Taken any good road trips lately?

We live in a great place for road trips, and this past weekend brought me ample opportunity to be reminded of that.

First, I headed to Durham – home of my alma mater, Duke – for an event for alumni of the university’s student newspaper. The highway was filled with cars displaying flags for the ACC football teams playing on Saturday, including UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State (my beloved Blue Devils have never been a football powerhouse, alas).

The afternoon was so crisp and clear, I envied those who got to spend it outside watching football. Newcomers should put road-tripping to one of our ACC schools for a football or basketball game on their to-do lists.

From there, I headed west on I-40 to the Asheville area, which was hosting the city’s annual film festival. Perhaps I had the drought to thank for the brilliant red-and-gold leaf display along the way, unusually bright for mid-November.

The fest has a tradition of honoring a film actor each year, and this year’s guest was Tess Harper, star of “Crimes of the Heart,” “Tender Mercies” and the N.C.-filmed “Loggerheads.” North Carolinian actors Andie MacDowell and Robby Benson also made appearances. I caught two pretty good flicks, a documentary about Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal (“I Have Never Forgotten You”) and a feature about illegal immigration (“Under the Same Moon”). As always, I appreciated the chance to bypass typical popcorn fare for some thought-provoking movies I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to see.

I’m glad to see Charlotte nurturing its own fledgling film festival scene, and I’d love to see the local Charlotte and/or Cackalacky film festivals follow suit with bringing in a headlining actor and/or director to highlight, which would help boost the festivals’ profiles and ticket sales.

In the meantime, I’m grateful I live in a state that has several enjoyable film festivals, along with a lot of other great attractions, just an easy interstate drive away.