Help! Travel to US

[Fleetwood Mac]

Evening all,

My first trip to the US in October.

Never been so not really sure what we're doing in terms of where to fly to and from and where to go while we're there.

All we know is that we're going to New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis. Would also like to see a civil war site/event/museum. We're hiring a car. So we'll probably fly into New Orleans and make our way from there. We only have 16 days, so looking to minimise time spent driving and maxmise time having a look round the place.

A touch lazy on my part this, but wondering if anyone has any advice, i.e. where we can find civil war sites in the area of the three places mentioned, and if anyone has any gems to visit which aren't too far away. And, any views on the three places mentioned - clearly we'd like to take in a bit of the way things are done in the South and the the history of the place: slavery era, civil war, Elvis, Country and Western etc.

Any advice appreciated.

[Ally]

My guess is you are going to have to fly into Atlanta and take a connecting flight to Louisiana. But GA is pretty rich in southern history if you wanted to pick up the car there, it's not too bad a drive. Especially as you'll have to drive from N.O. to Nashville, anyway. It might be less driving to pick up the car in GA and then do a circle, rather than driving back from Tennessee to LA. Tennessee has a couple of CW battles including Shiloh and Chattanooga (off the top of my head). Shiloh was one of the big ones, so I am sure they will have a decent monument park there, though I personally have never been. I believe the battlefield is about equidistant from both Nashville and Memphis, about 2 hours of driving.

For a sense of slavery and southern history, Nashville has a lot of plantations and antebellum houses in the area and of course, near N'awlins is the famed Oak Alley.

[Fleetwood Mac]

My guess is you are going to have to fly into Atlanta and take a connecting flight to Louisiana. But GA is pretty rich in southern history if you wanted to pick up the car there, it's not too bad a drive. Especially as you'll have to drive from N.O. to Nashville, anyway. It might be less driving to pick up the car in GA and then do a circle, rather than driving back from Tennessee to LA. Tennessee has a couple of CW battles including Shiloh and Chattanooga (off the top of my head). Shiloh was one of the big ones, so I am sure they will have a decent monument park there, though I personally have never been. I believe the battlefield is about equidistant from both Nashville and Memphis, about 2 hours of driving.

For a sense of slavery and southern history, Nashville has a lot of plantations and antebellum houses in the area and of course, near N'awlins is the famed Oak Alley.

Ally,

I think we're about right on flights.

We can either fly into New Orleans and return from Nashville, or to and from New Orleans.

We 've looked at Shiloh and Vicksburg, either would be ideal for what we want to see.

Seems we can pick the car up from one airport and drop it off at another? I'd be amazed if you couldn't in the US, but you never know the way other countries do things.

Just googled Oak Alley and that's perfect for what we're looking for - thanks for the tip - we'll be going there.

[Ally]

You'll have to tell me how it is (oak alley), I've wanted to go for ages and not made it. Jealous.

Yes you can drop off at different airports (just make sure whichever firm you rent from has a station in both airports, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, etc), didn't realize you were considering flying out of Tennessee. Much easier.

[Dave O]

In Nashville, I'd recommend visiting President Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage. Since it's Nashville, if you like country and western music, just go downtown near the riverfront.

Other Civil War sites: Near Nashville, about a forty-five minute drive away, is Murfreesboro. There you can visit Stones River Battlefield, as well as Oaklands Historic House and Museum that you can tour and they'll tell you about the fighting that took place on the front lawn there. They had slaves there as well, it's been a long time since I've been and don't remember how much they tell you about it. Also in Murfreesboro, there's the old courthouse on the public square that Nathan Bedford Forrest stormed during the war, but there's no museum or tour there, just historical plaques outside.

Nearby in Smyrna is the Sam Davis Home, where a confederate who was hanged for spying was from, and they give tours of the house.

There's also Franklin, not far away, where another battle was fought. I don't know Franklin well, but I'm sure there's a museum there and like Murfreesboro, they have a pretty public square with an old courthouse (old for the United States, young to anyone from Great Britain). It's also lovely country around there.

I haven't been, but I see that in Memphis there's the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum.

If you wind up driving around or near Murfreesboro and find yourself needing to charge equipment, or you require internet access, stop by Linebaugh Public Library (near the public square). Ask for me and I'll take care of you, or if I happen to be out, anyone else working there will.

Dave

[RivkahChaya]

I don't know anything about civil war tourist attractions, but I do know that Atlanta was the Paris of the Confederacy, and is still a city important to Southerners, even if they aren't from Georgia.

Also, geographically, Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville are packed in together-- you can go from Atlanta to Nashville in about 4 hours, and then Nashville to Memphis in about 3.5 hours. However, Memphis is the closest city of the three to New Orleans, and it's about 6.5 hours away, not including a stop for a meal.

NO may have an international airport, I don't know, but I know for sure that Atlanta does, because that's where my husband flew into twice, when he came back from Iraq.

When you rent a car, sometimes there's a fee for taking it out of state. That used to be typical. It's less common when you rent by the week, but it happens, so ask. I don't know how old you are, but if you are under 25, they'll charge you a fee.

You will also have to purchase insurance from the company, since you won't have your own. They will require a credit card for the deposit. Some companies won't accept a debit card.

When I drive over several states, sometimes I rent, even though I have a car, and I usually check Expedia.com to compare prices and make a reservation. You can try that. I don't know whether you can get to the US website or not, but you can try. The reservations from airports are usually a little higher. Sales tax will not be reflected in the price, because it will be calculated when you return the car, and it varies by state. You can Google the state sales tax for the state where you plan to return it, and add that in.

No one rents cars with standard transmission, so if you've never driven a car with automatic before, just be ready for it. I learned on auto, but most of my cars have been standard, and when I drive a rental, it's weird for a while.

Every major rental agency has a no smoking policy. If you are a non-smoker, you can disregard this, but if you smoke, don't try to cheat and smoke in the car. If you trash the car in any way, including leaving a cigarette smell, so that it needs to be steam-cleaned, they'll charge it to your credit card, and have the right to do so even after you have turned the car in and left. My kid puked in a rental car once, and I steam-cleaned it myself. The machine cost $30 to rent, but it was cheaper than the $100 the rental place would have billed me.

[Barnaby]

Be sure to enjoy New Orleans. I vacation there every other year or so, probably because I have a drinking problem, but there is a certain charm to the Quarter.

If you do happen to fly into Atlanta, Charleston SC is 4 hours away and rich in Revolutionary War and Civil War history.

[Magpie]

Just be forewarned that driving in Nashville is hellish.

[Errata]

Just be forewarned that driving in Nashville is hellish.

Not at all kidding there.

For a country themed amusement park there is Dollywood in Gatlinburg, which is a cross between log cabin schlock and German Alpine schlock. Kinda hilarious. There is also a Ripley's Believe it or not museum there, as well as hiking, bears, mini golf, and fudge. Lots of Fudge.

Sun Records and Graceland are still the go to Elvis destinations, but you can also go the Grand Old Opry and the Country Music hall of fame in Nashville. Where if I recall there is a dead squirrel band under glass. We also evidently have a cowboy show.

Be warned that Shiloh is not as well marked as it could be, so wandering around for hours lost is a possibility. The Stones River Battlefield and cemetery is more manageable

There is also an old Prison in Nashville where any number of movies have been shot. Awful movies like Fortress, good movies like the Green Mile and The Last Castle. Might be worth a drive past.

And there is the wee Oktoberfest in Germantown in Nashville. It's the south, we take beer seriously. We have a few breweries and a lot of microbreweries.

And on 840 between Murfreesboro and Franklin you pass a 13 -14th century Welsh border castle. Just in case you get homesick.

[RivkahChaya]

Country pop music is an acquired taste, and it grates on some people, but the folk music it comes from is really lovely. You should try to hear some Kentucky bluegrass music, and some of what's called "mountain music," which is the folk music from Appalachia and the earliest settled areas of the South.

Unless you already know that you hate theme parks, going to Dollywood, Six Flags in Atlanta, or one of the other big parks in the US is a way to get a look at something very American. I know there's Euro-Disney, Tivoli, and Gorky Park has a few rides, but the permanent rides (as opposed to the ones that disassemble for travel with a carnival or fair midway) of American theme parks are amazing-- and fun, if you like that sort of thing. Americans do. Even a state like Indiana has two separate theme parks, and Six Flags Kentucky is an easy drive for anyone south of Indianapolis, while Kings Island, Cincinnati, Ohio, is fairly close as well. If you live in the Northern part of the state, there's a park in Illinois.

Visiting a theme park is a regular summer thing for Americans, even ones who aren't very wealthy. Most will still be open in October, even if the water rides will be closed, because Halloween is the official closing day for a lot of them. They have Halloween bashes, then close for the season.

[lynn cates]

good luck

Hello Mac. Good luck with the heat and humidity when you get here.

Oh, and don't forget to misspell words and mispronounce them. (heh-heh)

Cheers.
LC

[Robert]

Country music? Oh blimey.


"My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk."

[RivkahChaya]

It won't be humid in October. October is the perfect time to visit that part of the country.

On pronunciation, though, in my limited experience of the South, I have learned that if you order "tea," you will get iced tea. You have to specify "hot tea." If it isn't breakfast, they may look at you funny, too. It'll probably be less true in New Orleans, where there's lots of international tourism, but places you stop on the road will need it spelled out. Even in Virginia, I had trouble outside of Colonial Williamsburg. Also, what Southerners call "sweet tea," is hummingbird food over ice. If you want iced tea that has some sugar in it, either ask for hot tea and a glass of ice, and add a couple of packets of sugar yourself, or ask for the "sweet tea," and unsweetened to be served 1/2 & 1/2.

Food called "Cajun" is really, really spicy. If you don't like the hottest, most capsaicin-y options in Indian restaurants, be careful in the Cajun restaurants.

About the weather, again. It never gets very cold in the South. You probably want to check a US weather site, like weather.com, and enter the zip codes where you will be staying.

Also, the US is very, very serious about littering laws in state parks and historical sites. The fines are hefty, and you are usually expected to carry your trash out (no trash cans). Pants with cargo pockets are really good (unless it will still be shorts weather :-) ). Or have a small backpack you can wear.

[RivkahChaya]

Country music? Oh blimey.


"My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk."

Cripes, I wish the lyrics were stolen. There's a heavy metal band that put Coleridge to music, but Google "Achy-Breaky Heart." That song was a huge hit, and it wasn't a parody, or a novelty song.

"That was the night the lights went out in Georgia!"

[Errata]

Pulaski Tn. is the birthplace of the KKK. Which while it may be worth a look, I would not advise asking locals too much about it. It's not something they want associated with them. To the point that the historical plaque commemorating this is hung upside down. They had to display it, but nowhere did it say how they had to display it.

on I-65 in Nashville there is a hilarious stature commemorating Nathan Bedford Forrest, first grand dragon or whatever they call themselves. It looks like a 6 year old sculpted the Kentucky Fried Chicken guy and put him on this cross between an eel and Pokey the horse.

You will see many signs pointing you to Rock City. Some people says it's awesome, I think it's why so many people fear garden gnomes.

Mammoth cave is huge. The largest known cave system in the world. A tour is in fact pretty cool.

The quintessential Southern restaurant is a place called the Loveless Cafe in Nashville.

In Memphis, the Peabody hotel has resident ducks and a duckmaster. They have their own little red carpet and everything.

And at a rest stop in Huntsville Alabama there is a Saturn 1B rocket.