We drove south from Columbus, stopping in Berea, Kentucky to see local crafts. The town was nearly deserted and one store had just been robbed. We thought it wise not to leave our car unattended for long, so drove on to Asheville. Heidi and Marshall were fabulous hosts, taking us on a tour of the downtown and delighting us with their granddaughter Simone. Matt and Shannon joined us for dinner. The second day we toured the Biltmore House, home of George Vanderbilt; had barbecue lunch at 12 Bones; toured Thomas Wolfe’s childhood home, the boarding house My Old Kentucky Home, run by his mother; and visited the Grove Park Inn, site of Joe and Elise Shapiro’s wedding in 1945. The next two days were spent zip-lining, visiting the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and touring waterfalls. On the way back to Asheville, we stopped at Connemara, Carl Sandburg’s house in Flat Rock, NC, where he wrote during the last 22 years of his life and his wife, Lillian, raised champion goats. A lovely hike on the grounds took us up Glassy Mountain, with views of the Blue Ridge and of the town of Flat Rock.