You will enjoy staying in Lafayette and visit Cajun Country. Stay in the FQ in New Orleans and walk to all the attractions. Head N to historic Natchez, MS when you leave NOLA. Stop in Vicksburg and visit the National Military Park. Drive N on # 61 to Clarksdale home of the blues. You aren't far from Memphis. Stay downtown and visit Beale Street. Head W on I 40 to LR. Be sure to try the Memphis BBQ.

VISIT THE DELTA......
http://www.visitthedelta.com/


MS BLUES TRAIL........
http://www.msbluestrail.org/

CAJUN COUNTRY.............
http://www.fodors.com/pdf/fodors-cajun-country.pdf
http://www.theind.com/cover-story/9289-the-best-thing-i-ever-ate-and-its-not-mine

Is there a special reason for starting in Texas? And Little Rock?
I'd just have to say you really haven't done the Southeast coast justice with one night in Charleston. But there is a lot to experience and enjoy in Alabama and Mississippi, particularly along the coast of Alabama and maybe the Florida panhandle.

Gretchen, We'd like to see Austin and San Antonio, plus possibly somewhere on the coast as long as it's not still recovering from Katrina. Little Rock is reasonably close to Memphis and we'd like to tick off Arkansas as the 32nd state we'll have visited on our way to No.50!
Thank you Littleman, your suggestions look great.

You will be suprised to find really good natural beauty in Arkansas. I have visited both Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park for the past two weeks. Yes, they are bigger and probably better year-round than AR. That said, when the waterfalls are flowing(from Dec-May), I think Arkansas is really far far better. It's a mini Columbia River Gorge. It is also good for a 2 week period around the last of Oct. The parks I mentioned are super crowded. You will find just a few people on the trails in AR.

The very best is the Buffalo National River(our nations first). I can give you several awesome hikes there, if you are interested. The negative-it depends on the weather. I would say there is a 10-20% chance of snow during that time, and you simply cannot travel in Arkansas like you can other states. If we get 2 inches of snow, schools close down for 3 or 4 days usually. It's just a different type of snow.

Petit Jean, Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo are all excellent State Parks.

Crystal Bridges Museum is worth a stop. Bill Clinton Library is too.

I haven't done much in Alabama or Miss. Iv'e been through there many times, just not that much that I can find to do there. I would for sure do Natchez though. Plantation home are great there, as well as on The River Road near New Orleans.
You will find good "southern" food there. The real deal is often found in hole in the wall type places.

Well, if you're just clicking off states, have at it. Click off Mississippi and Alabama. I don't even want to do that in Europe with the distances being so small.
AND I'll say our kids have lived in San Antonio, and Austin--but it's a "hike" to get there because, well, it IS "Texas".
So, now that we understand you are only wanting to "touch" states in the USA to say you've been there, we can make very good recommendations. It doesn't have to be "much" to satisfy you apparently.
Sorry, this is pretty unsatisfying for someone who likes to travel to Europe to really "see" the land and experience "something".
The Texas Gulf coast is not even where Katrina happened--now 6 years ago. That WAS NOLA, and it is well, just go see.
I should say that I worked for a wonderful man from Manchester, and if I went to see 'his' town, I'd spend some time to enjoy it.
Have a good time. I find it odd.

Gretchen,

A lot of people visit New Orleans. A lot of people visit the south. A lot of people have a desire to check off all 50 states. Met one just yesterday that had done just that. He was 25 year old totally disabled person in a wheel chair.

So, to maybe spend a week in Louisianna and then perhaps another week in 3 states(even though they may or may not have that much to do in those states), isn't that unusual.

I think the poster probably was looking for a few ideas. We have really enjoyed our visits in AR(we live in Oklahoma, so go there often).

I have visited probably 42 or 43 states. Checking of the rest isn't a high priority to me, but given the opportunity, I certainly would do so.

Gretchen, we all have ambitions and even though you find it 'odd', this is one of mine. I find your unfriendly reply odd, but there again we're all different aren't we?
I thought Galveston was blasted by the hurricane but I bow to your superior knowledge.

Thanks for your suggestions Spiro.

jaguar, you could drive from New Orleans along the Gulf Coast of MS and AL, then head inland towards Memphis. The Gulf Coast is pretty and relaxing, even post-Katrina, with plenty of good food. It takes a little over an hour to drive from N.O. to the MS border.

However, I'd also want to send you to Natchez for plantations and a charming town, and I'm not sure how to combine the two! Natchez is the southernmost point on the old Natchez Trace road to Memphis, which is really pleasant to drive.

Vicksburg, MS has a large civil war memorial site and other tourist-friendly attractions.

You might get some more ideas from this thread, for the bits of your trip that overlap with theirs...
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/three-weeks-in-the-deep-south-help-please.cfm

Galveston and Houston took it hard from a different hurricane - Ike, and that was in '08, not '05.

Dunno what a "hike" from Austin to San Antonio means. Last check, they're about 80 miles apart. In Texas, that's equivalent to the same neighborhood and far shorter than Philly to NYC.

If you drive the river road from New Orleans to Natchez or parts thereof, consider St. Francisville, LA - nice small town near a lot of large and interesting plantations (Rosedown, Butler-Greenwood, The Myrtles), and also close to the (formerly) worst prison in the US, the Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola) which is the largest maximum security penitentiary in the United States and has a very interesting museum and approach to its residents. You do NOT go into the penitentiary itself.

Thanks ggreen and BigRuss. Very helpful posts. I think I just need to add that we've been travelling to the States for nearly 30 years now and we've spent a lot of time travelling around, so we're not simply 'ticking them off' as one person has put it. We ended our 2012 holiday with a few days in Fort Worth which we enjoyed, so we thought it would be nice to see a bit more of Texas. I think we'll probably save time after Austin and San Antonio by taking a short flight to Louisiana. That way we'll see more of the southern states. We'll have 11 days to see New Orleans, Lafayette, AL, MS, Memphis and Little Rock.

I thought about it a bit more, and came up with a route that would give you access to the "river road" BigRuss mentioned; Natchez and a bit of the Trace; Vicksburg; Gulf Coast; up through AL to Birmingham; then the northeastern corner of MS* through Tupelo and Oxford; continuing on to Memphis and then Little Rock. So you'd get a taste of the parts of MS that I mentioned before without the backtracking I was worried about.

I hope this google maps link works!
http://tinyurl.com/6okhmmv

* From Birmingham, I routed continuing northwest, but you could head southwest instead through Tuscaloosa and reach Meridian and Philadelphia, MS - or even see those two MS towns on your drive between Jackson and Biloxi. Of course, do some research on these towns to see what might interest you.

// FWIW, I have spent time on the MS coast when my sister has lived there. On one of my visits, we took a trip from Biloxi to Vicksburg and Natchez (didn't stop in Jackson). Day 1 drove to Vicksburg / night there; Day 2 saw the civil war site, lunch, then headed south on the Trace; followed by two nights in Natchez. Of course each one of these places could use more time, but we felt we saw a good amount without feeling rushed.

If you're interested in the MS Gulf Coast, you could base in Gulfport or Biloxi for a few nights and easily travel west to Bay St. Louis/Waveland and east to Ocean Springs/Pascagoula: the distances are short and the drive straightforward...

From Austin, if you head east along Hwy. 290, you can visit Brenham (where they make Blue Bell Homemade Ice Cream -- yummy!!!); then head south on Hwy. 77 to I-10 to Schulenburg, to see the Painted Churches.

In the Florida panhandle, Fort Walton Beach/Destin area has beautiful white soft sand beaches.

One night each in Atlanta, Charleston or Nashville is not enough. I think it would just whet your appetite. If you do stay in Charleston, stay in the Historic District.

By the way - FQ is the French Quarter in New Orleans.

Thanks again. The map is really helpful ggreen! I'm thinking I'd also like a night in either Lafayette or Baton Rouge after 2 nights in New Orleans. Then 1 night in Natchez, 1 in Jackson, 1 in Mobile/Biloxi, then I'd want to stop somewhere in between there and Memphis (suggestions please, it's too far to drive in one day otherwise). Then 2 nights in Memphis, 2 nights Little Rock. I did think that the Blues club in Clarksdale would be "do-able" but maybe I'll have to think again.

I'm glad the map worked!

You'd need someone more experienced about AL than me (or a guide book!), but timing-wise, you could make a stop in Birmingham. Or if that part of AL doesn't interest you as much, you could head north from Biloxi or Mobile to the northeast section of MS. Look into Philadelphia, Tupelo, Oxford... all places with interesting things but none I can comment on personally as I've not (yet!) made it there.

I don't know how familiar you are with google maps, so here are some tips:
• Hover over the purple route line until a white circle displays. Using that circle, you can now drag the line and it will "snap" to roadways and recalculate the directions.
• Likewise, you can drag the lettered destination points to a new destination. Or to add a new destination, right-click where you want it to be and choose that option.
• To copy the URL of the resulting map, click the "link" icon in the upper right corner of the text directions area.
• You also can save your routes. Sign into an existing gmail account or create one for yourself. (They're free and are useful for things like this even if you never use the email - which I don't.) Once you're signed in, click the "Save to My Maps" link at the bottom of the text directions. You can name your route, change the way the icons look, and edit descriptive information. Then they're easily available on the go! (Smartphone, etc.)
• To create a new map - for example for other parts of your trip - go to maps.google.com, click Get Directions, then enter your destinations. (Click the little Add Destination link to increase the number of fields.)

The subsequent 'conversation" was much better. You've been often--you want to explore. One night in charleston isn't an "explore" to me. Also, you said you don't see much in Alabama, etc. There's a LOT. We don't need to revisit the whole thing BUT it seemed different from what you are now revealing.
I hope you'll go back to the southeast coast.
San Antonio is a fun town.
Have fun

In Louisiana, there is Avery Island where they make Tabasco sauce. This may be a unique stop for you Brits.

http://www.tabasco.com/avery-island/

Alabama here, LOL! Just wanted to add to the map provided by ggreen: continue up I-65 to at least Cullman, AL, and visit the Ava Maria Grotto http://www.avemariagrotto.com/ -- it's like nothing you've ever seen or are likely to see again!

If you are so inclined, keep continuing up to Huntsville, AL, and visit the Space & Rocket center: http://rocketcenter.com/ It's pretty interesting! From there, you can continue to Memphis via US 72, driving through Muscle Shoals and Florence, AL. Very pretty country; but then again, I live in northern Alabama!

We did a road trip thru the south years ago with our (then) young daughters. We had a great time.

We started in New Orleans, went up to Vicksburg, Mississippi (and enjoyed the Civil War Museum and battlefield). We then went along the Natchez Trace (the beautiful highway where we saw all sorts of wild-life). I wish we had spent a little more time in Alabama but we continued into Georgia and loved the beautiful cities of Athens and Savannah. We also loved Charleston in South Carolina. One of our favorite places surprisingly was Pensicola, Florida (which is in the panhandle).

Thanks for your replies. Keep them coming!

Jaguar, if I were taking your trip, I would re-read one of my favorite books in college, The Struggle for Black Equality by Howard Sitkoff. It will make the Civil Rights movement come to life, particularly in Alabama and Mississippi.

Here's a link to the Amazon post of it if you need it: http://tinyurl.com/95cx4e9

If the timing of your trip is still flexible, I recommend waiting until March so that you can go to Natchez during Spring Pilgrimage (starts March 9 and runs into April).

http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com/natchez-spring-pilgrimage.php

Also take note that Shrove Tuesday is February 12. New Orleans will be crazy in the days leading up to it. Mobile (the home of the first Mardi Gras celebrations in the US) will be less so. Mississippi Coast cities with parades include BIloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, OCean Springs, and Pass Christian (pronounced "Kristi-ENN"). Pensacola, FL, has festivities as well.

By the way, the Natchez Trace connected Natchez with Nashville, not Memphis (and the modern Natchez Trace Parkway does the same; it is a slow road, not a freeway, although it is limited-access).

If you like military history, the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola is a bit out of your way (an hour east of Mobile) but well worth a visit. You could visit several old forts in the Pensacola area as well, or Fort Morgan near Mobile (all have Civil War connections).

If you want to see beaches, and don't want to go as far as Destin, I recommend Dauphin Island or Gulf Shores (both in Alabama near Mobile). Mississippi beaches are man-made and not as pretty as Alabama and Florida beaches.

I'm not sure if Alabama "upstate" is going to happen on your trip, but you mention "civil war", and another poster mentions a book about the civil rights movement. In Montgomery, a capital of the old confederacy, there is one of the finest "monuments" ever designed to commemorate the civil rights movement. It is at the Southern Poverty Law Center. It is not to be missed if you are nearby.
Monroeville, Alabama, is where Harper Lee was from.

I wanted to mention Pensacola as well. You can watch the Blue Angels practice....for free. Here are the 2012 dates...I'm assuming the 2013 set up will be similar.

The Blue Angels, the oldest flying aerobatic team, first performed in 1946. They perform more than 70 shows at 34 locations throughout the U.S. each year and have been seen by more than 427 million spectators worldwide.

2012 Practice Show Schedule
MARCH 27, 28*
APRIL 3, 4*, 5,6, 10, 11*, 17, 18*, 24, 25*
MAY 1, 2*, 8, 9*, 15, 16*
JUNE 5, 6*, 12, 13*, 19, 20*, 26, 27*
JULY 17, 18*
AUGUST 8*, 9, 14, 15*, 21, 22*
SEPTEMBER 5*, 11, 12*, 18, 19*
OCTOBER 17*, 23, 24*, 30

Little Rock has the Clinton Library (definitely worth a visit--has a replica of the Oval Office) and the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, which explains the school integration battles of 1957. Downtown Hot Springs is a national park which preserves the old elegant old bathhouses from the 1920s. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is in the far northwest corner of Arkansas (about 3 1/2 hours from Hot Springs). I would recommend you overnight at a B&B in Eureka Springs in the Ozark Mountains. We stayed at Arsenic and Old Lace B&B several months ago and highly recommend it.

I forgot to add that you can also visit a Civil War site, Pea Ridge, if you go to the Fayetteville/Eureka Springs area. That would give you three places to visit: Crystal Bridges Museum, Pea Ridge and Eureka Springs, which has several attractions of its own.

Much as I love Hot Springs, I would suggest you stop at Little Rock on Interstate 40, then go to the Fayetteville area. Crystal Bridges is in Bentonville, but the towns all run together.

Wow, some great ideas. Thank you! We've already booked our flights and we land in Austin on the 20th Feb, going home from Little Rock on the 6th March. So we won't be able to take in the Blue Angels or the 'Pilgimage' I'm afraid. My latest itinerary is Austin, San Antonio, Lafayette, New Orleans, Fairhope (Alabama)- visiting Bellingrath Gardens on the way. Then Jackson MS (hope to visit a Plantation and Vicksburg civil war museum and cemetery, Memphis (hope to visit Beale Street, Graceland and the Martin Luther King Museum) and Little Rock.

What's in Little Rock? Arkansas is generally so far off the must list for anyone who's not an Arkie that it barely rates.

Too bad about the Blue Angels - we went to the Naval Station in Pensacola a couple of weeks ago and the flight museum there is awesome.

Yes, Gretchen: Montgomery, Alabama was exactly what I was thinking, but I didn't know about the Southern Poverty Law Center monument. I was thinking of Holt Street Baptist Church, where Dr. King gave his first ever civil rights speech (to start the bus boycott) and also the Greyhound Station where the Freedom Riders were met with violence.

the monument was designed by Maya Lin and is truly a work of art that touches the heart. It is a small granite area. On the back wall is MLK's quote "and the waters will come down like thunder". In the center of this small area is a beautiful black granite table (maybe 10 feet in diameter) from the middle of which comes a stream of water that spreads out over the table top. AND then, etched into the the top of the table are concentric rings with the dates and events of civil rights movement--Emmett Till, the church bombing, marches, MLK's assassination, and SO many more. The water just flows peacefully over these memorable events in a long battle. It is awe inspiring.
The civil rights marchers to Selma "trained" at Miami University in Ohio, my proud alma mater.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Memorial

The table is bigger than I said. But you will see how beautiful it is here.

This is really, really great. I hope the OP makes time for it...but if not, the thread will hopefully be of use to other visitors to the Deep South.

Agreed re Little Rock that the Clinton Library is well worth a visit if you're in the city. The state capitol building there is also a very attractive example of its kind. There's also a small art museum worth a brief pop-in, and the old capitol building has local history exhibits.

The state capitol building in Jackson, MS is very good. And the state capitol building in Baton Rouge, LA is one of the best in the US, to my way of thinking.

Re Montgomery, AL, see my trip report from a couple years ago:

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/trip-report-montgomery-alabama.cfm

The state capitol in Austin is no slouch either!

Gretchen, thank you for posting the pic of the Civil Rights Mounument in Montgomery. It looks terrific, but we probably won't get to see it on this trip if we stick to driving up the Natchez Trail. I enjoyed your trip report, Bachslunch, the Rosa Parks museum sounds fascinating.

<<My latest itinerary is Austin, San Antonio, Lafayette, New Orleans, Fairhope (Alabama)- visiting Bellingrath Gardens on the way. Then Jackson MS (hope to visit a Plantation and Vicksburg civil war museum and cemetery, Memphis (hope to visit Beale Street, Graceland and the Martin Luther King Museum) and Little Rock>>

If this is still the case, you won't be taking the Natchez Trace anywhere. Remember, it goes from Natchez to Jackson to Nashville—not Memphis!

Thanks Cranachin, I probably didn't think it over properly. I hope to drive on the Trace Parkway from Natchez as far as I can, until I take the 55 to Memphis. I appreciate that getting from Fairhope AL to Natchez will take me about 5hrs.

Are you still planning to go to Vicksburg? If so, you might want to exit the Parkway on US 61 at Port Gibson (which is a pretty little town). You also could exit onto Fisher Ferry Road or MIssissippi Highway 27, which would allow you to stay on longer but maybe go a little more out of the way.

Otherwise, you can take the Trace as far as Ridgeland, north of Jackson, where it intersects I-55. (Well, you might be able to go only as far as Clinton and then have to detour the last few miles to I-55 due to roadwork that is expected to still be in progress at the time you visit).

You can find more info here http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

Note, however, that the maps don't show the exits (although they have lots of detail on what to see along the way). A listing of exits can be found here http://www.natcheztracetravel.com/natchez-trace-mississippi/exits.html (but I think the exit for MS-18 is southbound only, and you will be northbound).

The Trace is pretty, but it is a bit slow. Max speed limit is 50 mph.

As for Fairhope to Natchez, I have traveled much of that stretch (as far as McComb on US 98, and also up US 49 to Jackson) more times than I can count. Definitely a slice of the South! US 98 is a nightmare getting through Mobile to the Mississippi line, but after that it is much better. Today both 98 and 49 pretty much bypass the small towns in Mississippi (and even Hattiesburg, the largest city in the area). If you want to see them, you have to get off the highway and onto "Old 98" or "Old 49". I don't know what MS-84 is like between Collins and Natchez.

That's great Cranachin, thanks. I'll check out the old 98 and 49 roads. I don;t want the drive to take forever, but ont he other hand I'd like to see a bit more of the small Mississippi towns rather than the main highway.
If I have the time I would like to see Vicksburg too.

Oh! This will be a GREAT trip. Here's my proposed itinerary (also check out Garden and Gun Magazine for some ideas) consider flying into Memphis and doing a day or two there, and driving down Highway 61.

1)You can stop and stay in Clarksdale, MS at the Shack Up Inn and eat at Rust and go out to hear REAL blues music where it originated at Red's and Ground Zero.

2) You can connect with John Ruskey at the Quawpaw Canoe Company for a REAL canoe trip on the Mississippi River, which is truly amazing.

3) Then you can take some day trips out from there to Indianola and Greenwood, MS... hearing music at Club 308, seeing the BB King Museum, and getting a massage at the Alluvian Hotel and Spa (where you can also stay) and eat at one of the restaurants in Greenwood (I'd recommend the Delta Bistro, Lusco's (for old time ambiance) or Giargina's (pronounced Gardinia's).

You can also trek down/over to Greenville, MS for a steak and Delta Hot Tamale's at Doe's Eat Place.

4) From there drive down to Vicksburg, MS to gamble, see a new view of the river, see some Civil war sights, and eat a little more. You can also head down to Natchez to see antebellum homes.

5) End your trip in New Orleans for a few days then fly home. You'll have experiences two major Deep South Cities AND the Mississippi Delta. Birthplace of the blues, a major site of Civil Rights history, and a GREAT place to experience southern cuisine.