Travel Forum / Destinations / USA and Canada / October 2003

Likely to be of interest is "The New(!) South" in the Travel section
at the site at Right in the sig:
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I can recommend a place you might want to eat. It's called Vic's and it's
off the highway in Picayune, MS. It has great food and among the best
Sweetened Brewed Southern Iced Tea we've ever had!

April

Tennessee next January.

First, the weather.  Cool or cold, take a coat but you'll probably get
by with just a sweater most days; some rain, be prepared for snow in
case.  
Places for pictures in January?  Mardi Gras will be gearing up in New
Orleans and Cajun country west of there.  For photographing
quintessential American-South black culture, I'd head to the area right
around downtown in Greenwood, Miss.  (Clarksdale gets second place.)
Natchez is picturesque.  Elvis' birthday is in January and people from
all over are at Memphis then.  The monasteries in the Cullman, Ala.,
area present possibilities.  

Tennessee can be tricky in January -- chose your routes to avoid mountains
(east and middle part of the state). Prepare for extremes in weather -- it
can be 0 or 75 degrees F.

That's certainly not the best time to travel in the Deep South .Southern
weather may not be cold, but it's often 40 and raining in the northern areas
of your agenda. You won't find as many folks sitting on porches or milling
around. Look for people at church events or basketball games.

Sarah

I'm from north Alabama.  Probably the most unique area is cajun country in
Louisiana.  Go for a swamp boat ride in the Atchafalaya.  There are some
great cajun restaurants with live music in and around Breaux Bridge.  Nice
big live oaks with spanish moss.  New Orleans is of course unlike any other
city with some great old architecture.  

For some reason I keep thinking of music.  Listen to the blues in Memphis
or Mississippi, country in Nashville, or jazz in New Orleans.

Try some southern-style pulled pork barbecue anywhere.

You might try driving the Natchez Trace.  Slower and more scenic than the
interstates, no trucks or billboards.  You won't see a lot of communities,
though.

For Appalachian scenery you could hit east Tennessee and the Smokey
Mountains (including all the tourist traps in Gatlinburg).  Not sure if
January is the time to go, though.

William Faulkner's house is in Oxford, MS if you're in to literary history.
Lots of civil rights sites in any of these states.

There is an Amish community near (I believe) Lawrenceburg, TN.  I'm not
sure if they want to be photographed but you can stop and buy some molasses
or crafts.

If you're in the area of northwest Alabama, drop by my hometown of
Tuscumbia.  It has a lovely old courthouse and is currently undergoing a
revitalization.

 Clay

  You might wanna think a bit about what folks you wanna see.
It occurs to me you might want to think about visiting churches.
I would ask before photographing during services, but before and
more importantly afterwards, there are usually a variety of
"social" activities you might be interested in.  Wednesday night
is another common night for this.

  You'll probably miss alot of farming kinda stuff that time of year.
It will be college basketball season though.  

  There are a fair number of distilleries (legal ones) in Tennessee,
Dickel, Daniels, I think maybe Beam.  

   It might be a good time to visit some state capitals.  May
of them may be in legislative session about then.  The towns
often aren't the largest in their states and in fact only swell
during legislative sessions.  Makes for an interesting combination
of "small town/big city" kinda conjunction.

  Along that line are a number of military bases in those states.
The towns outside them make for an interesting interface between
the importance and size of the base, and the relative "small town"
nature of the nearby towns.  You'll have people from distinctly
different cultures living and socializing with and next to each
other.

Chris,if at all possible try to switch your dates from january to
March or even May.Springtime in the South is stupendous.
  Just a few suggestions from one who traveled these areas
extensively in the 1970's-the river road from New Orleans to Baton
Rouge is a treat.Hiway 43 from Mobile up through Selma is a trip
through kudzu vined roads and old churches.Hiway 61 is a classic road
through the Mississippi delta.Georgia's mountains are special also.
 Stay on the back roads and you can still see many remnants of the
Old South.I miss those wandering days.
 Riverman