Growing up in a small town has its perks and disadvantages, but nonetheless you love it anyway. There's no such thing as traffic and your whole family lives there. Yet, living in a small town that is also a tourist town is unheard of by many. Mount Airy, aka Mayberry, is where I'm from and it happens to be a small tourist town because of the famous 1960's "Andy Griffith Show." Annually, at every huge social event, people from all over the country pour into our small town. We're used to it, but not everyone can relate. Here are ten ways to tell if you live in a tourist town.
1. Tourists, tourists everywhere.
2. It's impossible not to walk past someone downtown who doesn't have a camera and/or a fanny pack.
3. A day doesn't go by that you don't give a tourist directions.
4. If someone's never heard of Mount Airy, you just say "that town in the Andy Griffith Show."
5. Every store downtown sells souvenirs and memorabilia.
6. You'll get tested on the trivia of what makes your town famous by at least one tourist.
7. That same tourist will ask you where the best landmarks and attractions are.
* Mount Airy, NC also has the largest granite quarry in the world.
8. You've probably never visited those places because they're not a big deal to you.
9. You can tell if someone's a tourist just by looking at them.
10. You just don't understand the hype.
