Some towns and cities we have passed through have been charming and quaint. Two that come directly to mind, Saluda, NC and Ferdandina Beach, FL.
But then there are other towns that come across our paths like Folkston that just make us scratch our heads.
We stumbled across this out-of-the-way town in a quest for Thai food. We knew this wasn't going to be an easy task given the preponderance of indigenous eateries such as barbecue joints, waffle houses, and Bojangles, but we were determined.
After driving around for about forty-five minutes we found the Smiling Thai on the main street of Folkston. Wikipedia describes it as a town whose "population was 4,148 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,178 in 2000, largely due to the extension of the city boundary to include D. Ray James Prison." --I kid you not!
Main street consisted of four city blocks populated mostly by abandoned storefronts and divided by an active rail line.
What we really found odd/interesting about this town. Was this store:
We asked a nearby store owner about it and was told this store has been in town since the 1950's. The owners died in early 90's and their children just locked the doors and walked away.
Peering in the windows, you see display counters, store shelves, and wall hangings exactly as they were left 25 years ago. The store owner also told us that back in the day, she registered for her wedding there!
Take a closer look:
It's frozen in time. Somewhat sad.. Somewhat eerie.. Somewhat mesmerizing.
By the way, the sandbags are to protect the stores during hard rains. Apparently a couple of times a year, Main St. turns into a river.