Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Toast, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Toast and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Toast

• Astronomy & Satellites ...
  • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
  • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Toast:
  • 36.500411, -80.626453
  • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Toast

• Bird Watching ...
  • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
  • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Surry County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Surry County
  • Since Toast is near Carroll County and also Patrick County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Patrick County

• Waymarking ...
  • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Toast

Curious and Interesting Names Near Toast ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

• Combstown
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Combstown is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combstown
• Flat Rock
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Flat Rock is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
• Franklin
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Franklin is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
• Holly Springs
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Holly Springs is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
• Indian Grove
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Indian Grove is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Grove
• Oak Grove
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
• Pine Ridge
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Pine Ridge is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
• Red Brush
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Red Brush is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
• Sulphur Springs
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sulphur Springs is located in Surry County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs

How Far From Toast to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Toast to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Toast and extending to:

• Dobson, which is the Seat of Surry County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Toast to Dobson, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 121 miles [194.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 256 miles [412 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,154 miles [9,903.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,858 miles [11,036.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,735 miles [7,620.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'