Return to Angier, crepe myrtles et al

A little more than a year ago, I made a brief stop to grab lunch in the town of Angier in Harnett County en route to a visit to Gregory Vineyards to the east at McGee Crossroads.

I made a mental note to return to Angier so I could devote more time to do one of my community photographic profiles, and that return occurred in the afternoon of July 2 after spent the morning in Fuquay-Varina (see previous three posts).

Angier promotes itself as the crepe myrtle town. The crepe myrtle is a flowering tree or shrub, native to India, that thrives in warm climates.I first became acquainted with the crepe myrtle when I moved to North Carolina two years ago ... and saw beautiful flowering trees sprinkled throughout the Triangle area landscape -- including, I discovered several months after moving in, on my own property!

They reminded me of the gorgeous azaleas I came across in Savannah and Charleston a few years ago on my first visits to those tourist-popular destinations. The difference is that azaleas bloom in spring and last only a couple weeks; crepe myrtles bloom in summer and last the whole summer.

My timing to revisit Angier -- especially if I wanted to record evidence of the crepe myrtles -- turned
out to be impeccable. The blooms on the crepe myrtle in my back yard had just started to show on July 2, and you can see in the photo leading off the post, there are in good form in Angier. That photo was taken looking at the perimeter of one of the town's municipal parking lots, and there are additional red crepe myrtles lining another parking lot just up the block from here along the Centennial Trail at Charles Nordan Square (right).

The revisit also game me an opportunity to more closely explore Jack Marley Park, which I'd seen from a distance last year as Lee Ann and I drove out of town headed to the winery.

My endeavor to photograph churches in the communities I visit netted me Iglesia Amistad Cristiano, a congregation in the downtown area. I didn't learn until getting home later that other churches near Angier are located on the outskirts of town.

One of the more interesting "finds" during my stroll through the Angier downtown area was the sign above, which was outside the Red Barn restaurant, not far from Jack Marley Park. I chuckled, wondering what "Cowboy Church" might entail. Anybody know? Two other views of the restaurant appear below -- the first is a perspective shot of where the sign appears in relation to the eatery. The second is a more aesthetic view of the restaurant, which I grabbed while walking back to downtown after a short stroll in the park. There is a small cemetery immediately to the left of this photo. I'll post a few pictures of it farther below.

As always, to view a larger and sharper version of an image, just click on the photo. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog on a mobile device. To view a full gallery of photos from my July 2 shoot in Angier, click on the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: I used my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens for all the photos in this post. The lens was equipped with a B+W polarizing filter. I bracketed all of my compositions for three exposures -- one normal, and one each in 2/3 stops above and below normal. I used the shutter speed as my primary exposure setting variable, with the f/stop usually at 8.0 and ISO mostly at 100 (I adjusted the ISO when decreased natural lighting required me to do so). I merged the three images into one using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HDR) software.

Above and next eight below: Various looks at the Angier downtown, including Ed's Family Restaurant (fourth below), which struck me as a key gathering place in the original downtown commerce district. 

Above is the local Masonic Lodge. I don't know why the truck pictured below tickled my fancy, but it did at the time. It was parked behind the meat market pictured above. 

Above and below: Iglesia Amistad Cristiana (Christian Friendship Church), the church I mentioned in the introductory text. Church services are 11 a.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The fountain above is a focal point of Jack Marley Park, where there were visitors lolling by the shore when I arrived (below).

Above: This 19th century former school, off to the right of the access drive as you enter the park, is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

A ground-level study of a fence (above) separating the park from an adjacent, apparently unnamed cemetery (next three photos below).

Making a quick stop in the town of Angier

In North Carolina, the state capital Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks," but because I don't actually live within the city limits, and haven't done a whole lot exploring of the capital just yet, I haven't seen enough to feel it's justified.

In fact, since traveling through a lot of the Southeast since 2014, I've come to the conclusion that there are a lot of places in that part of the country that can call themselves the city of oaks. Charleston and Savannah immediately jump to mind. I saw tons of oaks in those communities.

What I have seen a lot of in these parts are crepe myrtles, a flowering tree that I can't say I'd ever seen before traveling through North Carolina and other southern states. Lee Ann and I spent much of our first year here trying to figure out its name. I have one of the trees in my backyard. In fact, it's within easy view of the window in my office, and its pink blooms are plentiful right now. I showed a picture of one of the blooms in the recent post about the solar panel installation at the home.

Before visiting Gregory Vineyards the other day, we stopped in the northern Harnett County town of Angier, deciding to look there for a place to lunch. Angier (pronounced ANN-jur) isn't too far from our home in southern Wake County or the vineyards in the Johnston County community of McGee Crossroads. It was in Angier that we noticed a sign in the downtown area proclaiming Angier as the town of crepe myrtles. We did see a lot of the trees sprinkled throughout the community, but alas ... I didn't stop to take any pictures. Maybe next visit ...

On the drive down, I picked out Ed's Family Restaurant in the town's downtown area as our dining destination, and when we found a parking spot, we walked in the direction that our Maps app indicated the restaurant was located. Turns out that Ed's has a lengthy canopy along the front facade, and the canopy blocked us from seeing the eatery sign.

We kept walking and ended up in about a half-block away in front of the Brick and Mortar Grill at the corner of Broad and Depot streets. The map clearly showed that we had allegedly walked past Ed's, so I was puzzled. Even when I ventured out into the intersection to look back at the path we had followed, the sunlight was so bright, I wasn't able to immediately see any signage that indicated where Ed's was.

Since we were right in front of the Brick and Mortar, we just decided to eat there. In retrospect, I wish we would have persisted to find Ed's. I wasn't thrilled with my meal (friend cod and coleslaw), and while Lee Ann was OK with her BTL, she would have preferred something more satisfying.

We had passed through Angier once before and were struck by its small-town charm, which is why we wanted to come back. But we didn't spend a lot of time there, and I grabbed only a few pictures, which I present here for this post -- with the hope that I get a chance to go back and do it better justice.

As always, click on any photo to bring up a larger, sharper version. This is particularly helpful if you access the blog from a mobile device. To see the entire gallery of images (which isn't a whole lot more than you see here) that I took in our brief stop in Angier, follow the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: The outdoor images were taken with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens. I made three exposures of each composition for later melding into a single frame using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HD) software. Photos inside the Brick and Mortar were taken with the camera on my iPhone X.

Angier was founded in 1901, and if you can read the printing inside the clock face -- just below 12 o'clock -- you learn that the town celebrated its centennial in 2001. If you check further, you learn that the town residents pooled their contributions together to purchase and erect this 10-foot tall clock to mark the centennial. 

Above is a portion of the storefronts across Depot Street from the Brick and Mortar, while below is a sign along Depot proclaiming the Angier as the town of crepe myrtles.

After lunch, on the return walk to our car, we at last ascertained the location of Ed's Family Restaurant (above). A few doors down was the light blue door to Appliance Depot (below). 

Above: Broad Street looking away from the centennial clock. 

Two more storefronts -- a floral shop (above) and the Brick and Mortar Grill (below), our dining destination. 

Inside the Brick and Mortar, our server tends to business at the welcoming counter adjacent to the cooler containing bottles of beer and wine. Below, wall art and sign signage. 

Above, Lee Ann's BLT and side order of french fries. Below, my fried cod and two dipping sauces -- a house-made on the left, and ranch dressing on the right. Second below, my side order of chips. These chips weren't bad; in fact, I'd have described them an "excellent" if they hadn't been so salty.

Gregory Vineyards offers pleasant lineup of wine basics at rural location

I've written previously about visits I've made to craft breweries in the communities where I live. But my interest in visiting local wineries predates that by quite a few years.

In October 2008, almost ten years ago, my daughters got me interested in taking a drive to Bloomington, Ind., to visit Oliver Winery and Vineyards -- probably the best known winery in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The trip was just under two months before the launch of Photo Potpourri (which means that sometime in the near future, I might have some pictures to present here from that trip in another "flashblacks" edition!)

I enjoyed the trip very much. For one, my daughters were wonderful company -- as they always are. For another, Oliver Winery has an aesthetically beautiful grounds. It is smartly landscaped with striking floral arrangements in front, and a seating area in the back that offers covered shade areas as well as open picnicking on rolling hills overlooking a modest pond.

I would return a few more times, taking along friends who hadn't been there before, and in each case, they left with the same positive impression I did. That was the first of several wineries I would visit in my latter years in Indianapolis. The list includes Mallow Run, Buck Creek, Easley, New Day Meadery, Chateau Thomas (both the original Plainfield and the former branch in Fishers), Simmons (outside Columbus) and a winery in Carmel that burned to the ground a year or so after I was there.

After last week, I've now been to three wineries in North Carolina -- Chatham Hill in Cary, Duplin in Rose Hill and, the latest, Gregory Vineyards close to the unincorporated community of McGee Crossroads (although it has a mailing address of Angier).

The tasting and sales center of most wineries are on the grounds where they also have their vineyards (that isn't/wasn't the case with Easley, Chateau Thomas, New Day, the Carmel or Chatham Hill wineries). Gregory Vineyards is in the former group, the ones on the grounds of the vineyards, and those are the more compelling to visit because of the aesthetics.

Gregory Vineyards is surrounded by rolling hills, and it has a nice-sized pond to gaze out at if you sit on one of the few seats on the porch of the main building. The main building serves not only as the wine center and office for the vineyards, but also houses Lane's Seafood and Steakhouse restaurant.

Both the tasting room and restaurant are open only four days a week -- Wednesdays through Saturdays. The restaurant serves only from 5 to 9 p.m. the first three of those days and 4:30 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. Tastings are available noon to 5 p.m. the first three days, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. All of Gregory's wines are available to enjoy at the restaurant.

Gregory's wine list features four reds -- a dry, two sweets, and a dessert; three whites -- a dry, a semisweet and a sweet; a blush; and several brandy-based wines with alcohol contents considerably higher than the wines.

I didn't dislike any of the wines I tried, but both Lee Ann and I favored the red sweet called Lee Love. Lee Ann was thrilled that the wine bearing her name was the one she liked best. When we inquired about the wine's name, Tosha, our server, told us the story of Lee Love, whom Tosha said was a real person.

Lee Love, she said, drank one or two glasses of wine a day ... and favored the red sweet that would eventually bear her name. Tosha also said Love really was Lee's last name, that she lived to be 94 and died only a few years ago. (I tried finding an obituary for her online, which usually isn't difficult to do for people who died after 2005 or thereabouts, but could find none).

After our tasting, we bought a couple bottles of Lee Love and I spent a short time taking pics of the landscape outside. It was hot and humid, so I made quick work of it. Lee Ann maintained cover in the car while I did so.

As always, click on any image to bring up a larger, sharper version. This is particularly helpful if you access the blog from a mobile device. To see a full gallery of images from this shoot, click on the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: The outdoor images were taken with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens. I made three exposures of each composition for later melding into a single frame using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HD) software. The interior photos were taken with the camera on my iPhone X.

Above: Don't rely on your GPS to pinpoint the access to Gregory Vineyards. The end point on our directions map was almost a quarter mile up Bowling Spring Drive from the actual access. Just be on the lookout for this sign.

Above: A second large building on the grounds, but I'm not sure what it's used for. My guess is for implement storage, but it could also be where the wine is produced.

Above: Looking back to the main building en route to the pond. 

An expansive view of some of the grounds (above), the pond and vineyards from near the parking lot at the main building, with other angles appearing in the next four below.

Above and next two below: Closeups of the newly bloomed grapes in one section of the vineyards. 

 Above and next two below: More shots of the vineyard landscape. 

The tasting room above (only one other couple was present at the time we were there), a closeup of the striking armoire in the corner (first below), an interesting (I thought) confluence of woodwork, furniture and portrait of a lion in the reception area (second below), shelves containing the vineyards' stock of wines (third below) and a closeup of Lee Love bottles (fourth below).