Katie, on the link I gave you above, you can see if Elkmont has vacancies.

Now, as far as taking Hwy. 64 to Memphis.......We did this a couple of years ago and I didn't think we were ever going to get home. You go through lots of little towns and reduced speeds.

For a better way (if you don't want to do the interstate) and very good roads, go on Hwy. 72 through Alabama. Look at the atlas and you will go thru towns in Alabama of Scottsboro, Huntsville, Athens, Florence and then over to Corinth, MS and up to Memphis.

I've put together our itinerary and I think I've included most of the suggestions from this post- I really appreciate all the tips.

For camping: We're hoping to get a spot in Big Creek campground but we'll be arriving on a Saturday, so I'm going to have to cross my fingers that it's not booked. If it is, we'll try Cataloochee, since it is on the eastern side of the park also.
If that is booked, well... we'll head west to Abram's, I guess. Let's all send good luck vibes my way to hope that Big Creek or Cataloochee have vacancies!

We've abandoned the idea of taking 64 across the southern part of the state, mainly because we want as much time in Memphis as we can get, and the feedback from you all made me realize I wouldn't be missing out on major beauty in the south western part of the state.

Our rough itinerary in Memphis includes:
First 1/2 Day:
- Rock n' Soul Museum & poking around Beale St
- BB King's Blues club that night

First Full Day:
- Graceland, A&R BBQ for lunch (friend's rec)
- taking a riverboat ride (hoping this is a good choice, it looks nifty)
- Dinner and music at Blues City Cafe

Second Full Day:
- breakfast at Brother Juniper's
- Sun Studios
- Rendezvous for lunch
- Stax Museum
- Dinner...?
- Rum Boogie for late night

Last 1/2 Day:
- The Beauty Shop for breakfast
- Peabody Ducks

Am I missing anything?

We'll took i'2's advice and used the tips on bidding for travel to get a hotel in Nashville. We got a good deal, so thanks i'2!
We will only have a day in Nashville but plan on seeing the country music museum, whooping it up at the Bourbon St. Blues and Boogie Bar and having breakfast at the Loveless before hitting the road. We will probably stop and see Cheekwood or Belle Meade before we head north.

I'd love to hear people's favorite spots for dinner in Nashville. We're not big fancy/gourmet diners, but appreciate well prepared food in a nice atmosphere.

Thanks again for the tips! I can't stand it I'm so excited to go.

Loveless Cafe is a little west of Nashville, it's not in town. Just so you know. GOOD FOOD though.

My current favorite place in Nashville is Bricktop's on West End. Consistenly good food.

Try Automatic Slim's in Memphis. When I lived there we also liked the Russian place downtown (Samovar??) but not sure it is still there.

Okay, here's a wild card.

I have no idea if you would be interested AT ALL or where exactly where your starting point would be.

But, my next road trip is going to be to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water near Ohiopyle, PA

http://www.paconserve.org/index-fw1.asp

Out of curiousity I added it to the route from Boston to Knoxville - and found that route actually SAVED drive time.

There's good camping in that area too.

Again, I have absolutely NO idea if FLW or Falling Water would be of interest to you, but just in case...

I see you have a ? for dinner one night in Memphis, I would suggest Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, it fits right in with the retro vibe you have going on your trip.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Tennessee.html

Also, be sure to at least stop by the Civil Rights Museum. It's at the Lorraine Motel where Rev. King was assasinated, the motel's exterior is unchanged, an eerie and poignant sight.

Katie55, I'm not sure what days of the week you will be in Memphis, but The Rendezvous is only open Tuesday-Saturday, and is only open for lunch on Friday and Saturday.

I just wanted to say "Thanks" to all of you who responded and helped us hit the hot spots in Tennessee. We got back yesterday and had a great time. I figured I'd give our thumbs ups and downs here, to help anyone else who may be searching out Memphis info.

I was thrilled with the B&B's we stayed at along the way south. A stand out gem was The Asa Cline House in Yellow Spring, West Virginia. This was only about 25 minutes off the highway, yet it was quite rural and gave us a great start to our trip. The innkeepers were fantastic and the house is beautiful. On the way back, we stayed at the Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg, VA, which was also outstanding.

Our Smokies visit was incredible. Both Big Creek and Cataloochie were full when we arrived on Saturday afternoon, so we ended up at Cosby campground. At first, I was so disappointed, because I didn't want anything that big, but we ended up with a very private site in the back of the campground, and were basically the only ones there once the weekend was over. I'd camp there again, for sure- there were some nice hiking trails there, and the creek was nearby. We hiked up to Charlie's Bunion, which was a great day hike and also made our way to Clingman's Dome and Ramsey Cascades, too. I was in awe of the beauty of this park.

Memphis was a blast! I can't say enough about the Talbot Heirs Guest House. What a fabulous place to stay! It was like returning home to your own funky apartment every night. The owners were fantastic, too- very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. While we were there, we ate at Automatic Slim's (Yummy food but a very grouchy waiter), Gus's Fried Chicken and Blue City Cafe for lunches and dinners. Unfortunately, we were at museums for most of the afternoons, so didn't hit many lunch spots. We stopped at a place called The Flying Saucer for beverages and appetizers one night, and that was a fun scene, too.

I'm a huge breakfast fanatic and loved each of our meals at The Blue Plate Cafe (best breakfast all week), The Arcade (sweet potato pancakes! Oh My!) and Brother Juniper's (excellent open-faced omelets). The tours of Stax, Sun and Graceland were fantastic- I had goosebumps the whole time I was at Sun, and not because of the AC! I have to say, I was so glad we hit the Rock N' Soul Museum first, because it really sets the stage for everything you will see and observe later on the circuit.

We did some record shopping at a shop called Rivers, which was a mixed experience. I'm fairly sure we got well-gouged on the prices because we were tourists, so if you go, be sure you know your stuff and what the albums are worth. (I ended up putting a handful of albums back because I knew he was asking too much for them.) Others may fare better- I'm still developing my know-how of vinyl shopping, so I'm a walking poster child for gouging.
Beale Street at night was lots of fun, and definitely more touristy than I was ready for. Wednesday night is "bike night" - and the street sides are lined with motorcycles. It was a blast for people watching and the bikes were a sight to see. We caught a great band called Delta Saturn- if you see them and you like the blues, you won't be disappointed.

As for Nashville... well, I have to say that was probably the weakest part of our trip, but that is mostly my fault, and by no means a reflection on the city. We got a late start and didn't make it to the Hall of Fame Museum or the Ryman, as they stop the tours pretty early and we were dependent upon a shuttle to get into town. (We stayed at the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt, which was a better hotel for Vandy visitors or business folks, not in-town tourists.) I'm not a big country music fan, so I didn't go bonkers over the downtown scene too much. We got panhandled a ton and I found the gift shops to be kind of hokey. We had dinner a a brewery called Blackstone's, and called it an early night. In the morning, we ate at The Pancake Pantry, which was absolutely DELICIOUS. We got there at 8:15 and avoided the lines. We then drove over to Cheekwood and had a blast playing with our camera and seeing the sights there.

Overall, it was great to experience the southern states. We came back with more memories than we thought possible from an 11 day trip. As someone who has not left New England much, I was a happy camper (literally) in Tennessee. I could listen to that drawl all day!
Thanks again for the tips.
- Katie

Hi Katie - just wanted you to know how helpful your posts were as we are heading for Memphis in a couple weeks. Sounds like you loved the city - we've never been there, so we'll follow your enthusiasm for the food & museums, etc. I actually printed out your itinerary, cause it sure sounded good to me - exactly what we want to do. Glad you had a good time!

Jeff & Sue