Grown at Home, Made by Hand

For those of us charmed by local treasures in our gift-hunting, check out the goodies in the Homegrown Handmade Art Roads and Farm Trails of North Carolina.

"Travel along back roads to sample fresh goat cheese and scuppernong wine, artists' studios and sidewalk cafés," entices the site. The alliance between arts and agriculture in the Foothills, Piedmont, and Coastal areas has created trails to find local treats. Buying local, food and arts, exploring different areas of the map--that's a siren song to me!

The self-directed driving trails have art galleries, horse farms, you-pick farms, locally owned restaurants that feature local food products, and bed-and-breakfast inns. They also include events and activities; from music at harvest festivals to food and crafts at local fairs.

You can also get a printed guide to all the trails in this book of the same title. Very useful for adventuring...