A Tree Grows in Wilmington

We left as scheduled Sunday morning and are now in Wilmington, NC. We had lunch today Jackson's Big Oak Barbecue. We happened to be passing by at lunchtime and I like to sample regional barbecue, especially in the south. We pulled into the parking lot, and at the rear of the restaurant was the biggest oak tree I've ever seen. It's a live oak and it's branches must spread 150 feet from one end to another. The trunk is probably 20 feet around. I don't know the whole story, but this tree has got to be 200 years old. The restaurant has a letter posted from a gentleman who attended college in Wilmington long before the restaurant was built something like 50 years ago. He used to sit under that tree for solitude and inspiration, and after leaving Wilmington he heard that a restaurant was to be built on the property and was deeply concerned that the tree would be no more. Visiting Wilmington some years later, he was astonished to see the tree still standing in a protected area behind the restaurant parking lot.

The pork barbecue, coleslaw and hushpuppies were pretty good, but that tree is spectacular. Kudos to Mr. Jackson for sparing it.

BTW, I would spell barbeque with a "que" not a "cue" as above. However, the blogspot spellchecker apparently prefers "cue" and who am I to argue.