That's great. A profile page is different from this where the spam spiders collect addresses which was our concern.

There is nothing in Tallahasse or Chatanooga (sp?) IMHO to use your valuable time on.

I believe there is a wonderful aquarium in Chattanooga. Also a pretty good Civil War site that I cannot call the name of.

Keep in mind "crowded in Savannah" is not the same as saying "crowded in NYC" or "crowded in DC". It's still a pretty small town. You aren't planning to visit over St Patrick's Day so you should be fine.

<b>"Have been looking to book 3 nights in Charleston Historic District but as you say suewoo it is very expensive, particularly as we will be there Friday and Saturday."</b>

If you find that staying in the historic district is too expensive, I have a good alternative for you: The Residence Inn Charleston Downtown/Riverview http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...own-riverview/

Here is why it is a good value. They have suites and offer much more room than a traditional hotel "room", Free wi-fi, free parking, free hot breakfasts and even a free (modest) dinner + adult beverages on weekdays. They also offer a complimentary evening shuttle service to the historic district. Oh yes, senior citizen rates too.

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

With apologies to the OP for getting off-track...

<i>A profile page is different from this where the spam spiders collect addresses which was our concern.</i>

I hate to say it, but you're overly optimistic in thinking you can prevent spam in the ways you've described. Web spiders crawl the *whole site* - any public-facing pages will get crawled for information, so profile pages aren't exempt unless Random House has some way (and reason) for blocking those pages. Also, spammers are savvy enough to search on for example <b>AT</b> in addition to <b>@</b>, so any attempts we make (myself included) are fairly useless...

FWIW, my personal solution is to have multiple email addresses - my Yahoo account makes this very easy with their Address Guard - and use one for online communication such as here, another for ecommerce purchases (and all the resultant "spam" from their catalogs!), etc. Then I can easily tell the "real" people my more closely guarded address in the subsequent email communication. ;)

Thanks Orando_Vic. Like the look of Riverview. It's a bit further out than we would have liked but more like our price bracket esp with the Senior rate. Do you know if there is public transport to the Historic District in the daytime?

No replies yet to my husband's query about Lafayette - anyone out there got a view?

IMHO???

Thanks Orando_Vic. Like the look of Riverview. It's a bit further out than we would have liked but more like our price bracket esp with the Senior rate. Do you know if there is public transport to the Historic District in the daytime?

No replies yet to my husband's query about Lafayette - anyone out there got a view?

IMHO???

Public transportation in Charleston in unreliable. You might see if Riverview has a shuttle, or take a taxi if you decide to stay outside the HD.

We stayed at the ________across from the Visitor's Center. There is a trolley that runs from there to the HD. Sue, does it "run around" the HD, and would that be any help?

<b>"Thanks Orando_Vic. Like the look of Riverview. It's a bit further out than we would have liked but more like our price bracket esp with the Senior rate. Do you know if there is public transport to the Historic District in the daytime?"</b>

There is no daytime transport, only evening. However, this is nice if you want to return to your hotel before going out to dinner in the historic district. I think their shuttle runs once an hour, 6 pm - 11 pm. They are located 2 miles from the historic district. I will be honest with you. Their location can be tricky to find the first time, but the many positives of this place outweigh their odd location. We were there in November and would return without hesitation.


_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Yay, i love the southeast, i live here and have several favorite places along your route, some touristy but it's because they are interesting places:
Atlanta: Stone Mt, world of coke, buford highway international restuarants; cyclorama
savannah - hunting island, has wild looking beach with large pre-historic looking vegetation
Tallahassee - st mark's wildlife refuge (has lots of birds and alligators and marshland with 7 mile road to gulf)
Alabama Gulf Coast - to see white sandy beaches (and lots of condos but there is a state park beach that is natural)
Fort Morgan AL - has fort but the best thing to do is watch the bird banding apr 2-14 (http://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/CalendarOfEvents.html), then ride the ferry to dauphin island
Dauphin Island, AL - has everything you are looking for, a fort and plenty of birds and trails plus a small aquarium and pretty beach on far west side; it's a quirky little place that the condo developers didn't ruin
New Orleans - french qtr and swamp tour
Chattanooga - Rock City; lots of civil war sites; downtown pleasant for tourists
Smoky mts - Cades Cove; chimney tops hike; some roads around there are very windy (ie, one called the dragon's tail), ask a local for best route from point A to B
Asheville - this is a cool/hip town with artsy stuff; it may be out of your way but if you go take the Lazoom comedy tour; you can see elk at cataloochee cove in smoky mts near asheville;
email me if you need more detail: [email protected]

Many years ago we stayed overnight at one of the plantations outside of New Orleans. It was really fun, staying in the mansion overnight.

I think it was Nottoway Plantation.

Hi TG2/..how's my favorite traveling family?!

Carla...as a newbie (Feb)you have made a great initial contribution. That's the way it's done! Thank you and welcome to Fodors...you'll fit like a glove! Your comment on Asheville is right on...cool and hip.


stu tower

Savannah and Charleston are definitely worth the effort to visit. Beautiful small cities with lots of charm. Especially for Charleston, try to take a walking tour as its a great way to see a lot of the city.

Hi Stu. We are in the midst of the college application process, so our next trip is to California to visit a college or two. The kids grow up so fast! Hope all is well with you and your lovely wife. Love, TG2

Still working on the trip and finding your answers very helpful. Still no answers relating to the question of including Lafayette, LA. I would quite like to see Cajun country and the Bayous? as I suspect it will be very different from anything we have seen before. Where best to stop between NO and Natchez in order to do this. Lafayette?

Also, any advice on where to stay in Nashville or would it be best to stay nearby considering we also want to visit the Civil War sites at Franklin.

I've been to Lafayette. it's OK. I liked Breaux Bridge better. I also had a great stay in Thibodaux at Naquins' Bed and Breakfast. Real Cajun people who make you real Cajun breakfast!
http://www.naquinsbb.com/

If you go tell Joyce and Frank I said hey.

Thank you suewoo. I have sent Joyce and Frank an email with further enquiries. Do you think it would be possible to use their place as a base for New Orleans as well? It would be good to stay in the one place, say for 4/5 nights, instead of splitting it into 2 stays of 2/3 nights.