Where to stay, what to see & do for 4 weeks in the Deep South?
Sep 11th, 2012, 05:00 PM
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Where to stay, what to see & do for 4 weeks in the Deep South?
My husband, son (aged 12) and I will be visiting the USA in Sept/Oct 2013. The main reason for our visit is my passion for the Deep South. We are particularly interested in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Not knowing anyone in Australia that has visited the Deep South it would be great to get some locals knowledge of things we should do and see.
We will have about 4 weeks to drive or fly. We love driving, hiking, good food, theme parks, architecture, beautiful scenery and history. But most of all we love people, we would really like to immerse ourselves in some real Southern hospitality and get to know the real South.
So if anyone out there has any suggestions or tips to help this Aussie family with their Southern Discovery, I would greatly appreciate it.
Many thanks.
We will have about 4 weeks to drive or fly. We love driving, hiking, good food, theme parks, architecture, beautiful scenery and history. But most of all we love people, we would really like to immerse ourselves in some real Southern hospitality and get to know the real South.
So if anyone out there has any suggestions or tips to help this Aussie family with their Southern Discovery, I would greatly appreciate it.
Many thanks.
Sep 12th, 2012, 02:43 AM
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Look at this route on a map:
Memphis, TN; Oxford, MS; Clarksdale, MS; New Orleans, LA; Mobile, AL; Apalachicola, FL; Naples, FL; the Everglades; Miami, FL; (optional drive to Key West); Savannah, GA; Charleston, SC; Asheville, NC; Charlottesville, VA and Washington, DC.
Memphis, TN; Oxford, MS; Clarksdale, MS; New Orleans, LA; Mobile, AL; Apalachicola, FL; Naples, FL; the Everglades; Miami, FL; (optional drive to Key West); Savannah, GA; Charleston, SC; Asheville, NC; Charlottesville, VA and Washington, DC.
Sep 13th, 2012, 06:41 PM
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Biltmore house in Asheville, North Carolina. http://www.biltmore.com/ I have never been, but it's on my to-do list.
We're heading to Charleston, SC the end of this month. Have been to Savannah and LOVED it!
Shenandoah Valley area (Virginia) of the Appalachain (sp?) Trail will give you some good hiking.
We're heading to Charleston, SC the end of this month. Have been to Savannah and LOVED it!
Shenandoah Valley area (Virginia) of the Appalachain (sp?) Trail will give you some good hiking.
Sep 13th, 2012, 07:01 PM
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If you really want to know the South, you have to schedule some time to meander around and visit some small towns. Get off the major highways and just take some back roads, stop off for lunch and dinner at whatever little town you happen upon and talk to people there. That's just as much the real South as the larger cities that have been mentioned.
And when I'm talking about small towns, I'm not referring to under 100,000 people, I'm talking about 5000 people or less.
For sure visit some larger cities, go to some museums, learn about the history of the Civil War and civil rights, see some great scenery and architecture. But if you skip over the little towns you won't get to see the full picture.
And when I'm talking about small towns, I'm not referring to under 100,000 people, I'm talking about 5000 people or less.
For sure visit some larger cities, go to some museums, learn about the history of the Civil War and civil rights, see some great scenery and architecture. But if you skip over the little towns you won't get to see the full picture.
Sep 13th, 2012, 07:07 PM
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Hi The Appalachan trail begins in north Georgia and goes up to Maine. I haven't hiked it but it's supposed to be great. You must visit Atlanta. See MLK's home and grave. Visit the Georgia Aquarium [largest in world], world of Coca Cola. The Atlanta area has many sights. Kennesaw mountain battlefield in Kennsaw Ga. a very historic War between the states sight. Get a good guide book if you can. You can go to amazon.com for travel guides if you can't get a good southern guidebook at home. When you visit here you must try the bbq. It is very regional and different types and sauces are used. Fried Chicken and check out Atlanta and Charleston S.c. for excellent restaurants as well as Savannah Georgia. It is an old 18th century city laid out with squares and beautiful homes. It is also supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in the U.S.
Enjoy your visit to the south. We live about 30 miles west of Atlanta toward Alabama and it's beautiful coiuntry.
alan
Enjoy your visit to the south. We live about 30 miles west of Atlanta toward Alabama and it's beautiful coiuntry.
alan
Sep 14th, 2012, 01:59 AM
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I strongly agree with WhereAreWe about getting off the major interstate highways, especially if you are interested in eating local foods rather than fast foods. For example, from Naples, FL to Miami through the Everglades, US 41 is a great experience. The Interstate (Alligator Alley) is terrible.
Watch for county seats on highway maps. They are generally the right size in rural areas, have interesting local museums and are likely to have decent/interesting local food, BBQ, seafood, or meat and three. Breakfasts can be outstanding.
Watch for county seats on highway maps. They are generally the right size in rural areas, have interesting local museums and are likely to have decent/interesting local food, BBQ, seafood, or meat and three. Breakfasts can be outstanding.
Sep 14th, 2012, 02:11 AM
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You are going at a good time of year. The weather should be pleasant. (Not broiling hot and not below freezing.) It should be prime season in them mountains for turning leaves. That means lovely hikes, but it can mean that usually remote villages will be full of tourists. If you travel in the mountains on the weekends you will need reservations.
Sep 14th, 2012, 03:54 AM
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You might like to get some food books such as John T. Edge's Southern Belly or Jane and Michael Stern's "road food" books. Another would be Guy Fieri's Diners Driveins and Dives. Edge's book is all southern, and the Stern's I am sure have one for the South. This would take you to smaller towns in many cases that will have the flavor (not really meaning that as a pun) of the South.
I would get a map and put pins in the cities you'd like to see and then connect the dots.
Are you including Florida in this love of the South? It's an interesting state, of course, but often not really considered "south" except by geography, but have in young son, DisneyWorld may be on the docket.
Have you already been to Washington? Is that going to be on the "list".
There are wonderful parks. There is the Blue Ridge Parkway from which you can access very nice hiking trails.
For me, a trip to tthe south would have to have New Orleans and Charleston. It would not have to include Atlanta. It also might not even include Asheville and Biltmore, so you have your work cut out for you. At first blush, a month sounds like a long time, and it certainly is a wonderful slice of time, but it will melt away!! DO try to arrange an open jaw flight, or if not, make the arrival/departure city on the periphery of the trip, not the middle such as Atlanta.
I would get a map and put pins in the cities you'd like to see and then connect the dots.
Are you including Florida in this love of the South? It's an interesting state, of course, but often not really considered "south" except by geography, but have in young son, DisneyWorld may be on the docket.
Have you already been to Washington? Is that going to be on the "list".
There are wonderful parks. There is the Blue Ridge Parkway from which you can access very nice hiking trails.
For me, a trip to tthe south would have to have New Orleans and Charleston. It would not have to include Atlanta. It also might not even include Asheville and Biltmore, so you have your work cut out for you. At first blush, a month sounds like a long time, and it certainly is a wonderful slice of time, but it will melt away!! DO try to arrange an open jaw flight, or if not, make the arrival/departure city on the periphery of the trip, not the middle such as Atlanta.
Sep 14th, 2012, 11:10 AM
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I was curious about this title and how you developed a passion for the South.
As an American who has not been to the South, the things I would want to explore are: Civil War sites, Civil Rights sites, any antebellum (pre-Civil War) homes, and the homes of some of the great Southern writers (if available to be seen). If you haven't done much reading on the American Civil War or the Civil Rights era, you should do that before going.
I do know that William Faulkner's house in Oxford Mississippi is open for tours.
As an American who has not been to the South, the things I would want to explore are: Civil War sites, Civil Rights sites, any antebellum (pre-Civil War) homes, and the homes of some of the great Southern writers (if available to be seen). If you haven't done much reading on the American Civil War or the Civil Rights era, you should do that before going.
I do know that William Faulkner's house in Oxford Mississippi is open for tours.
Sep 14th, 2012, 11:44 AM
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Take a look at this thread. It has some excellent suggestions:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...elp-please.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...elp-please.cfm
Sep 14th, 2012, 12:37 PM
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As others have asked - what is it that interests you about those four states in particular? One thing you know if you've lived here is that there's a lot of variation among the Southern states. East Tennessee and Charleston and the Mississippi Delta are all very different animals (just to pick three examples).
For hiking, scenery and theme parks, you might hit East Tennessee - you'll get the Smokies and Dollywood. (If Dollywood isn't a priority, you could check out the North Carolina side of the Smokies as well.)
As far as food goes, it's hard not to find good food, especially in some of the larger cities. I'd plan your itinerary and then ask for specific suggestions for each of your planned stops. If there's one thing everyone in the South is good at, it's making sure you won't leave hungry! If you're a foodie, I'd check into Charleston, Atlanta and New Orleans specifically.
Coming in the fall, you'll be smack in the middle of college football season, which is an Experience in most cities with a university in the Southeastern Conference. Sometimes tickets are easy to get, sometimes hard (depends on the game and how good each team is), but if any of you are interested in sports, that might be something to look into. Anyone in the South has their own personal opinions about which would be the best team to watch
, but check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeastern_Conference and see which schools might fit into your itinerary.
For hiking, scenery and theme parks, you might hit East Tennessee - you'll get the Smokies and Dollywood. (If Dollywood isn't a priority, you could check out the North Carolina side of the Smokies as well.)
As far as food goes, it's hard not to find good food, especially in some of the larger cities. I'd plan your itinerary and then ask for specific suggestions for each of your planned stops. If there's one thing everyone in the South is good at, it's making sure you won't leave hungry! If you're a foodie, I'd check into Charleston, Atlanta and New Orleans specifically.
Coming in the fall, you'll be smack in the middle of college football season, which is an Experience in most cities with a university in the Southeastern Conference. Sometimes tickets are easy to get, sometimes hard (depends on the game and how good each team is), but if any of you are interested in sports, that might be something to look into. Anyone in the South has their own personal opinions about which would be the best team to watch
, but check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeastern_Conference and see which schools might fit into your itinerary.
Sep 15th, 2012, 10:43 PM
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Thanks everyone for your replies so far. Looks like Charleston needs to be added to our 'must see' list.
My passion for the Deep South has come from movies and books I have read over the years (eg: Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mocking Bird, etc). I spent 4 years growing up in Seattle when I was 9 to 12 years of age (in the early 80's) and my own family and I travelled to the West Coast a couple of years ago. So we have seen quite a bit of that side of the country. I guess the Deep South would be sooooo very different to anything we have every seen. We love to meet and chat to locals when we travel, so staying off the main freeways and visiting smaller towns is definitely on our must do list.
Jent103 - love the football idea. We don't really have gridiron (hope I spelt it correctly), in Australia so I would love my son to experience some College ball and see some of the marching bands.
Gretchen - We will be traveling to Florida and NY, but have allowed about 4 weeks for the Deep South with another week or so to cover Florida and NY. DisneyWorld is on the list!
Really appreciate everyone's ideas.
My passion for the Deep South has come from movies and books I have read over the years (eg: Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mocking Bird, etc). I spent 4 years growing up in Seattle when I was 9 to 12 years of age (in the early 80's) and my own family and I travelled to the West Coast a couple of years ago. So we have seen quite a bit of that side of the country. I guess the Deep South would be sooooo very different to anything we have every seen. We love to meet and chat to locals when we travel, so staying off the main freeways and visiting smaller towns is definitely on our must do list.
Jent103 - love the football idea. We don't really have gridiron (hope I spelt it correctly)
, in Australia so I would love my son to experience some College ball and see some of the marching bands. Gretchen - We will be traveling to Florida and NY, but have allowed about 4 weeks for the Deep South with another week or so to cover Florida and NY. DisneyWorld is on the list!
Really appreciate everyone's ideas.
Sep 16th, 2012, 05:33 AM
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That's good. I know your books seem to take place in those states you have chosen, and they have great histories. BUT New Orleans and Charleston are just not to be missed, and may be more of the "south" than many other places.
So I hope you'll include them, as you have indicated you plan to do for Charleston.
You'd enjoy reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil--about Savannah. Steel Magnolias.
What a really nice period of time to travel.
You may have a problem getting into SEC games, but there is college football--and high school!!-- all over the country. It doesn't have to be those big ones. High school football is played on Friday nights usually--great hometown feeling, root for your son, sit with your friends and other parents, grandparents come to see the grandson play, rosy cheeked cheerleaders who know NOTHING about the game but yell, out of tune little marching band--UNLESS you go to a large high school or college with a predominately African American population. NOW THERE is a marching band like you have NEVER seen--or enjoyed before. It would REALLY be worth searching that out.
So I hope you'll include them, as you have indicated you plan to do for Charleston.
You'd enjoy reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil--about Savannah. Steel Magnolias.
What a really nice period of time to travel.
You may have a problem getting into SEC games, but there is college football--and high school!!-- all over the country. It doesn't have to be those big ones. High school football is played on Friday nights usually--great hometown feeling, root for your son, sit with your friends and other parents, grandparents come to see the grandson play, rosy cheeked cheerleaders who know NOTHING about the game but yell, out of tune little marching band--UNLESS you go to a large high school or college with a predominately African American population. NOW THERE is a marching band like you have NEVER seen--or enjoyed before. It would REALLY be worth searching that out.
Sep 16th, 2012, 07:59 AM
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While I do agree that visiting small towns can be interesting, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that many towns have suffered greatly, so don't be surprised if some are kind of empty. I can recommend Cheraw,SC (birthplace of Dizzy Gillespie, beautiful old homes, and a restaurant called "Mary's Place" for a nice chicken salad sandwich), Hemingway, SC, for Scott's BBQ, Greenwood, SC (Parks Seeds is there), and Aiken, SC.
Sep 16th, 2012, 10:31 AM
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I guess I will second or third what everyone else is writing. I love Charleston-so much history and many great restaurants. It is a great city for walking. I grew up in the Miss. Delta so if you are interested in the Blues-Clarksdale is the place to go. Go to Morgan Freeman's restaurant there. We live in Tennessee now and we have many beautiful state parks with beautiful waterfalls and hiking trails. And Tenn. has great BBQ
Hope you have a great trip in the South.
Hope you have a great trip in the South.
Sep 16th, 2012, 11:56 AM
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suewoo makes a really good point. If your idea of the Deep South is the town in To Kill a Mockingbird, those places are fewer and fewer these days. Between the proliferation of big-box stores and the changes in farming and manufacturing, among others, the small-town South is much different than it used to be.
Franklin, TN might be a good stop for you - there's some Civil War history, and it has a walkable downtown area with some great shops and restaurants. It looks like what many people think of as a small Southern town, though really these days it's more an upper-middle-class suburb of Nashville than a slowly-paced small town.
If marching bands are of a lot of interest, I know the University of Tennessee has a good one (no offense to any others; I just don't know about them, but I grew up in Knoxville). The game day experience is a great one there as well. They haven't released the full 2013 schedule yet, but the September 7 and September 28 games should be pretty easy to get into. They're non-conference games, which means they also won't be as intense, but still fun.
Franklin, TN might be a good stop for you - there's some Civil War history, and it has a walkable downtown area with some great shops and restaurants. It looks like what many people think of as a small Southern town, though really these days it's more an upper-middle-class suburb of Nashville than a slowly-paced small town.
If marching bands are of a lot of interest, I know the University of Tennessee has a good one (no offense to any others; I just don't know about them, but I grew up in Knoxville). The game day experience is a great one there as well. They haven't released the full 2013 schedule yet, but the September 7 and September 28 games should be pretty easy to get into. They're non-conference games, which means they also won't be as intense, but still fun.
Sep 16th, 2012, 12:22 PM
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I agree with a lot that has been suggested - Charleston, Savannah etc. I would add - Memphis TN - and New Orleans. AND the Natchez trace trail Natchez Trace Parkway - National Park Service
www.nps.gov/natr/
I would also suggest you pick a couty seat to stay in one weekend - maybe one will have a festival happening - Find a church downtown around the courthouse and attend service at ll:00PM. It's not about 'religion' but a slice of life for the deep south. I promise you that everyone will shake your hand and speak to you on your way out and be sooo fascinated that you 'found' them! You might even go to Jimmy Carter's local church in Plains, GA. (google & you will find info).
www.nps.gov/natr/
I would also suggest you pick a couty seat to stay in one weekend - maybe one will have a festival happening - Find a church downtown around the courthouse and attend service at ll:00PM. It's not about 'religion' but a slice of life for the deep south. I promise you that everyone will shake your hand and speak to you on your way out and be sooo fascinated that you 'found' them! You might even go to Jimmy Carter's local church in Plains, GA. (google & you will find info).
