I wish I had made a note of exactly where I went. I swear my route must have looked like the flight path of a drunken bumblebee. But, at the end of every day, there was always a hotel. On some days there was a passable breakfast.
This hotel off an interstate somewhere had a fun vibe. There were all sorts of plaques proclaiming the virtues and benefits of coffee.
I definitely prefer having a cup of coffee before conversation…or maybe two cups.
And this is true, in my experience.
This hotel, which was one of the less expensive in the Hilton family, certainly did what they could to make the rather ordinary – but completely adequate – breakfast bit special.
Okay, the bananas were a bit overripe for some, but they were exactly the way I like them. What a great idea to write positive messages on them. They made me smile.
The basket full of apples with eyeball stickers made me laugh out loud. I’m not sure why they are wrapped in saran wrap, but I do suppose there is a reason.
They had a 2ide assortment of grits available, just in case there was any doubt, North Carolina is “down south” – at least in comparison to Michigan.
Nourished for the day, I packed up the Transit and took off, zigging and zagging my way around North Carolina. I’d pull up to a grain elevator, introduce myself and ask if they had any wheat available. These folks had been participating in this project for years, so I rarely had to explain anything. If they had wheat, they pointed me to the dump bucket and I filled my bags. If they didn’t have any, I left them some bags and asked them to save some for us.
That night, I ended up in Clinton, North Carolina. 
I found a hotel for the night and headed out to find some dinner. But first, a little tour of the center of town.
Did you know that Clinton was an “All-American City” in 2007?
Did you ever wonder why there are so many places named Clinton? According to my Preferred Source, there are 30 towns, cities and villages in the United States named Clinton. It’s the fifth most common name, after Washington, Springfield, Franklin and Lebanon. Being from Buffalo, I had always thought that these places were in honor of DeWitt Clinton, a New York State governor who was instrumental in the construction of the Erie Canal. But, it didn’t seem too likely that Clinton, North Carolina would be named in his memory.
It turns out that this Clinton was named in honor of Richard Clinton, a Brigadier General of the North Carolina militia in the American Revolution. I don’t suppose it hurt that he donated the land public buildings.
I strolled about to see what I could see.
A Confederate soldier stood guard outside the courthouse. Clinton is the county seat for Sampson County.
Interesting inscription:
“Who bore the flac of a nation’s trust
and fell in a cause though lost
still just
and died for me and you.”
I wonder what they meant by “flac”? If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Or, have I misread the inscription?
As I am wont to do, I checked for the dedication date. It’s interesting to see when people and events are commemorated.
I continued my walk around the courthouse.
There was a World War II memorial.
The Viet Nam memorial was erected relatively quickly. The war ended in 1975 and the memorial was erected in 1980.
I was surprised that WW I wasn’t honored, nor was the Korean conflict, but you have to hand it to these practical folks. They have those covered – as well as any future wars with this memorial “dedicated to the eternal memory of all Sampsonians who honorably served their country in time of armed conflict.”
I liked their above ground time capsule. I’ve heard about so many time capsules that people couldn’t find when the time came to open them. This was dedicated in 1984 – the 200th anniversary of Sampson County. The plan is to open it in 2184. Let’s hope someone is around to see what is in it.
I was quite impressed that a vice president came from this town. I had never heard of William Rufus King, but there area a lot of vice presidents I have never heard of. In fact, I probably wouldn’t recognize most of them.
It turns out that he was only vice president for six weeks, before his death in 1853. According to my Preferred Source, he is the shortest serving vice president, other than John Tyler and Andrew Johnson, both of whom succeeded to the presidency.
King was Franklin Pierce’s vice president, and he bears the distinction of being the only the only United States executive official to take the oath of office on foreign soil. He was in Havana, Cuba, recuperating from tuberculosis, when he took the oath of office on March 24, 1853. Shortly after taking the oath of office, he returned to his plantation in Alabama. He was only home for a few days before he died on April 18, 1853.
Another fun fact: He was a co-founder of the town of Selma, Alabama and came up with the name the city from the Ossianic poem, “The Songs of Selma”. He is interred in a white marble mausoleum in the city’s Live Oak Cemetery.
In case you were wondering, this memorial had the date of 1930 on it. And the sculptor was Karl Gruppe.
I wonder if this is the Richard Clinton Memorial Fire Escape?
By now, I was starting to think that dinner would be a good idea. I headed toward Alfredo’s, a restaurant that Google helped me pick out.
I perused the menu and placed my order.
I decided to start with a Caprese Salad.
That was followed by a delicious soup. I’m not sure if the soup on the rim of the soup plate was intentional or a bi-product of fast service.
I ended up the meal with coffee and cannolis.
You know what? I don’t think I had ever had cannoli before. Or, if I had, I didn’t remember if I liked them. Of course, I remembered the line from this iconic scene:
After trying these cannolis, I have decided that I probably don’t like them. But, I would be open to trying them again.
And with that, I headed back to the hotel to get rested up for another day.