Driving in the South Part 1: A Tour From Atlanta to the Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville and Memphis which can be found here.

Memphis to New Orleans via Vicksburg : From Tennessee to Mississippi to Louisiana

Driving directly from Memphis to New Orleans is a 650 km ride on the I-55. It takes about 6 hours. The route is far east off the Mississippi River, the only town you cross is Mississippi’s capital Jackson. A long ride for a single day but possible, anyways it makes an entire day of your holiday only sitting in the car and driving, nothing else.
A bit further west, you can drive in close distance to the Mississippi River and see the Mississippi Delta occasionally.

Vicksburg is an option to stop (see Article on Vicksburg). The first part of the route from Memphis to Vicksburg has several options to stop, all of them smaller towns: Greenwood (Mississippi Delta) and Indianola (B.B. King Museum) can both be reached on highway 49 and 278 (Northern and Southern Route) and highway 82. Greenwood is one hour from Memphis (75 km), Indianola is on the way to Greenwood (about 1/3 of the distance). Driving from north to south on the highway route takes 45 minutes more than the interstate route (anyways it’s even a few km less). Taking the detour to Indianola and Greenwood will cost you two more hours. You cannot avoid taking the same route back and forth and need to calculate an extra 2 hours for this.

For this part of the route, we decided to take the interstate to have more time in Vicksburg. Also considering the next day, we did not feel like driving an extra 2 hours.
The following day, the route leads from Vicksburg to New Orleans. A direct route is available on interstate 55 (330 km, 3 ¼ hours). Anyways, this second part of the route offers so many options; you would miss a lot on the interstate.

South of Vicksburg, a town called Natchez is worth a stop (1 ½ hours, 120 km). Natchez is a former trade hub and enclave for millionaires with many beautiful, well-preserved antebellum mansions. (more information about Natchez here).

Once you have decided to go Natchez, it’s best to stay on the highway for another 120 km. The interstate is far east of Natchez, driving to the interstate would mean driving unnecessarily east although you are indeed heading south.

Once you’ve reached Natchez, you can go back to the interstate. You go east to I-55 and stay on it until you reach New Orleans. Choosing this option means, it takes 4 ½ hours (400 km) to drive from Vicksburg to New Orleans. If you decide to stay on the scenic route, take highway 61 after Natchez till Louisiana’s capital Baton Rouge. This is a good place to stop for a coffee or food.

Baton Rouge is one hour from New Orleans (I-10). On this route, the next stop is Vacherie with its big plantations (see Plantations in the South). Vacherie is easy to reach (exit 187, highway 6, just follow the signs that say Oak Alley Plantation, ca. 15 minutes). I would highly recommend this stop. It’s close to the main route and you should have seen at least one of the big Vacherie plantations.

This is how we did it. We managed to fit everything in a day; it is doable but a tight schedule. We had enough time for the final stop, the Oak Alley Plantation and also for the first stop Natchez. Anyways, you need to leave early on this day. Driving along highway 61 takes a while. Even though it is very little traffic, it’s slow-moving. Anyways, I would do it exactly like this again. I would not want to miss Natchez or Vacherie.

There is another option for this route:
In Natchez, you can go further west (west of the Mississippi river) (highway 15, 105 and interstate 49). This is a way to reach Lafayette and Avery Island 50 km south of Lafayette. Avery Island is the home of Tabasco (the spicy sauce). Moreover, there are tropical gardens in Lafayette. It is the cultural capital of the Acadian Scene (Cajun and Creole). To see this, you need to take another detour. Anyways, this detour will make your route too long for a single day. It makes an 8-hour-route of 700 km (from Vicksburg to New Orleans with stops in Natchez, Lafayette, Avery Island, Baton Rouge and Vacherie). A mere driving time of 8 hours means, we would not have had enough time to see the attractions on the route properly. One option is to shorten the route (leave out Natchez or Lafayette) or stay a night somewhere on the route (maybe Lafayette).

We chose to leave out Lafayette, because it would have taken the longest detour. Vacherie can be reached easily and we did not want to leave out Natchez.

East of Lafayette (close to West Texas), there are a few nature protection areas. If you have the time and decide to stay another night, you can think about visiting these as well.

From New Orleans to Pensacola: Going from Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama and Florida

After a couple of days in New Orleans, we are now heading to Florida. This article only deals with the route to the Florida border. Just to get a rough impression of what we are talking about: the entire route is as long as 800 kilometers, starting in New Orleans, driving east along the coast till Jacksonville.

I only describe the first 300 kilometers of this route. The rest can be found in the Article on North Florida.

On interstate 10, it takes 3 hours (320 km) to go from New Orleans to Pensacola. The interstate stays close (almost parallel) to the coast all the time (5 to 10 km inbound). Because the interstate is so close to the coast, you can always alternate between interstate and highway 90, which is the coast highway. Pass Christian and Gulfport are spots to enter and exit the interstate. It is also possible to stay on the coast highway (highway 90) the entire time. For this, you need to plan an extra hour (compared to the interstate route). The latest point to go back to the interstate is Mobile in Alabama; you need to go north to Mobile anyways. There is only one bridge leading over the bay. Because you already are on the interstate, you can stay there.

On this route, there are several environmental protected areas: Gulf Island National Seashore and Mississippi Gulf Park in Alabama and Perdido Key in Florida (information about Perdido Key here). Try to stop in at least one of these parks. The ones that can be reached easily are Gulf Island and Perdido Key. You can also think about spending the night in Perdido Key instead of going to Pensacola for that. The former fishing village Mobile is also an option to spend the night.

We drove along the coast highway from Pass Christian until Biloxi, in Biloxi we took the interstate till Pensacola and did Perdido Key the following morning. On this route, there are many beaches, restaurants and coffee shops for lunch, a coffee or dinner are everywhere. Also, you pass by many veterans’ homes. It was a beautiful, cozy day along the coast.

More Information on this tour can be found in part 1 and part 3:

Driving in the South Part 1: A Tour From Atlanta to the Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville and Memphis

Driving in the South Part 3: From Florida’s Capital Tallahassee on the Georgia Coast to the Carolinas and Charleston

A Tour in the Panhandle/Northern Florida can be found here.

Der Beitrag Driving in the South Part 2: A Tour From Memphis to Vicksburg, New Orleans and Pensacola erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Avoiding Driving the Same Route Twice – The Southern States as an Expansive Area: Highway or Interstate

We were having difficulties to find proper information about the South of the US right before we went there. The area seems to be of little interest to German travel agencies, they are focused on California and Florida. The southern part of Florida is rather small, issues like that don’t exist to the same extend. In particular in the southern states of the East, choosing the right route is important. This determines how fast or slow you move forward and as a consequence what you get to see. Taking short field trips to certain sights usually does not make much sense and will only cost you money and energy. The rule is: avoid driving the same route twice whenever possible.

Atlanta, The Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville and Memphis: From Georgia to North Carolina and Tennessee

Atlanta is the perfect starting point for a tour. Anyone coming from far away will most likely arrive at Atlanta Airport, the largest airport in the United States with many connections to any destination worldwide. (see Flying via Atlanta)

Georgia’s capital is located conveniently in the center of the South. A tour from here may start in any direction. South of Atlanta at the Atlantic Coast, Florida’s capital Jacksonville can be reached easily. In the North (heading to South Carolina) Savannah and Charleston are within reach. On the direct road, the interstate, all these cities are within a five hour distance to Atlanta. We drove from Charleston to Atlanta (I-20, I-95), it took exactly 5 hours. Depending on where you want to go next, you can choose between these options. On the way to Charleston, there is the little town of Augusta for a stop, on the way to Savannah it’s Macon. Charleston is the right choice if you want to move further north (North Carolina), Jacksonville if you want to move further south to Florida.
We chose a different route. Our second stop after Atlanta was Nashville; on the way to Nashville we stopped to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (see Great Smoky Mountains)

Our route lead us to the eastern entrance of the park, the village right next to the entrance in called Cherokee, hotels are available here. It’s a 260 km drive (3 hours) (I 85, Hgw 23, Hgw 441). There is one interesting stop on this route: the North Georgia Premium Outlets, and outlet mall 75 km north of Atlanta. Anyways, the outlet center is a bit further northwest and not reachable directly from the Interstate. Instead of the interstate 85, you better take highway 19. This little detour requires an extra 20 minutes even though it’s only an additional 15 km. If you are interested in outlet shopping, you should definitely do that. You don’t need to go a long way round it’s just a minor detour. Outlet centers are usually located outside larger cities; in this case it’s conveniently located on the way.

Asheville is located west of the Great Smoky Mountains. The largest privately owned southern plantation can be visited here. If you have some time left, go there. We didn’t and I regret it. I cannot say more about it, anything else can be found in the article on the Great Smoky Mountains.

Next stop after the Great Smoky Mountains is Nashville. There are two very different tour options here: the northern route is the shortest way (via I 40, 410 km, 4 ½ hours) and the southern route via Chattanooga (Hgw 74, I-24, 450 km, 5 hours). If you want to see the little town Chattanooga, the southern route is the right one. Whiskey fans will find the southern route more interesting. Lynchburg, Tennessee is the home of Jack Daniels and its distillery can be visited. The closest interstate to Lynchburg is I-50, anyways it’s a 50 km drive from the interstate. For the southern road, you need an entire day in order to have time for Chattanooga and the Jack Daniels distillery. We left the Great Smoky Mountains on midday and decided to take the direct route without stop. On the northern route, right before Nashville, there is a little town called Lebanon and a smaller outlet mall. If you have some time left in the evening, you can go here. That’s what we did. Traffic wasn’t heavy and we had some time to kill. So we stopped here for a short break. The Lebanon outlet itself is rather small; I would not drive here only for the outlet.

Die fastest route from Nashville to Memphis is I-40 which connects both cities (3 hours, 340 km). At the western side of Nashville, there is the Belle Meade Plantation (reachable via highway 70s). Going to Belle Meade first and to the interstate after that will only take you a few minutes longer. A stop in Belle Meade is always something interesting, it’s only a minor detour and you lose about 10 minutes. For the rest of the route, I recommend the interstate. I don’t have any more suggestions for stops on the route. We only did Belle Meade Plantation and Memphis.

More Information on this Tour can be Found in Part 2 and Part 3:

Driving in the South Part 2: A Tour From Memphis to Vicksburg, New Orleans and Pensacola

Driving in the South Part 3: From Florida’s Capital Tallahassee on the Georgia Coast to the Carolinas and Charleston

A Tour in the Panhandle/Northern Florida can be found here.

Der Beitrag Driving in the South Part 1: A Tour From Atlanta to the Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville and Memphis erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Beale Street

We stayed in the Comfort Inn Hotel which is a 15 minute walk from Beale Street. Beale Street is the city’s musical center. We were lucky and happened to be in Memphis on a Friday and could enjoy a Friday night live music in one of the bars. All the bars have promoters in front who try to make visitors come in. They were quite charming and have a nice way to do that. We were convinced and went into one of these bars. They ask “food or drinks” and because we said “drinks” we went to the bar. With food, we would have gotten a table. Soon, the band started playing, Blues of course. None of us really is a blues fan but all of us liked it. Nashville is America’s music capital but Memphis is number two on the list. The band was really good, a very good experience.

A little story at side: part of our group ordered alcohol, I only ordered coke. The bartender asked “Are you the designated driver? We support drivers in this bar.” While he was saying this, he already nodded his head. I said yes, even though we were walking and got my coke for free.

Live music was everywhere that night. It’s not difficult to find, just walk along Beale Street.

Beale Street is blocked for traffic in the evening. Street artists perform, the road is always busy. Something is always happening.

Downtown Memphis

Memphis has some historic buildings from the high period of the South. The hotel had booklets with walking routes in which you see the most important buildings. My travel book also had several walking tours. You can also book a guided tour. Horse carriages in the city center offer tours as well.

We did an early morning walk. Our body clock was still wrong, we were awake early anyways. This is a good way to do something in the morning when most places are still closed.

It was winter in Memphis (November) but to me (German standard kind of) it was a decent, comfortable spring day where Jeans and T-Shirt are enough.
National Civil Rights Museum (Lorraine Motel), Mud Island River Park, Bass Pro Shop and Shelby Farms Park

As mentioned above, we stayed in the Comfort Inn Hotel. From our room, we had a great view of the river, the port and Mud River Park. Mud River Park is a small island in the Mississippi River. In summer, tours are available. In winter, when we were there, Mud River Park is closed. From our hotel window, we also saw a pyramid. This pyramid is Bass Pro Shop, an outdoor and sports store. There is a viewpoint from which you can see the entire Memphis skyline. Taking the elevator make a 10 dollar fee. There is also an upstairs restaurant. You get a 10 dollar voucher for the restaurant by using the elevator. We did not know that and just paid our 10 bucks. In the store you get to see everything possible and impossible: even a huge weapon area. Crazy, I have never seen anything like that. How American!

1 Bass Pro Dr, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
opened from 8 am – 10 pm

http://www.basspro.com

The National Civil Rights Museum was built the Lorraine Motel spot. Lorraine Motel was where Martin Luther King was shot. We missed the opportunity to go there which I regret a lot. If I ever come back, I definitely want to go there.

450 Mulberry St, Memphis, TN 38103, USA

http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/

The biggest park in Memphis is called Shelby Farms. The park has 1800 hectares which is five time the size of Central Park. We were running out of time and could not go there.

6903 Great View Drive North, Memphis, TN 38120, USA

http://www.shelbyfarmspark.org

Musicians are probably interested in the big Gibson Store. To all non-musicians: Gibson is a famous guitar brand. They mainly sell guitars but also other instruments. A second option is the Gibson headquarters in Nashville. The Memphis store is near Beale Street next to the Rock’n’Roll Museum.

145 Lt. George W Lee Ave, Memphis, TN 38103, USA

http://www.gibson.com

Is Memphis an Interesting Place to Visit?

I have to say I wasn’t expecting much of Memphis. Because Memphis is so far from everything else (320 km to Nashville and 400 km to Vicksburg) I wasn’t sure if I want to go there at all. For a while I preferred the idea of going directly from Nashville to New Orleans. I did not really feel like driving to Memphis and Vicksburg. I have to admit, I was wrong. I really liked both, (see Vicksburg article) even Memphis was much nicer than expected. The two nights there were exactly right. One night would not be enough because it takes a while to reach. The live music in Memphis was outstanding, the Slave Heaven Museum very interesting. If we missed something by not doing Graceland and Sun Studios, I don’t know. We decided all together to not do that. As mentioned above I regret having missed the Civil Rights Museum. Apart from that I’m glad we were there.

Der Beitrag Memphis – Only Elvis? Part 2: Beale Street, Downtown and The National Civil Rights Museum erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Memphis Without Elvis and Graceland

To be clear about that right in the beginning: we did not visit Graceland and the Sun Studios. We wanted to see a different Memphis, less Elvis-ish. Moreover, we found these sights overpriced and did not want to support that.

The Peabody Ducks

That all was a bit weird: the Peabody Ducks. The Peabody Hotel is a luxury hotel in the city center. The hotel has been there since 1925 and the Peabody Duck Tradition was introduced in the 1930s. The hotel has a very classic style (according to Wikipedia the style is called Italian Renaissance). To me that basically means: big, colorful carpets with patterns, very characteristic for old hotels, lots of gold colors, opulent ceiling lamp and fountain, very little daylight in the lobby, everything seems a bit dark. Five ducks, called Peabody Ducks live in the fountain. In fact, the really live on the hotel’s rooftop terrace but they move to the fountain every morning at 11. In order to do that the “duck master” – the guy responsible to take care of the ducks – walks with them to the elevator, arrives in the lobby and the ducks walk to the fountain. At 5 pm they go all the way back from the lobby to the rooftop terrace.

The fountain is in the middle of a big lobby. The lobby also has a bar and several tables. You are only allowed to sit on these chairs; everyone sitting on the floor was sent somewhere else. We watched everything from the first floor which is basically a square gallery from which you can see very well.

We were in the hotel almost an hour before everything started (around 4 pm). All the seats in the lobby were already taken. The ducks’ walking path to the elevator is marked; there is even a red carpet. Visitors are allowed to stand behind that red carpet. It’s not a long way, maybe 10 meters. The hotel is full of people, everywhere, in the lobby, on the gallery. You need to be there at least 30 minutes before 5, otherwise you may not be able to see very well.

After our 1-hour-wait, the duckmaster appears and orders the ducks to walk to the elevator. The ducks follow and woddle to the elevator. After two minutes, everything is over.

Of course, we did not have to be there that early but in the end it was a lot of waiting for basically nothing. It was funny, indeed. But after all, the question is why did so many people come for that and why were we even there ourselves?

If you are in the area at 11 am or 5 pm and have some time left, you can come here and see the ducks. I would not cancel other things or hurry to do that. The Peabody Hotel is a nice place, an old traditional hotel. Imagining that this duck tradition has existed for more than 90 years is funny. The ducks are regular ducks, the ones that live in every river at home, male duck green head and grey/white body and the female brown (mallard duck).
The ducks are very well aware of their big moment. We first came to the hotel at 1 – 2 pm and the ducks were totally relaxed and swimming in the fountain. At about 4.30 pm they grew a big bitter looked a bit like the fountain was a throne and did a lot of cackling.

The Hotel’s theme is very obvious: ducks. A gift shop has hundreds of varieties of ducks souvenirs (ducks on clothes, toys, dishes, ducks as stuffed animals, soap dispenser, statues, ducks, ducks, ducks, …)

What is it people say? The South has its own traditions, everything is a bit odd. The Peabody Ducks are definitely part of that.

Slave Heaven Underground Railroad Museum

In the 19th century some houses in the South offered shelter to runaway slaves. These houses gave them some time to relax and recover and offered a safe route to the next house. This network of houses and routes is called “Underground Railroad”. Don’t take that name literally; there are not underground tunnels and roads. Memphis is a Southern city relatively far north. The runaway slaves had already made a long way when they came here. That is why Memphis was an important place to stop and recover.

Refugee slaves were running in the night, in daylight they had to hide. Burkle Estate had a secret underground cabin that could not be found by inspectors.

The Burkle Estate is a medium-sized house from 1849. It was built the German emigrant Jacob Burkle. A door in the front looks like a main entrance. In fact, the main entrance is in the back, not facing the street. Almost no one takes the right door; most people just walk in the front door. The lady from the museum welcomes everyone and guides the visitors through some secondary rooms to the main entrance at the back of the building.
You can book a guided tour. Pictures and stories of individuals are used to tell the story of slavery. In a group you walk from one room to the other. They tell many short stories, for example a female slave has three kids, 10, 6 and 2. The slave is sold and the new owner only wants to buy two kids. Which two kids will the owner buy? The two older ones because they can work and pick cotton, the youngest one cannot.

These stories are painful, more than painful, cruel and strongly inhumane. But they were not new to us. Some of the US-Americans seem to never have heard that. They were obviously shocked. If my impression is right and the average person in America does not know these things, these museums have an important education job to do.

The final stop of the tour is the music room. The tour lady sang a slavery song and deciphered the song’s secret code. The song is indeed a pledge for freedom. The lady was a very good singer, very impressive. We really liked it; just like that out of the blue we heard some great singing.

The tour also shows the underground hiding place for runaways. This place made the house a safe house, part of the Underground Railroad.

The tour is good because of the stories the guides tell. Even when you have already heard a lot about slavery, you get to hear new things. At the exit, they sell some books about slavery, freeing slaves and the Civil Rights Movement. They do not have many books but the ones they have are outstanding. Many unknown writers, nothing from the bestselling lists. I bought a book about Nate Turner’s slave rebellion.

Even though, slavery is one of the darkest chapters of US history, it is an important one. You cannot go to the South without visiting at least one museum about that issue. They do a lot of educational work there and try to tell the story of slavery as good as possible. The plantations do the same. There are many exhibitions about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement as well. Do visit at least one of these museums, exhibits or tours.

The museum is a bit outside town. From Beale Street, it’s 4 km. Burkle Estate is in a housing area. At first, we were not sure if that was the right place. It looked like a standard house where people live. We parked at the street right in front of it.
Wikipedia says some historians doubt if Burkle Estate ever really hosted runaway slaves. I don’t know anything about that, I can only tell the things they said in the museum.

This article continues in Part 2:

Memphis – Beale Street, Downtown Memphis and National Civil Rights Museum

Der Beitrag Memphis – Only Elvis and Graceland? Part 1 erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Boone Hall Plantation, Mount Pleasant, Charleston, South Carolina

The Boone Hall Plantation is a little outside Charleston (18 km) and is one of the largest plantations on the list. The plantation appeared prominently on the TV show “North against South”. Of all the plantations we saw, this one had the largest crowd of visitors.
Many signs point to the plantation, from Charleston, Boone Hall is easy to find. The cashier is right in front of the Oak Alley. After buying a ticket, visitors proceed right through the Oak Alley in their cars. The street is an unpaved dirt road (a paved road would destroy the atmosphere) but the road is even, stable and dry. Driving on it works well, even larger vehicles like RVs could drive there without any problems. Traffic was heavy on the Oak Alley, the parking lot follows right after the Oak Alley.

Main attraction is the mansion with its regular tours. There are many chairs in front of the mansion, also canopies that offer shade if you need to wait and the sun is too strong. The plantation dates back till 1681; anyways the mansion is a replica from the 1930s. Originally, Boone Hall was a cotton plantation. Nowadays, farming focuses on strawberries and tomatoes.

The mansion tour mostly has stories about the original farm owners (in this case a Boone family), when the plantation was sold, what these new owners did about the plantation and how the plantation finally became accessible to public. Because of the many visitors, the tour is a bit of a run through all the rooms, tour guides figuratively push their groups to the next room. Once you leave a room, the next group walks right in. You get to see many different rooms of the plantation. Photography inside the mansion is not allowed. That is why I cannot show you any pics. Just in case you want to know how it looks inside the mansion: exactly like in “North against South”. It feels like being on the movie set.

In front of the mansion, there are several smaller red-brick buildings, where some of the slaves lived. It was an exception to build these cabins in front of the mansion; usually they were hidden behind the mansion. There is also a tour through these cabins; anyways it’s much less visited than the mansion tour. I would definitely recommend to do the slave cabin tour. The slaves’ history needs to be told and heard, it’s definitely as interesting as the mansion itself. A common problem here is that there is no written record about their history. Reconstructing their history and life story was only possible for a few single people, for example, the story of a female cook who spent her entire life at Boone Hall.

The third part of the plantation is its huge garden that can be seen on a walking tour. It has the typical face of a southern garden: many old trees, Spanish Moss everywhere and swamp areas nearby. You should definitely take that walking tour in order to feel the atmosphere of the plantation properly.

On plantations website it says they also have a bus tour through the entire land of the plantation, almost 300 hectares of land. When we were there, the busses were not. That is why we could not do that tour but we did everything else. The café was closed as well.

Oak Alley Plantation, Vacherie, Louisiana

The Oak Alley Plantation is in a little town called Vacherie, 60 km from New Orleans. (see New Orleans). The Plantation dates back to the early 19th century, its famous Oak Alley is considerably older. Its oaks are from the early 18th century and were probably the reason why the plantation itself was built at exactly that spot. In its early years, the plantation was a sugar cane farm. Two female residents have mainly influenced the plantation and its appearance. Celina, wife of the first owner Jacques Roman was actually the reason why he built the farm in the first place: he needed to make a nice home for his New-Orleans-born fiancée. Jacques died at a young age and Celina took over: she managed the plantation the following years. In the next generations, the family fell into financial problems and had to sell the plantation. The plantation started to decay. In 1925, Andrew Steward bought the house for his wife Josephine. She was the one who put the plantation back in good shape. Josephine had the house fixed and modernized and brought the farm back to its original purpose: making sugar cane. She stayed until her death and gave the farm to a foundation. Thanks to that, the farm is now open to public.

A guided tour in the mansion is very different from the one in Boone Hall. Photography is allowed, as long as no flash is used. All tour guides wear original, traditional clothing and show both floors to their visitors. We did get a lot of information what was done to fight the heat in the building. Small architectural secrets are supposed to help create a bit of ventilation in the rooms.

Big highlight of the tour is the huge balcony on the second floor: the balcony is located right at the center of the Oak Alley and offers a spectacular view. In this plantation, the Oak Alley is behind the mansion, not in front of it. Looking from that balcony to the oak alley is absolutely stunning; it’s worth visiting the plantation only for this. But even her, the tour guides are in a rush and the group has to hurry. We barely had enough time to take pics from the balcony. You can only walk along the oak alley, driving is not possible, there is no street and no other way to reach the alley, only a walking path. The alley is a ¾ mile long (1.2 km). Walking until its very end is worth it, even though very few visitors do that. This is a very nice spot to take pictures; you should definitely take time to do that. The plantation ends at the very end of that alley, a public street is right behind. You can go there to see the oak alley and take pics without having to buy an day pass for the plantation. Anyways, you only see the alley. From this spot the mansion is far in the background and barely visible.

In the opposite direction (from the mansion) there is a restaurant. Right next to it an exhibit and rebuild of the slaves’ homes tells their story. Again, it’s difficult to trace their stories back, only a few written records are available. A gardener who developed a new way to plant pecan nuts is mentioned in particular. At the end of the so called slave-alley are several overnight cottages. Cottages sounds like a simple, basic place to stay. Anyway, these cottages are the complete opposite. If you have always wanted to spend the night at a Southern plantation, this is an opportunity to do so.

A couple of smaller attractions can be found on the plantation as well: a theater that tells the story of planting sugar cane, an exhibit about how blacksmith work was done in the past and a smaller garden that Josephine, the last owner, started.

The Oak Alley Plantation appeared in several movies, the most important one is “Interview with a Vampire”. Also Beyoncé’s video “Déjà Vu” was shot here.

Vacherie has more plantations right next to Oak Alley: Laura Plantation, St. Joseph Plantation and San Francisco Plantation.

Belle Meade Plantation, Nashville, Tennessee

The Belle Meade Plantation is 10 km outside of Nashville. The farm was built by the Harding family in the early 19th century. From the beginning, the plantation operated on several levels: blacksmith work, lumber mill but also cattle breeding and making gin. Over the years, horse breeding became more and more important. Even after the civil war, the family tried to keep the farm running, but after a while this was no longer profitable. The plantation had two owner families: a Harding family and a Jackson family. There is quite some information available about the slaves of the plantation. Some of them had gone through a kind of apprenticeship and were professionals in their jobs: as blacksmith, as a jockey or in horse breeding. They were highly qualified and could even continue to work in these jobs after the Civil War. This is not supposed to euphemize slavery, it’s only a story that shows how different these plantation were and how they did business in different fields of work.

This plantation does not have an oak alley. Its mansion and the guided tour is the main attraction. A cottage, a replica of a slave home was reconstructed. There are some more, smaller buildings: a horse stable, a stable of carriages, a garden and a vinery. The tour includes a free wine tasting at the end. We had lunch at the plantation’s restaurant, the food was surprisingly good, prices were reasonable.

There was a little play at the lawn in front of the mansion: some guys, dressed as soldiers were busy working on old cannons. In the end, they indeed fired a cannonball. Our tour had already started; we were inside the mansion and only heard the detonation.

The plantation also sells several special culinary tours.

Compared to the two larger plantations Boone Hall and Oak Alley, Belle Meade is a bit smaller but in no ways boring. This plantation has an entirely different story and history than the other two.

Wormsloe Plantation, Savannah, Georgia

The Wormsloe Plantation is a 20 minutes-drive outside Savannah. The plantation is basically no longer a plantation. All the buildings are destroyed, only their ruins are left. The Wormsloe Plantation is very old, from the early 18h century. The building from these days does not exist anymore. A newer building from the 19th century is privately owned and cannot be visited.

But there is a beautiful old oak alley and several smaller walking paths in the forest and along a swamp. Basically, you take a nice walk in the area. At the entrance, there is an exhibit about the history of the plantation and its owner families.

Some ruins and traces from the early settlement of the US are still there. Over the years and centuries, several forms of agriculture were done here (fruits, vegetables, grain, etc.). It is remarkable that the Wormsloe Plantation has been owned by the same family since the 1730s. The area is a bit older and wilder than all the other plantations, mainly for two reasons. The old buildings are no longer there, only its ruins, and the plantation is in the middle of a forest and a swamp that borders the forest. The panorama her is nice and offers a nice view.

The plantation charges only 10 Dollars, less the half of what the others charge. Anyways, you need to be aware of the fact that you only see gardens, a forest, ruins and the oak alley. On the plus side: the plantation is not as crowded as the other ones.

Melrose Site, Natchez, Mississippi

Of all the plantations, this is the least known. It is in Natchez, Mississippi, at little town 120 km south of Vicksburg. You can go to Natchez on the way from Memphis to New Orleans or from Vicksburg to Baton Rouge. Natchez is anyways worth a stop. You can also do this little unknown plantation with its very few visitors.

The Melrose Plantation is smaller than the other ones on this list. You reach it by driving through a park. Originally, the plantation was built a little bit outside of Natchez, but now it is in the middle of the suburbs. Several signs lead to the plantation; it’s easy to find the park (reachable via highway 61 and Melrose Avenue). The plantation is from the mid 19th century.

The original owner family McMurran sold the farm as an entire unit: including furniture and dishes. Even during subsequent sales, the plantation’s interior remained the same. Because Natchez was not hit hard by the destruction of the Civil War, many original items survived and can still be seen today.

The plantation consists of a mansion and several smaller houses in the garden. The guided tour shows the entire house, also the second floor and the view from the balcony. The tour was not crowded at all, we were the only ones. The tour guide was called only for us. This was our first private tour, the only farm where we were not pushed from one room to the other in a larger group. Stables, carriages and all the small buildings are not part of the tour but can only be seen in a self-guided tour.

The garden is quite nice too and can be seen in a walking tour. The typical southern Spanish moss is everywhere; we also saw several air roots or trees that grow close to the water.

Important: Do Not Only Visit the Mansion

All plantations usually offer tours in the slave homes or replica of the slave houses. The history of their slaves is told as thoroughly as possible. Boone Hall had tours in the mansion every 15 minutes; about 20 – 30 people were guided through the house. Only about 10 people did the slave alley tour, even though the tour takes place much less frequently. That is such a pity! You should definitely listen to that part as well. Also do the walking tour in all the gardens and oak alleys, these are important parts of the plantation and define their image. You get to see many plants that do not exist in Germany. In Oak Alley Plantation, the oak alley is more than one km long. You should really walk until its very end, the view worth it.

Which plantation is the best, which should I visit?

All plantations are interesting and have their own history. The two larger plantations Oak Alley and Boone Hall are absolutely stunning, spectacular and a real highlight. Many people have found that out, both plantations have many visitors, in the main season they are probably too crowded. All tour guides are nice and provide loads of information. They talk about history and the plantations and their owner families. That is very interesting. But, you feel a bit pushed, sometimes it feels like they are trying to get rid of the group as soon as possible because the next one is already waiting. For example, tour guides leave their story unfinished because the next group is already close and it is time to leave the room. It is a rigid system that guides you from one room to the next one. One more negative thing: these plantations are expensive. They charge more than 20 bucks usually. But that is an individual decision if you want to pay these 20 plus dollars or not. In Vacherie we decided to not do the other two plantations because of that. I think it’s best to compromise here. You cannot see all plantation but a few are worth paying all that money.

All oak alleys are a highlight, in particular Oak Alley Plantation because you get to see the oak alley from the second floor. The oak alley in Wormsloe is beautiful as well, even though a mansion is missing. I think, if you have seen the Oak Alley Plantation (or another plantation with an oak alley) you can omit Wormsloe. Except you are very interested to see leftovers of the very early settlement, than you should do Wormsloe.
Some plantations do not show all their rooms or don’t let the tour groups go to the first floor. They have various reasons: sometimes it is because of safety issues, sometimes because the owner family still uses the plantation as a holiday home. That’s a pity, but nothing to do about that.

Photography rules are different everywhere: Boone Hall does not allow any photography inside the house, Oak Alley allows photography but without flash.

The two smaller plantations Wormsloe and Melrose place have a huge plus: very few people are there and you have more silence and less chaos and hectic there. The larger plantations are more impressive, but I would still recommend doing at least one smaller one. Plus, these small plantations cost much less.

Whoever plans to stay overnight in a plantation, you can do that in Belle Meade or Oak Alley.

It is difficult to recommend something in general. I suggest doing at least more than one plantation. An oak alley should be part of one of the plantations. The best thing is to plan accordingly to the rest of your tour. If I ever come back to New Orleans, I want to see some of the other plantations in Vacherie.

Der Beitrag Southern Beauties: Plantations in the American South and Their History erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Where It Is and How It’s Called

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is in Tennessee and North Carolina, the closest town is Knoxville, Tn. You can best reach the Great Smoky Mountains from the two cities Atlanta and Charlotte. From Atlanta, it’s a 3-hour-drive (260 km, Interstate 85, Highway 23 and 441). There are two smaller villages close to the park: Cherokee (at the park’s main entrance) and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg (west of the park). Both have many hotel options available. Highway 441 goes through the park from Cherokee to Gatlinburg.

Great Smoky Mountains is the official name, but the forest is most commonly called Smokies. The name comes from the fact that the view is in general bad: because of high humidity, large parts of the mountain are covered in smoky clouds.

Booking a Hotel in Cherokee: Harrrah’s Cherokee Casino

We stayed in Cherokee, east of the park. Cherokee is a little village, basically a transit place to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Quality Inn Hotel was, as expected, good and cheap. We were totally surprised to see a casino right on the opposite side of the road. Not a small casino, but a huge hotel called Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, a hotel with restaurants, buffets and of course gambling: a huge complex right in the middle of nowhere. According to Wikipedia, the hotel has 1108 rooms. It’s the only place in Cherokee that serves alcohol. I was expecting to find a hotel that size in Las Vegas but not in Cherokee, a little village with a bit over 2000 residents.

Clingman’s Dome

The Smokies is one of the very few national parks in the US that is free (that means you don’t have to pay admission fee). The forest is very important for environmental protection and even became UNESCO world heritage in the 1980s. For this, the very old parts of the forest (that have existed even before the European settlers came) are particularly important. Highest peak of the forest is Clingman’s Dome (2015 m). You can walk there on a paved, solid path. It’s only a few hundred meters from the parking space but it’s quite a climb and not totally easy. You don’t need to be a professional climber for that it’s only a steeply rising walking lane. There is an observation tower at the peak that can be reached on a long, winding bridge. The bridge made me a bit dizzy but I’m uncomfortable with heights anyways. You can indeed reach the tower easily by just walking there.

Chimney Top Trail and Newfound Gap

We also walked along Chimney Top Trail. We wanted to do a short hike that is doable in regular running shoes and anyways leaves the regular, paved roads. We did not walk until the very end, the Chimney Top. On this hike, you get to see a forest, nature and a little creek. Signs are everywhere, the hiking path is easy to find. The visitor center has free maps that describe exactly where all the hikes lead, how long and how difficult these hikes are. That is always very helpful. We always try to find easy hikes with no climbing. We also reasonaly long because we usually don’t have time to hike 10 or 12 miles per day.

Newfound Gap is right next to highway 441 and is good spot to stop for the view. Gap refers to a low point between the mountains that connects one mountain to the other. The ecosystem changes a lot here, even temperature and weather can change within short distance.

Cades Cove

Cades Cove is an area in the far northeast of the park (in the Tennessee part, 57 miles from Cherokee). Cades Cove was the center of early settlement: a well isolated, green valley with meadows and grass. The valley still has some leftovers from the early settlers: a Methodist church, a Baptist church, an old wooden house, a mill and a little creek. The best way to see the valley and all the remaining buildings is to drive the Cades Cove Loop Road. It’s an 11-miles-one-way-loop-road (20 km). You drive very slowly and can stop whenever you see something interesting. You can also rent a bicycle and do the loop on the bike.

Cades Cove is the main attraction of the Smokies and attracts most visitors. It’s always busy. You drive the loop in a bit of a chain. That mean you just follow the car in front of you. If you are on the loop, there is no way to turn around and go back, you can only do the entire loop. The valley is very beautiful the early settlers have indeed chosen a very nice place to stay. The visitor center is half way on the loop, next to the mill.

We made a mistake and took the loop twice. The GPS gave us some wrong information. The GPS lead us to an exit that was indeed a 20 mile unpaved road. When we saw that, we were already on the loop and had to finish it a second time. You definitely need to plan enough time for that loop, you cannot drive fast at all. You need at least 2 hours (better 3, to have time to stop).

The official park website says the GPS is wrong in the park. We did not know that and made that mistake. Some advice: get a map from the visitor center and use that map instead.

There are many more hikes, paths and camping shacks in the park.

Some Advice and General Information

We liked the park. At the beginning, you get to see a huge are of forest. It looks a bit like the Black Forest. Yet, in the US things are always bigger. Same counts for the Smokies.
We liked the combination we did: a viewpoint, hiking in the forest and seeing the valley of an early settlement. I would also recommend doing something like that. The national park has many faces. Besides Clingman’s Dome, there are many more viewpoints like Rich Mountain Road which has a great view of the Cades Cove Valley or Abraham’s Creek. Newfound Gap is easy to reach, right at highway 441. Cades Cove is not the only valley; a second valley is called Cataloochee Valley. There are two waterfalls called Deep Creek and the Damm in Fontana. There are many hiking paths here, you should pick the one you do according to time, motivation, and fitness level. It’s definitely recommendable to leave your car and do at least some walking.

In the Smokies, I asked myself quite some times: where is the forest line? There is still heavy coniferous forest in Clingman’s Dome on 2000 meters. I always thought, the forest stops somewhere at around 2000 meters? I don’t know much about that, maybe someone can answer that.

I think, without a car, it’s very difficult to do the Smokies. We drove along 441 in one day (including a tunnel right through a mountain) and did some viewpoints, hiking and Newfound Gap. The following day, we did Cades Cove and its loop and left the park on the west (heading to Nashville). Going back and forth makes little sense because of the sheer size of the park. It’s better to make a plan about how these routes fit together.

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton is from here. People here are obviously proud of here. Dolly Parton ads and gifts are everywhere, also pics and CDs. Pigeon Forge has a Dolly Parton amusement area, which we did not visit. The movie Serena (2014) with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper plays in the Great Smoky Mountains but was shot somewhere else.

Asheville: Biltmore Estate

Biltmore estate in Asheville is one hour from Cherokee. It’s America’s largest private home, a huge Renaissance-styled mansion from the late 19th century. I really wanted to go there but because of the jetlag, we were all extremely tired in the evening and did not do it. I still regret that! Now, I would definitely drive that one hour to Asheville to see the Biltmore Estate.

Der Beitrag The Great Smoky Mountains: a Forest covering an Extensive Area of More than 200,000 Hectares erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.