It was a good day for a ride in a truck in the country. So westward we drove, about 15 miles to Saxapahaw, NC. Yes, there was an agenda … lunch at the Saxapahaw General Store (Your Local Five-Star Gas Station) before checking out the area’s newest venue (and undoubtedly, one of it’s more interesting), the Haw River Ballroom.
Saxapahaw Grocery Blackboard Specials, 9/21/11
LUNCH! Local beef short rib Sandwich on homemade foccaccia with manchego, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onion and lemon-garlic aioli. I was so busy enjoying how each ingredient played nice with the others that I let the two guys I was with just prattle on about this or that without speaking or interupting … for those of you who know me, silence is a rare occasion that typically only happens when I’m enjoying what I’m eating, reading, or sleeping.
Haw River Ballroom
“If you build it, they will come” … “build a house of quality in the woods, and the world will beat a path to your door” … yada, yada. Owners Tom & Heather LaGarde hope that’s true. Their version of the American dream appeared in the form of an old mill/dye house way-the-heck out in the country. Cobbled together by a respect for the area and it’s history, along with a playful repurposing of eclective salvage from all around the state, the
Haw River Ballroom is a testament to creative visioning. Since I couldn’t say it any better, I’m shamelessly just quoting their own description here: “three levels, a riverside deck, a concessions bar and coffee shop, a full service stage and sound system, gorgeous historic detail, solar and geothermal power and an idyllic rural setting” … really, the only thing missing is a place to sleep so you don’t have to drive home after. I got goosebumps when I walked in the front door.
Go this weekend for the Sunday performance of
Spirit Family Reunion. Doors open at 6:30. Music starts at 8pm (opening act
Dark Water Rising). That’s all I can say. Go. And see. And hear. And be blown away. Go.
simmer2sizzle 