Buies Creek and Fuquay-Varina, NC…

This week we ventured south to the town of Buies Creek – home of the fighting Camels of Campbell University.  Yes I said Camels. Campbell is one of only two teams in the USA that have the Camel as their mascot… the other is a smaller school, Connecticut College. This weeks softball journey was for us to see the final three home games of our daughter’s softball career. As it turned out there would only be one game since the other two were rained out and then later on they were cancelled altogether so we had seen her last home game and didn’t even know it…

They did win their last home game so they will have that to remember and they have qualified for their end of season championship that will be held in Spartenburg, SC. We booked a place at nearby Croft State Natural Area so we will be moving our RV from our boondocking site in Aberdeen, NC to SC on the 10th of May.  I have a site reserved for two weeks so we can get use to what it is like to have electricity and water all the time for a change : )

Since the last two games in Buies Creek were cancelled we decided to make a side trip over to  Fuquay-Varina as one of our blog readers suggested we try a small brewery that makes an award winning crafted beer there. So we bought some lunch to go and headed off to Fuqay-Varina looking for a nice spot to eat it along the way. We looked everywhere before deciding that a small athletic park just outside of town would suffice. Then not one mile further we came across a nice park right in the older part of town that featured the mineral spring that historical gave rise to the town’s name. We stopped and enjoyed the park and wished we had stopped here for lunch instead… oh well, maybe next time…

     

Then it was off to Aviator Brewery to sample their award winning crafted beers. I purchased a flight of four beers to sample. The flight consisted of HotRod Red -  6.1% alc, HogWild India Pale - 6.7% alc, Devils Tramping Ground Tripel- 9.2% alc, and King Rat Imperial Oatmeal Stout -  8.0% alc. My bride decided that each of them were a bit too bitter for her and I tended to agree they each tended to tweak the bitter receptors on the back of the tongue. However, the Pale Ale and the Stout were very good. Good enough that I had to order another pint of the stout and at 8.0% alcohol it was not only stout but quite tasty.. As I was paying the bill I noticed I hadn’t tried the gold medal winner the Saison de Aviator - 6.5% alc/vol.  So another small beer later and I had tried the Belgian styled wheat beer and it may have been the best of the lot.

                         

They had quite a selection of crafted brews and across the street they also have a smokehouse that serves food if beverages aren’t enough for you. The tavern is located in what appears to be an old railroad station that also appears to have been an art gallery at one time. There is some ambiance as they have some art along the walls as your seek out the restrooms. You don’t have to be a “beer snob” to visit this spot and I would say you should check it out when in the area.