dwdvagamundo

If I were you, I'd fly to Charleston--it has direct flights from La Guardia. Then get a car and drive down the coast to Savannah.

Drive over to Macon, GA, stopping at the Ocmulgee National Monument. Up to Atlanta. In Atlanta, where I live, we have both Civil War and Civil Rights. A good intro to the western part of the Civil War at the Atlanta History Museum, and a good intro to civil cights at the Civil Rights Museum and the M L King Center

Then drive down I-85 stopping at Tuskegee, Alabama--Tuskegee Institute. Montgomery has a good Civil Rights Museum and you can see exactly where Rosa Parks got on the city bus and changed history. Selma is a fairly short drive.

Then continue on down to Mobile, Alabama, a very interesting city on the Gulf Coast. They have a new Museum of the Gulf of Mexico that shows its importance to the whole region. Then on down to New Orleans.

Alternatively, you could drive from Atlanta up to Chattanooga, Tenn., stopping at Chickamauga National Battlefield Park, then across to Memphis, stopping at Shiloh National Battlefield Park. Memphis has a great Civil Rights Museum and also Sun Studios, Graceland, and other music oriented attractions.

Then drive down Highway 61 (the name alone will thrill you if you're a Bob Dylan fan), take a look at the Blues Museum in Clarksdale, MS, then overnite in Vicksburg, for another Civil War battlefield. Continue south to Natchez for some more antebellum homes, then to St. Francisville, LA. You could stop in Baton Rouge to see where Huey Long was gunned down, then stop at a plantation or two along the Mississippi before heading into NOLA.

In any event, you'll want to stop at Lafayette LA in the heart of Cajun country on your way to Texas.

bradshawgirl1

If you're interested in music, you shouldn't miss the Mississippi Delta area. There's a Grammy museum (in Cleveland) and a lovely B.B. King Museum there (in the building of a cotton gin where B.B. King once worked in Indianola) that are lovely. These are in addition to the museums in Clarksdale previously mentioned. The whole Delta is such a unique place - flat, fertile, great food in hole-in-the-wall places (Doe's Eat Place, Como Steak House, etc.). You can get some amazing photos out here. And if you're just dying for a city, you can couple it with Memphis (two shakes away) or some of the casinos in Tunica.

If you get to Memphis, we loved Graceland and Sun Studios (for music history). We also love the Pink Palace Museum, as it's just such a uniquely Memphis sort of attraction. Skip Beale Street if you're looking for an authentic experience. Eat some good barbecue in this town!

Also, if you can swing through Vicksburg, Miss., you'd love the military park. Civil War battlefields covered with markers that interpret the siege of Vicksburg. And it'll be gorgeous in the spring. Monuments, views, a sunken ironclad you can tour that was rescued from the river. Herr, you can also tour many of the antebellum homes that survived the war, some with cannonballs still lodged in their walls. Cool stuff.

In NOLA, there's so much to do and see! This would be a great place for one of the "nights out" you mention. You could go to one of the classic NOLA flagship restaurants for a splurge - Antoine's, Galatoire's, Brennan's, Commander's Palace, etc. Have a drink at the carousel bar at the Monteleone. If you're looking for something more low-key, I love the tiny Napoleon House bar for history and drinks. I always meet someone interesting at that bar! Jazz Fest is fun, but be prepared for heavy crowds.

You don't mention where in Texas you will end up, but that would be a great place for a trail ride. We worked with Stricker Trail Rides just outside of San Antonio, and we loved it. (And if you go to San Antonio, we loved the Alamo, some of the nearby missions, and the Institute of Texan Cultures. Such a great town!)

Re: food in the South - It's hard to go wrong. Look for local places (not chains) with lots of cars parked at them. Some of them will look like dives, but that's ok. (In some cases, that's sometimes preferable!) DO NOT leave without getting some good barbecue and fried chicken.

You will have so much fun! Let us know if you have more questions!!

NorthwestMale

Geez, I love the idea of this trip, but it alternately has me feeling <I>pressured</i> to somehow <I>enhance</i> the trip and ideas suggested to you by others, and I don't know if I can.

I guess I would first weigh the costs of renting a vehicle in NYC (or nearby - <b>be well aware that to rent your car in a <U>non-airport</u> location in some random <I>New Jersey</i> town</b> may be much cheaper than getting it in/near to a New York-area airport</u.

Compare costs, and then decide whether it makes sense to fly to somewhere like Charlotte, or drive there from NYC.

I... sorta like the imagery of <I>driving</i> from the north to the south in order to slowly <I>watch the surroundings 'evolve' from (what some in America may still call) <b>Blue</b> to <b>Grey</b></i>.

When driving from NYC to North Carolina, I drove down through Delaware and Maryland, and then across the <I>Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel</i>... and suddenly, I was in <I>the south</i>.

I loved the outer banks of North Carolina... imagining what it would take for <b>me</b> to chance living there.

The lighthouse at Cape Hatteras meant something to me.

Charlotte is an impressively modern city, yet perhaps somebody should stick to the coast and see Charleston and Savannah, before trekking inland to Atlanta, and then somehow connecting dots to include Chattanooga, the <I>Great Smoky Mountains</i>, Gatlinburg, Nashville and Memphis.

You should really find a MAP of <I>civil war battlefields</i> all over the east and south, to see what you can include. You'll be impressed at how well <I>marked</i> many of them are. (I went looking for a relative's name, listed on a certain Union army unit's marker, <b>and it was in somebody's <U>front yard</u> in modern times</b.

(I assumed it was <I>kosher</i> for me to respectfully step-in and take pictures of the marker {shrug} )


The drive from Memphis to New Orleans certainly affords some southern flavor, and a stop in Jackson, MS is a good move for those looking for a flavor of U.S. History.

I'll let others advise on New Orleans - I only stayed a few hours... and it was <I>awkwardly humid</i> even after dark, and in April, with what would be called <I>mild</i> temperatures.

No doubt there are other good places to stop or see on the path to Texas, and you might consider <b>Galveston, Texas</b> for a visit, if you could do that before conveniently arriving at your Texas destination.

There are so many options, and I'm sure you'll have to weigh lots of things (time, and distance are just a couple) in order to randomly find the optimum experience for yourself.

And it is prooooooooooobably gonna be the <U>wide spots in the road</u> betweeeeeeeeeen those <I>cities</i> you've heard about, which are going to be the real gems. (and that necessitates not asking too much of yourself, time/distance-wise, so that <b>you'll have time to stop and smell the roses</b

Speaking of <I>roses</i>... while the Kentucky Derby (Saturday, May 6, 2017) IS the most important horse race in the USA, the atmosphere is as much a freakshow (to the naked eye, when there) as it is a <I>southern tradition</i>.

I think I would opt instead for the <b>Keeneland Race Course</b> in Lexington, Kentucky during April... for a visit. The rich tradition of Thoroughbreds is always on display at Keeneland.

(but all of this depends on convenience and timing)


Good luck - should be fun, and you can't get too wrong.


(oh, in Atlanta, be SURE to visit <b>The Museum of Coca Cola</b

liztatern

I second that I would not rent a car in NYC! NO NO NO I went to NYC and thankfully, we stayed in Beacon, NY and took a train in, but I would never want to drive there. Just driving AROUND the city cost us a fortune in tolls and was unpleasant. Trains are the way to go in NYC and it would save you money to just wait. I would also fly into Charleston and start the leg there, personally. I feel like everybody else has everything covered, although I've lived in the south for most of my life and have to say, I don't know that without stopping in some smaller towns, you'll get that true "deep south" feeling. I did not enjoy New Orleans at all, personally, and the humidity was ungodly, even for somebody who grew up in FL/GA with plenty of humidity. While I love Charleston and Savannah and and other towns like this, I don't necessarily know that they'll live up to everything you're expecting. Charleston does have some neat plantations (Magnolia Plantation is one of the cheaper ones and also beautiful) and is beautiful! Also, enjoy driving on the right side of the road I know when we went to Australia, we were definitely a little thrown off by the driving, haha. I'm also a 30y/o living in Charleston, so if you want somebody to get together with, let me know!

Gretchen

<I went to NYC and thankfully, we stayed in Beacon, NY and took a train in, but I would never want to drive there. Just driving AROUND the city cost us a fortune in tolls and was unpleasant. Trains are the way to go in NYC and it would save you money to just wait.<

And if you are going to NYC do NOT stay outside the city. It takes time and money to get into the City, where you want to be. But definitely don't have a car!

I will totally wholeheartedly vote for Charleston for a unique southern city.
You could look at EKskrunchy's report on where to eat on the coast of the Carolinas. Many of those little towns ARE the "real" south and would be a wonderful stop-off.

dwdvagamundo

Quotes from Liztatern: "I've lived in the south for most of my life and have to say, I don't know that without stopping in some smaller towns, you'll get that true "deep south" feeling."

You might want to drive down US 17 from Charleston to Savannah, Georgia, stopping on Edisto Island and in Beaufort, SC. You might try Athens and Madison, Georgia, and Tuskegee, Alabama. Natchez and Vicksburg, MS and St. Francisville, Louisiana

Stop in Mobile, Alabama--a very charming old southern city.

"I did not enjoy New Orleans at all, personally, and the humidity was ungodly, even for somebody who grew up in FL/GA with plenty of humidity"

You've got to stop in New Orleans. You might end up thinking it is too hot and muggy, but it unique in the United States, has great good and great music, and is not to be missed.

If I were you, though, I'd make a list of the things you are interested in doing, then do Google or other searches to see where you might pursue those interests in the South.