Originally published at National Catholic Register
Andalusia, with its white siding and red roof, is happily situated on a hill facing a lawn framed by forest on one side and the avenue and a path leading to a natural pond on the other side.
Walking out of the home onto the grounds, one could picture Flannery O’Connor’s various short stories — which took place in old houses, cow barns, down lonely lanes, and on farms in need of repair. In her day-to-day experience of the people around her on the farm and in the town of Milledgeville, Georgia, the writer had a wide experience of human nature and its quirks.
We have often made religious pilgrimages on our road trips, but this was a literary one, to get to know a literary friend.
When my children are adults, I hope that they remember with fondness our family road trips, both those we take to visit family and friends, those we take to beautiful places, and those that are a little bit of each. We began the longer of our on-the-road treks, from our home in St. Paul, Minnesota, this past summer with a visit to my husband Mark’s grandparents in northern Georgia. A friend of mine,
