sites, it’s hard to beat the good ol’ USA. I’ve just returned from a week-long swing through parts of South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah–with a corner of Iowa … Continue reading →

I love my backyard this June. With the recent rain and milder temps, the grass is green, the flowers are blooming, and the “garden” is growing. I enjoy the view as I sit on my back porch with my early morning coffee … Continue reading →

Cigars, classic cars, and mojitos? I went to Cuba expecting to find these, and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was quite impressed at the production I saw in an un-air-conditioned cigar factory where workers sat rolling cigars by hand. They worked with leaves of dried … Continue reading →

I’m home from Cuba and people are asking, “What was it like?” I hardly know where to begin. I found Cuba backward but lively, poor but happy, decaying but beautiful. It’s a country of contrasts. Cuba still struggles under a socialist government. Even … Continue reading →

One of the many good things about being in the Rocky Mount Garden Club here in my hometown is that every April we go on some sort of field trip. This year we visited the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, a nearby … Continue reading →

Five historic districts visited with two to go, Villa Place and Lincoln Park. I was already familiar with Villa Place, but I had to use MapQuest to locate Lincoln Park. Villa Place was featured on a walking tour I took a while back, so I … Continue reading →

My third visit to Rocky Mount’s historic districts took me downtown or uptown, whichever term you use. The Historic District crowd calls it Central City. Main Street is a main attraction here, or was in its heyday, but there’s a … Continue reading →

I had the best time this week on my self-guided, picture-taking tour of the Falls Road Historic District and the Rocky Mount Mills Village. Although the two are located next to each other, each is given separate historic district recognition. (Scroll … Continue reading →