Tashi asked:
>>>April...first 2weeks, mid 2 weeks or end 1 weeks.
I would say middle 2 weeks. Early April can occasionally get cold; the
middle 2 weeks should have azalaeas, dogwoods, etc., still in bloom
throughout your itenerary.
>>>I need to find hotels, sites etcs...I need times to travel, distances
etc..
There have been two or three threads in this group in the last few
months, including one on that exact itinerary. Do a search on Google
groups and check them out.
Wherever you fly into, you should make New Orleans your last stop
because that will be the highlight. Say you fly into New Orleans, start
driving either up I-55 (may as well cross Lake Pontchartrain first
though), or up Hwy. 61 to Natchez. Either way, take the Natchez Trace
at least part of the way to Nashville although taking it all the way
from Natchez might be a bit much (50 mph all the way). The Trace goes
through Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis; the house is open for tours.
Nashville: You mentioned the Opry. You can stay at chain motels out
there; drive into downtown for the area around Second and Broad (clubs,
restaurants, Ryman Auditorium), and the Country Music Hall of Fame if
your mother's a big fan. Take a drive up and down Belle Meade
Boulevard; continue into the park at the end and up the drive to the
overlook. Turning left at the end of Belle Meade will get you to
Cheekwood gardens which should be in bloom then. The Hermitage (Andrew
Jackson's plantation house) is north of the city. Franklin is a
picturesque town south of Nashville. Four hours, likely less, west on
I-40 is ...
Memphis. Graceland, Sun Studio, Elvis' first house (private), the
project apartment (private), Hume High School, Beale Street (not
Saturday late night); services at Rev. Al Green's church; the zoo has
pandas. You could stay at West Memphis, Ark., or Southaven, Miss.; they
have the chain motels and are close and an easy drive to those sites.
Check the price on the Holiday Inn Express downtown though (most of the
chain motels in town are either too far or you don't want to stay in
those areas). A trolley gets you around downtown. Breakfast one day at
the CK's on Union across from Methodist Hospital; the food is ok but
you're going for the good, free gospel concert you get as the waitress
sings along with the juke box. Lunch two blocks east at The Cupboard,
or at The Little Tea Shoppe on Madison downtown or at the Arcade on
South Main; dinner one night at The Rendezvous (barbecue) in the alley
across from The Peabody Hotel downtown. In April you can go to a
baseball game at the excellent stadium across the street. For Old
South, ride down Belvedere Boulevard -- a short street, but it should be
in full bloom in April.
Leave Memphis down Third Avenue/Hwy. 61 south. Tunica has casinos; more
floor space than anywhere but Las Vegas in fact. Go over on Hwy 1 for
awhile for true Mississippi Delta. (The Clarksdale music festival
mentioned is in August.) Vicksburg (4 hrs) and Natchez (1 more hr) have
already been mentioned. St Francisville, La., also has famous
plantation houses.
New Orleans. Others have already told you about New Orleans. Beignets
at Cafe du Monde is a tourist requisite. A streetcar ride down St
Charles Ave, and a visit to Preservation Hall (Dixieland jazz) will be
highlights of your trip. Magazine Street, parallel to St Charles, has
interesting antique stores; Royal Street in the French Quarter has the
expensive ones. Casamiento's on Magazine Street has good casual food;
but literally almost anywhere will be good.
>>>I was going to go in Feb. but $ will be an issue for me......
New Orleans is at its most expensive in February (Mardi Gras).
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