Sounds like a waste of time to me, but hey - different strokes.
I met "banjo boy" from Deliverance on my road trip.
- Thread starter Son_Of_Saul
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Mentally handicapped Ive seen. Hell, Im more interested in seeing a banjo playing albino black kid.
Different strokes indeed. Last year we hiked the northwest. There's not a lot of hiking in the deep south once you leave the Appalachians, although I would have preferred it. Saw some sites and had a good time. I've now seen the lower 48 and driven to 42 of the states and hiked 15 of them. I accomplished that goal, so no, not a waste of time for me.
Thank you sir. And thanks for extending a kind human gesture in this thread. Sometimes the internet is a lot like driving in traffic - people tend to be far more brazen with their rudeness when they know they don't have to actually talk to a man in person.
@Son_Of_Saul : I really appreciate great road-trip stories. I hope to hit the north-east next year. An old Army buddy of mine lives in Boston, so I hope to hit up that area next year while basing out of his place. Sounds like you hike like me. Great stuff! How was the north east?
Loved it.
Especially loved the mountains in Vermont and hiking at Acadia National on the coast of Maine. People up in Maine were really nice. New York City- I wasn't such a big fan of it, but I was only there for a few hours. If you go, you've got to check out Acadia. Just a beautiful place. Also, upstate New York is nice. Boston was surprisingly nice and the people there were helpful.
I recommend Ocracoke Island in NC. Load your car on a ferry for the ride over. Uncommercialized island with wild horses where they beheaded Blackbeard the pirate. Theres a WWII cemetary/museum on the island where Nazi and British Navy washed up on shore. Alot of live beach music. I think the movie "The butchers wife" was filmed there.
Ha ha! Great! I plan on taking a few close trips via Greyhound and Megabus over the coming months. Really appreciate your perspective on the South. Lots of cool stuff down this way. Glad you had a good time.
Both Vermont and Maine are beautiful states, no highway billboards in Vermont, can't let them distract from the views. I especially love the Maine Coastline, Boston's a great walkable city and the people are friendly.
That is quite the trail of dead hookers
Awesome story and pic @Son_Of_Saul : I just now told told my old lady. I'm happy you were able to link up with Billy Redden. Cudos to you for following up. Great stuff, my man.
The story...
I was on a 6,000 mile road trip this summer throughout the Southeast. On the route from Greenville, South Carolina to Atlanta, I decided to look for the infamous "Banjo Boy", Billy Redden. Redden, who has grown up in Clayton, Georgia his whole life, was rumored to be working at the town's Super Walmart. The information about his whereabouts was about two years old, but I decided to make a push for northern Georgia to see if the iconic southerner was still around.
Upon arriving in Clayton - a rugged mountain town about twenty minutes from where they filmed most of the film, Deliverance - I immediately made my way for the Super Walmart. Once there, I scanned the store for Redden, but couldn't find him. I began to wonder if maybe he didn't work at this Walmart anymore or if it was his day off.
I found a worked in an aisle, and mustering up my most authentic Georgia accent, asked her, "Excuse me, Miss, is Billy working today?" I figured asking for "Banjo Boy" might not work as effectively.
"Billy Redden?" she said. Houston, we have confirmation that the old boy is known by this young lady. There is officially hope that he works here.
"Yes ma'am."
"He's on his lunch break," she said. "Just go out by the Quick Lube and you'll find him."
And find him I did. Billy was smoking down what looked to be his third cigarette while on break, and was happy to pose for some pictures with me. We talked about his life, and how he enjoyed the town. As we talked in the store's lobby, what seemed like a half-dozen people walked past us, each of them saying to Billy, "Hey Bill, how ya doing?" Redden, it appeared, was quite a superstar of Clayton, Georgia. To me, the ole bugger is an absolute legend.
EDIT:
Here is a bigger picture for those of you who asked....
Sounds like a heck of a trip. You visited several interesting places . Congrats on your trip.