3 public entrances

The swamp expands to 180.000 hectares and is mostly protected. There are 3 entrances to the swamp – all three are located in Georgia: by Folkston in the East, in the South by Fargo and in the North by Waycross.

In the Stephen C. Foster State Park which is located south you can rent canoes, kayaks and motor boats, go fishing, enjoy a guided tour or go hiking. The Fargo Folkston entrances are used mainly by adventurers for canoe tours – there are several spots in the swamp to spend the night at.

Boat tour at Okefenokee Swamp Park

We visited Waycross, Georgia in November where the Okefenokee Swamp Park is located. Right at the entrance we had an encounter with a huge alligator which obviously enjoys to rest on a small island within a narrow channel left of the visitor parking lot. The visitor center provides information about the tours.

One of these tours is a boat tour with a small motor boat using the swamp’s water roads. We were lucky: due to a hurricane the previous  day, visitor load was very low, the park was basically empty. The tour guides has information about flora and fauna and tells stories about the park while we were travelling cozily in the channels of the park. Alligators are everywhere, quite likely right next to us. We saw some young alligators which were nurtured at the sides of the channels. We did not spot fully grown alligator during the tour.

The water tour stops once – at an observation tower reachable by a walk on a bridge. The tower is approximately 30 meters high and provides a stunning view over the vastness of the swamp and the high tree tops where many different bird species live. After 45 minutes the tour ends.

Train tour and animal encounters

As a second tour option is a ride on the small train with a little steam engine. The tour goes 1,5 miles through the park. The train drives very slowly – almost walking speed. It stops on a little island where an exhibition about the early settlements of the swamp is shown. It is a nice tour, although the first one is a little more spectacular. Maybe you should first do the train first tour and the boat tour after that.

Back at our starting point, the visitor center, we watched a 30 minute presentation in which animals of the swamp where shown. At least it is NOT some kind of circus thing – the animals (snakes, baby alligators e.g.) are just shown for a moment while some interesting facts about the species and life of these animals are given. Afterwards they go back into some boxes. We sa some baby alligators, very little ones that are only a few months old and slightly older ones that are still tiny. I asked where they come from an the answer was: 2 animals per year can be held in captivity for educational purposes.

Having this presentation at all and presenting these animals at all is debatable and maybe questionable. Of course it is interesting to learn about the animals of the swamp. But do you really need to see a living animal for demonstration purposes? The animals were looking fine, they did not seem to suffer (as far as I can judge). To me, this presentation is not a reason to boycott the park because they treated their animals respectfully. 2 alligators per year are arguable – there are also living alligators in zoos for example. The animals were not severely bothered during the presentation, so I can accept this (in other parks I have a different opinion).

During the train tour we could see some Christmas decoration. The typical Santa Claus Figures, reindeer, sleighs etc. where positioned near the tour. In the South it’s obviously only Christmas when some fancy decoration is arranged – just like the snow fits to Christmas in Germany. I personally don’t need to see that but it didn’t really bother me.

See also article on Atlanta

Atmosphere of the swamp

Remarkable in the swamp is the very dark prevailing mood. Despite of bright daylight everywhere else the water is almost black and you always expect some alligator beneath every water lily. The black color of the water comes from the many dead plants and derives from the fact that it is marsh land (“Blackwater River”). According to the tour guide a lot of water was evaporated during the summer – consequently, the level was too low. Because of that the water appeared even darker. The atmosphere of the Okefenokee Swamp is very unique, difficult to describe and capture in words. It is dark and mysterious – like from a louring fairy tale.

Organisation Tips

Due to the size of the swamp it is necessary to pick one entrance. It is not possible to drive to more than one entrance in a day. Within the swamp there are no roads, only waterstreets. A car doesn’t help here. By car, the only option is to travel the long distance around the swamp. In the swamp, only boat traveling is possible. Okefenokee is not really easily accessible. We traveled from Tallahassee but it takes around three hours till Waycross (150 Miles). In the South, distances are always long and that is something that has to be considered – we started to travel early that day so we reached early enough to spend enough time in the Okefenokee Swamp Park.

From Jacksonville, the swamp area is easier to reach by the North entrance in Folkston. But here it is best to rent a canoe and go paddling. That would be surely a great adventure but for us not the right thing for the first visit. I wouldn’t want to paddle and suddenly an alligator is swimming right next to me. Moreover the swamp is a huge maze consisting of water streets, moor, swamp, land and lagoons. I would have quite some problems to know where I am and I would defintely need a tour guide. But anyway, it would certainly be a great adventure to once do a canoe tour with someone who knows the area!

Der Beitrag Okefenokee Swamp at the Border of Georgia/Florida: A Blackwater River Swamp erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

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.

New Orleans City Park

The City Park is at the other end of the city. New Orleans’ City Park is double the size of Ne York’s Central Park. It has a botanical garden, a sculpture garden, a light railway and a collection of old oak trees, the oldest one being 800 years old. Moreover playing tennis or golf is possible.

The Park is north of the French Quarter. You will be driving a bit off the tourist routes to go there. Information on how to reach the park can be found here:

http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/city-park-map

We could only go there for a very short time. Even though the driving instructions sound a bit difficult, it was not difficult. Signs were everywhere and parking was easy to find. If you have a rental car anyways, come here. We went there on the last morning and after that left New Orleans heading to Florida.

http://neworleanscitypark.com/

Steamboat Mississippi Tour

The tour on the Mississippi Steam Boat starts right at Jackson Square (Steamboat Natchez Tour). Because of New Orleans’ unique atmosphere and history, these tours somehow fit into the city and match its character. Don’t expect anything very spectacular. You enter the steamboat, can walk up and down on it and drive down the river a bit. The steamboat makes a turn and goes to same way back. You get to see some of New Orleans’ houses a bit later a sugar cane factory and all the other traffic on the river.

The tour is sold in several varieties: brunch tour, jazz tour, diner tour etc. We did the regular afternoon tour (at 2.30 pm, another one is at 11.30 am). The lunch buffet was offered for an additional 10 dollars. The tickets are sold directly at the port, the booths are very visible and easy to find.

The food at the lunch buffet was ok, you do not need to leave hungry. Neither food nor variety is outstanding. It’s in general ok, not more and not less.
All other things on the boat are a matter of taste. A band is there: they play for a very short period of time (very loud but not very good, literally all street bands were better). The tour is full-narrated (like so many tours in the US): that means someone has a mike and tells all kind of information about the tour and the area. I have to say, what they were telling was not even that interesting and the speaker sounded very repetitive and bored, almost to the point of rattling everything.

The only interesting thing was the engine room where you can see the steamboat engine.

It was a nice trip after all. The world always looks different from the water. I would not call this trip a must-do in New Orleans but it was still good.

More information about the tour: http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/

There is also a second tour option: http://www.creolequeen.com/

Streamboatnatchez says they are the original. Creole Queen does not use a steamboat at all. I don’t know it that’s right but it’s what they said at Steamboatnatchez.

Further Activities in New Orleans

New Orleans has many guided tours, most of them themed voodoo or ghost. Some of them only in the evenings when it’s dark. There are also Airboat and Kayak Tours to swamp areas of New Orleans (I wrote something about Airboat in the Everglades Article). A second larger park is the Jean Lafitte Preserve. Highway 1 and 23 are the southern end of the city (not really in the city but already far outside) and end in the ocean. At the very end of highway 23, there is Pass A Loutre State Park (only reachable per boat), the highways ends shortly before the park. At the end of highway 1, there is Grand Isle and a little protected area. Both tours need at least 1 ½ hours one way. I cannot say anything about that, we did not do them.

What is a Must-Do in New Orleans?

Definitely French Quarter, bring enough time to enjoy its atmosphere. Also walk along the Mississippi River, and to Jackson Square. You should definitely listen to some live music, either on the roads in French Quarter or in one of the bars. Also visit Garden District, maybe for lunch or dinner. Last but not least at least one of the Vacherie plantations (see Plantations in the South).

Safety in New Orleans

Safety has always been an issue in New Orleans; Americans call it “a dangerous city”. That means, you always need to be a bit careful where you go. French Quarter and Garden District are safe and not dangerous at all. The easiest thing is just to stay here in the evenings after sunset. All hotels are nearby and like that you do not take an unnecessary risk.

All standard tourist routes are safe, all booked tours of course as well. Everything else, unusual areas and routes, should be checked in advance. That does not mean that you cannot go there. But US cities have ghettos which mean that sometimes one side of the street is safe and the other one is not. At some bus stops, you can only walk left, never right or something like that. These invisible borders in cities are real. Every city has some blocks that you should better avoid.

I don’t know anything like that from Germany. I would recommend asking the hotel staff or a cop for advice. In the US, people are in general very kind and helpful and always answer friendly. Things like that change quickly and I think asking for updated information is the best.

New Orleans definitely has a poverty problem. We saw many people living under car bridges. Between French Quarter and Garden State, some of the larger roads have entrances and exits on big ramps. People were living there in tents, in the middle of that traffic mess.

Parking in New Orleans

Parking in New Orleans is – there is no nice way to put it – a pain in the ass. Our hotel charged 38 dollars for one day. For three nights (= four days) that was too much for us. Our hotel was not an exception; all hotels in the French Quarter have these kinds of parking fees.

You can use one of the parking decks or parking spaces in the French Quarter. Signs about them are everywhere. The thing is: the closer you are to French Quarter, the more expensive. We found a parking deck in advance on google. We were there but that did not work at all (the parking deck was either full or closed or we did it wrong, I don’t know). Anyways, it did not work for us. The second try was better: it was a parking space charging 10 dollars per day. Still a lot but better than 38 per day. We had to walk there twice and buy a new parking tickets (I was one of these “buy it and put it on the dash” systems). Of course, that wasn’t a perfect solution. A regular parking deck ticket with a total in the end would have been easier and better. But it was ok. It was just a daily walk from the hotel to the car.

Some advice: French Quarter and its many little roads were a bit confusing to us in the first evening. It was only a 2 km walk from the car to the hotel but finding the right way wasn’t easy. Our parking space was somewhere at North Rampart Street. Definitely take a map and a GPS phone with you to avoid walking the wrong way.

If you don’t mind walking, this could be the right option for you. If you do, find a parking garage or pay the hotel’s fee.

You don’t need a car in the French Quarter. It’s better to walk here. We used to car only for trips outside the French Quarter. We left our luggage in the hotel; one person of the group was watching it until the car was there. While looking for parking, always consider New Orleans’ safety issues and don’t park too far from the French Quarter.

Resumee New Orleans

New Orleans is a unique city, a place like no other. One of my all-time-highlights, I could have stayed much longer!

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Natchez – Where It Is and How to Reach

Natchez is located between Vicksburg and New Orleans. Natchez is 120 km from Vicksburg on highway 61. Driving along that highway made me, once more, aware of the fact of how huge this country is and how vast the areas are. Highway 61 is not 100% straight but it definitely feels like driving 120 km just straight and totally remote, simply in the middle of nowhere. There is basically nothing on this route, not even traffic. Every now and then you meet another vehicle or drive through a little village.

After Natchez the route leads to Baton Rouge or New Orleans. To Baton Rouge it’s another 150 straight on highway 61. It takes 1 ¾ hours. How it feel to drive there, does not generally change. You are still on a rather empty road and just drive straight. Every now and then you see a little village or a gas station. The highway is sometimes closer and sometimes a little more distant to the Mississippi River. Occasionally, you are in the Mississippi Delta and see all the fields and huge lands, the largeness and extensiveness of Mississippi and Louisiana.

In Baton Rouge, it is possible to drive faster again. You can take interstate 10 and go directly to New Orleans.

Antebellum Era

Many antebellum buildings in Natchez are in downtown. You can park parallel to the river at Broadway Street. From there, you can easily walk or take a bicycle. Natchez has little golden markers on the ground, these markers show the best ways. There are five trails that lead through town. Two of them start at Broadway Street and go through Natchez downtown. On these two routes you will definitely see more antebellum mansions than anywhere else.

There is also car tour through the city. All these routes can be found on the website of the Natchez Visitor Center or you just follow the golden marks on the ground.
Twelve buildings in Natchez are open to public. The most famous one are: Longwood, Rosalie Mansion and Stanton Hall. Natchez advertisement says they have more than 600 antebellum houses in town. I did not count but after a walk in the magnificent Natchez downtown, I have to say: they definitely have many, many beautiful buildings.

We could not visit any of these building because we were there on a Sunday morning and everything was closed. If you want to see a building from the inside, check its opening hours before. Not all buildings are open daily.

In the suburbs of Natchez, there is Melrose Plantation. A report about that plantation can be found here.

Is Natchez Worth a Visit?

To see Natchez, you need to take a long detour. The fastest route from Vicksburg to New Orleans is on interstate 55 (330 km, 3 ¼ hours). But you will only see an interstate and nothing else.

On the highway route mentioned above, you can see Natchez and Baton Rouge. It takes one more hour to do that (400 km, 4 ½ hours). But you can stop several times on the route, also in Natchez. Once you decide to do Natchez, it does not make sense to go back to interstate 55 because 55 is further east than highway 61 and Natchez. You need to decide in advance if you want to reach New Orleans as fast as possible or take a more scenic route that offers more attractions but takes longer.

Once you choose the highway route, I definitely recommend spending some time in Natchez. It’s a very nice town, many old houses, beautiful architecture, everything in walking distance and very few people everywhere. I would always take the scenic route and stop in Natchez, even though you need to drive longer.

Information about how to combine that route can be found here.

Information about Plantations in Vacherie and the Melrose Plantation can be found here.

Information about New Orleans can be found here.

Information about Vicksburg can be found here.

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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.

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French Quarter: Bourbon Street and Jackson Square

The French Quarter buildings mostly date back to the 19th century, some are even older, a few from the 20th century. Most of them have been protected buildings for 100 years.

In the French Quarter, Bourbon Street is the central street. The street is not that busy on the day but wakes up in the evenings: it gets blocked for traffic, pedestrians take over. Bourbon Street has all kinds of bars, restaurants and nightlife. Apart from that, a bit unnecessary, many cheesy stores sell the usual tourist junk.

Bourbon Street is located in the center of the French Quarter. It’s a five-block-distance to the river and a three-block-walk opposite direction. All these little streets make the unique New Orleans character. It doesn’t really matter where exactly you walk in the French Quarter, you will definitely find a spot to take a good picture. This is how you can spend quite some time: just lingering around in the French Quarter.

Jackson Square, a one-block-square is located right next to the river. There you find the President Andrew Jackson statue, a Cathedral, the Presbytère and the Cabildo (former home of the government, now a museum). From here you can go to the river promenade. In the North you find the New Orleans Flew Market, a bit further south the river’s port for steam boat tours, after that the New Orleans Aquarium and even farther south a shopping mall.

At Jackson Square, the horse carriages wait for guest. The Aquarium is next to Canal Street (an intersecting east/west street). Canal Street (upriver) is the Southern end of the French Quarter. The shopping mall starts here, so kind of at the outskirts of the French Quarter.

French Quarter: How to Reach and How to Move There

The French Quarter is not that big. You can easily walk anywhere. Walking and strolling along its streets is quite something. The entire area has no American chain restaurants like McDonalds, Starbucks or Pizza Hut. There are many restaurants and bars but they don’t have big neon lights and signs. This is how the French Quarter’s maintains its unique atmosphere.

Driving a car there is not a nice thing to do. The roads are very narrow, on the day, trucks are everywhere. There is almost no space anywhere. Most roads are one-way-streets. Often, it is necessary to take a detour and drive the long way even though walking distance would be rather short. The last two kilometers to the hotel took a long time, easily as long as it would have taken to walk. Because of all these detours, you definitely need a GPS. Without a GPS, finding your hotel is probably difficult.

Canal Street

Canal Street is the southern end of French Quarter. If you are into theater, ballet and opera, this is the right place to go to. You find all of that on this street (in the direction of Rampart Street crossroad, western end of the French Quarter). Canal Street is a big six lane road you can and you can also see the stylish New Orleans Cable Car here.

Some five-star hotels and hotels from the well-known chains are south of Canal Street. Moreover, you find the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and a World War Two Museum here. On the east (right next to the river) is an Outlet Shopping Mall.

At Canal Street and a few steps further south, you find some cheaper restaurants: Ihop, Hard Rock Café and many other chains (CVS Pharmacy, Saks, etc.). Southern end of this quarter is the Pontchartrain Expressway.

Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery

Moving up north along the river leads to the Garden District. The Garden District was originally built because US-American wanted to separate themselves from the Creoles in the French Quarter. Nowadays, it’s mainly a living area for well-off people. The quarter has many beautiful houses, totally different from the ones in the French Quarter. The area is remarkably larger than the French Quarter; you need a ride to go there, either your own car or the bus. When you are in New Orleans, you should definitely visit this area. This is also where you find the famous Lafayette Cemetery.

Magazine Street in the Garden District has many restaurants and cafés, again no big chains. A very nice place to stop for a coffee.

According to Wikipedia, many celebrities live here: Sandra Bullock, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, John Goodman, Nicolas Cage. We did not see anything about that. A big hit for tourists was the Manning House (don’t know if Eli’s or Peyton’s). They both live in French Quarter and all Americans were super happy to stand in front of their house.

The graves at Lafayette Cemetery have many rock constructions, looking quite monumental. Some graves are very old, other a bit younger. If you are in Garden District anyways, come here to see the cemetery. Parking is easy: we found a spot at the street in front of it.

This is part 1 of New Orleans.

This article continues in part 2:

New Orleans – The Big Easy: Part 2 Mississippi Steamboat Tour, City Park, Safety Issues and the Parking Situation

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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

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Vicksburg: Where to Find It and How to Reach It

Vicksburg is located right between Memphis and New Orleans. It’s a 640 km drive from Memphis to New Orleans (via Interstate 55), according to google maps, this drive takes 5 ½ hours. Doable in a day, if you don’t stop anywhere and don’t visit anything. As soon as you leave the interstate and take the more scenic highway route, the required time double or triples.

Vicksburg and Memphis are connected by the Interstate 55 (exit in Jackson). Like this, it’s a 410 km (3 ½ hours) drive. Driving on highway 278 and 61 (via Indianola) is more beautiful, even a bit shorter (370 km) but takes 45 minutes longer.

Where the South lost the Civil War: Vicksburg National Military Park

The National Military Park is at the Northern end of Vicksburg. Several cheap hotels can be found close to the park entrance (opposite side of the street). We stayed in the Quality Inn Hotel.

There is no bus shuttle (like in the big national parks); you need to drive in your own car. It’s not recommendable to walk because the distances are quite long. Going on a bicycle would be possible. The park is not flat but rather uneven with loads of hills and elevations. It’s not a flat steamrolled city park, but has mostly been left in its natural, uneven state.

There are several numbered stops on the route. An brochure provides information about what happened at every single stop and why it happened. The brochure is available in the tourist center at the entrance. There is also an audio guide on CD, an app or a telephone number you can call at every stop. I did the old-school thing and read the brochure. To me, that was sufficient. Altogether, there are 15 stops. Reading all information about these 15 stop keeps you busy for a while.

Eye-Catchers on the tour: Illinois State Memorial, USS Cairo 5, Vicksburg National Cemetery

Illinois State Memorial

The Illinois State Memorial is a large marvel building on an overlooking spot right at the beginning of the tour. Of all the state memorials, it’s the most striking, even a bit flamboyant: statues, buildings, obelisks and art serve as a reminder of all the states that were involved in the Civil War (14 from the South, 18 from the North).

USS Cairo 5

The USS Cairo 5 sunk in the Yazoo River. It was rebuilt in Vicksburg; some original parts that were still found could be used. You can visit the war ship and walk around in it. Right next to the ship, there is a museum about the history of the ship.

Vicksburg National Cemetary – Cemetary of the Civil War

The cemetery is right next to the Cairo 5 and reminds of about 17,000 soldiers who died in the war. The cemetery looks different from cemeteries in Germany; it’s a green meadow with many gravestones on it.

Vicksburg was important to both sides from a strategic point of view. Between December 1862 and July 1863 several battles and maneuvers took place, both in the water and on land. These info boards have information about many familiar names: Grant, Pemberton, Sherman etc. Soldiers from both sides are presented as statues; boards explain what happened when and where.

Nature

Off its main street, the park is known for its vast number of protected species and its intact nature. We met several Boy Scout groups, who were walking somewhere between main road and hiking path on their way back home. For Vicksburg residents, the park seems to be a focal point to hike and take a field trip. Due to its uneven structure, the park is perfect for this.

Resume

Even though I wasn’t expecting much, I can only recommend the park to everyone. I thought I already knew a lot about the Civil War but I was mistaking. I learned a lot here and did get quite some new information about the civil war. Driving along the main route including its 15 stops was really interesting and took about 2 hours.

The park is beautiful because of its historical significance, its nature and its beautiful viewpoints over the river. If possible, you should go here. 15 Dollars per car is a definitely a reasonable price.

More Stops in Vicksburg

After visiting the park, we had an evening to kill in Vicksburg. There are several more museums in Vicksburg but we did not do any of them. We went to a smaller shopping mall and spent the evening there. We were almost the only clients there. Due to its size, the shopping mall cannot be compared to the larger shopping malls. The good thing about it was, it was almost empty and prices were low. The shopping mall is close to Clay Street (on Clay Street there are several larger hotels like Holiday Inn, Quality Inn, Comfort Suites, Courtyards, etc.). From Clay Street, the National Military Park is only 5 minutes away.

We accidentally stumbled over an Asian buffet right next to the Holiday Inn Hotel: until today, the best buffet ever! The food was outstanding and it wasn’t expensive at all. I don’t recall exactly how much, but it was something about 10 Dollars. I would highly recommend this buffet place.

If you fell like it, you can visit some more historical buildings in Vicksburg or the casino. We didn’t do both of it but left early the next morning.
I recommend spending an afternoon in Vicksburg. In the morning, you can leave in Memphis and reach in Vicksburg sometime between midday and afternoon. You only need to consider that for visiting the park, you need daylight.

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Right after Savannah, the state of Georgia ends. One of the most famous South Carolina Island’s is Hilton Head Island. Hilton Head is about an hour from Tybee Island. It’s a rather touristic place. Tourism on the island prospers. There are many resort hotels, the compulsory golf course, beaches and many activities – basically anything you can think of. Also bars, clubs, nightlife, sport events, many offers for tourists. Right before Hilton Head Island, there is a nature protection area: Pinckney National Wildlife Refuge. You can go hiking, walk on the beach, do all kinds of ocean-related activities (kayaking, dolphin watching, fishing, jet ski, sailing, etc.). There are two big shopping malls. But it’s rather one shopping mall split into two parts. There are also many old buildings, plantations etc. Apart from that, Hilton Head has a very busy art life including theater, ballet, sculpturing, and painting. All in all it is probably the most diverse and biggest of all the islands.

Insiders’ Tip at the South Carolina Coast: Hunting Island and Kiawah Island

North of Hilton Head Island are some more islands like Prichards Island, Hunting Island and Folly Island. I only want to mention Hunting Island and Kiawah Island. Hunting Island is a nature protection area, reachable from the mainland on highway 21 (via I-95) and is located right between Savannah and Charleston. It’s not a national park but a South Carolina State Park. Many locals like to visit here. The island has camping and lodges but no big hotels. Again, you get to see mainly flora and fauna. For film lovers: the Forest Gump Vietnam Scenes were shot here.

http://southcarolinaparks.com/huntingtonbeach/introduction.aspx

Kiawah Island State Park is another interesting place. If you know this blog, you know that I like to point out beaches that won awards from Dr. Beach. Usually, that means these beaches are in their natural state, calm and have very few touristic equipment and buildings around. Also no huge hotels close to the beach. All of this is the case in Kiawah Island. It’s a one-hour-drive from Charleston (south on highway 700). It’s better to reach than Hunting Island. Both islands are calm and secluded without any big hotels.

About the South Carolina Islands

I have not seen all of the South Carolina Islands. The very popular Myrtle Beach is one of the things I don’t know so far. I anyways want to tell you how I see things. My travel agency only offers hotels on Hilton Head Island. They did not have anything for all the other islands and could not say anything about these places. As mentioned above, Hilton Head Island is very successful. Anything you need – you will get it here. The beaches are beautiful; there is a big variety of hotels, restaurants and activities. Nevertheless, I cannot fully recommend Hilton Head Island. To me, everything seemed a bit too fancy, a bit too crowded a bit too touristic. Just one example: I found an ad somewhere that you can explore a swamp area on stilts, without getting your feet wet (???). How does that work? I don’t know. Having a show like this is not my kind of thing. If I want to explore nature, I get dirty. I don’t need a soft version of that.

The United States are far away from Germany. It’s not cheap to even reach there. I want to see nature that I don’t have at home, experience things that are “typical USA”. Hilton Head Island is a perfect spot for a family holiday, an entire summer holiday or something like that. But I can have that kind of holiday at many places in Europe, for much less money, short flights and all in all less effort to reach. Hilton Head is not a winter destination. To me, this island does not have anything that I cannot get easier anywhere else. I don’t need to travel to the US for something like that. I prefer the other island with their nature protection programs. I really liked these.

This article is Part 2.

Part 1 can be found here:

Little Known Islands in Georgia and South Carolina Part 1: The Golden Isles of Georgia

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