Steve is a great person. He is my straight razor mentor. He has given away razors, soaps, and such internationally. He honed razors freely for others and paid to ship them oversees.
I know what you mean. I'm about 30 min, give or take, the other side of Charlotte from you (Rowan Co just north of Kannapolis), and the ol' Queen City has gotten to, shall we say, raucous, for me. Airport pick-ups are all I go there for now.
Just remember to avoid Anderson.( no offense to people from there).. It seems like anything bad that can happen occurs there according to all the local news stations...every day there are more crime stories there than anywhere else in the area.
I went Clemson and am very familiar with Anderson. My great grandfather built the old courthouse. I’m looking more at the foothills closer to the mountains but not in them.