‘Andy Griffith Show’ alum Ron Howard praises NC Outer Banks after ‘family adventure’

Actor-director Ron Howard had a “family adventure” on the North Carolina coast over the weekend and has been gushing about the experience on social media.

It could be considered a quasi-homecoming for the two-time Academy Award winner, who famously got his start as a child actor on “The Andy Griffith Show” — a series based on the fictitious North Carolina town of Mayberry.

Howard tweeted a photo Monday, April 11, of himself and reported he and his wife, Cheryl, visited Manteo’s Burrus House Inn over the weekend. The island is between the mainland and the Outer Banks.

He also mentioned North Carolina native Andy Griffith, who was living on Manteo at the time of his death in 2012.

“Cheryl & I had a great weekend at #BurrusHouseInn #ManteoNC. The Inn deserves (its) high rating on Trip Advisor,” wrote Howard, who lives in California.

“#AndyGriffith always spoke so lovingly of beautiful Manteo. Terrific for fishing & family adventure. Not far from #KittyHawk of #WrightBrothers 1st flight fame.”

Howard didn’t say if he went fishing along the Outer Banks, which is believed to be the East Coast mating spot for great white sharks.

However, he did visit Roanoake Island Festival Park, a 25-acre historic site on Manteo that allows guests “to experience first-hand what life was like for the first English settlers in 1585.”

The park posted a photo of Howard during his visit, as did the Burrus House Inn.

“We sure did enjoy having Ron and Cheryl Howard this week at The Burrus House Inn. We hope they left loving our little slice of heaven we call the Outer Banks,” the inn wrote on Facebook.

Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, and starred in 239 episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show,” before moving onto shows such as “Happy Days” and an even more successful career as a director, according to IMDb.

Among his best known films as a director are “Splash,” “Apollo 13,” “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Da Vinci Code.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 9:02 AM with the headline "‘Andy Griffith Show’ alum Ron Howard praises NC Outer Banks after ‘family adventure’."