By Carol and Ray Fischer, our "Romantic Getaways" correspondents. They love to travel, together, to warm places, exciting cities, and any place with a casino. As long as they are together, it doesn't matter where they go. They can always find romance.

Have you ever found yourself taking for granted but not taking advantage of opportunities right in your own back yard? We'll admit; we're guilty. When vacation time comes we'll head for some exotic place and forget about our wealth of local attractions until Great Aunt Ethel comes to North Carolina and wants to see the sights. And so it was a bit outside our box when, a few weeks ago, we headed west from Raleigh on I-40, map in hand, sans Aunt Ethel, ready to explore the Winston-Salem area.

The Winston-Salem Visitor Center welcomes visitors with free coffee and all the information you need to navigate the area. Since our visit they have introduced an innovative program of audio discs/tapes for your car which are free for the asking. Called Cultural Corridors, the program consists of five themed itineraries with step by step directions to each featured attraction. These are available by mail or may be requested in advance and picked up at the Visitor Center when you arrive. Check the Website for specifics on the different itineraries.

Home of the North Carolina School of Arts, the first publicly funded school of arts in the country, Winston-Salem is a mecca for both performing and visual arts. Nowhere are the visual arts more celebrated than at Reynolda House Museum of American Art.

Set amid fragrant gardens and dense pines, Reynolda House is the magnificent 1067-acre estate of former tobacco magnate, R.J. Reynolds and his wife, Katharine Smith Reynolds. Built for Katharine so their children could grow up in the country breathing healthy, clean fresh air, Reynolda House dates back to the early twentieth century.

Works of various famous American artists decorate the 64- room mansion: Georgia O'Keeffe, Frederic E. Church, and William Merritt Chase among them. Hand-forged wrought-iron railings by famed American metalworker Samuel Yellin grace its balconies. With the help of a 1922 appraisal, museum workers were able to put its original furniture back in place. And with the aid of audio tour devices visitors may enjoy it all, from the basement shooting gallery and indoor swimming pool to the attic in which the family's clothing and children's toys are on display.

In spite of its opulence, the home has a comfortable, family feeling. Closing our eyes we could almost hear the giggles of the Reynolds children as they played in the bowling alley with their friends while the adults smoked on the summer porch (after all, the Reynolds fortune was built on tobacco.)

Outbuildings, which were part of the original working farm, have been converted to restaurants and boutiques. We had lunch at the popular Vineyards Restaurant, housed in the old boiler room building for the estate. Its charming French country décor provided the perfect setting for us to enjoy such innovative dishes as crab salad with strawberries and raspberry vinaigrette. The warm blueberry bread pudding with vanilla sauce for dessert was worth the trip. Eat your heart out, Aunt Ethel.

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