The characters in the Mitford books are mostly southern, very human, and oh-so-funny. These books make me laugh out loud, and I really love a book that does that. Karon's use of southern dialect is so humorous and realistic; one of the men in the books is always saying "buddyro", which I haven't heard anyone say since I was a child. Having grown up in the south, the characters and dialect really strike a chord with me. But you don't have to be southern to appreciate the books; the people and themes are universal. I imagine if you look around, you can find real-life Mitford's all over the country.
The stories take place in the fictional town of Mitford, which is based on the town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Jan Karon was living in Blowing Rock when she wrote most of the series; in fact,
the first book was printed serially in the small-town newspaper, The Blowing Rocket.
If you liked the books, you might enjoy seeing what some of the real places actually look like; if not, you can just enjoy seeing a really cute mountain town. Unfortunately, Blowing Rock has become something of a tourist destination, so it's almost impossible to to find a time to visit when it's not crowded.
We took a lot of pictures, so this will be a two-part post. You can see Part Two of "Finding Mitford" HERE. The first group of pictures are of the church.
Love these beautiful foxgloves!
