Itinerary #10: Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama

Wow, I can’t believe we are already up to trip #10. This trip entailed exploring the deep South with all its charms and eccentricities. I did not expect how lush and beautiful Tennessee would be (and I can see why it has inspired so many country songs). Simply gorgeous! In fact, all of these states were uniquely beautiful and offered important lessons to be learned. Civil rights played a very important theme, from Martin Luther King’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, to Little Rock High School and the nine brave kids who needed the help of the National Guard to break the color barrier. Mississippi and Alabama were also on the front lines of the civil rights movement sparked when Rosa Parks boarded that fateful bus in Montgomery. These and many other sites on this trip provided a wealth of teachable moments. Another theme played out on our journey as well—the evolution of American music. Country, Rock and Roll, and Gospel all have roots in these states, and it was easy to trace their history as we ambled along the road. The music, the food, the people, and the accents were all remarkable and so different than what my family is used to. There was a richness to everything we saw that spoke to the heart. If you take this trip, it is not one your family will soon forget.

On this trip, we were accompanied by some new friends, Yvonne and her two kids, Jacob and Abigail. I met Yvonne, another single mom, when I hired her as a party planner for my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. She did a great job, and we soon became fast friends. Upon hearing of our adventures she mused that she would love to do a trip like those I’d done, at which point I suggested she and her kids come along. I know the three of them truly enjoyed the experience and they were wonderful travel partners. Always on time and eager to explore, the trip was infinitely more enjoyable and entertaining due to their company. So, let’s go! And as they say in New Orleans ... “Laissez les bons temps rouler” ... Let the good times roll.

States Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama

Day 1

• Fly to Nashville • Overnight in Nashville

Day 2

• Tennessee State Capitol Building • The Hermitage • Country Music Hall of Fame • Grand Ol' Opry and Opryland Hotel • The Parthenon • Wild Horse Saloon • Overnight in Nashville

Day 3

• Drive to Memphis • The Cotton Museum • Graceland • Stax Museum of Soul Music • Golf and Games • Overnight in Memphis

Day 4

• National Civil Rights Museum • Gibson Guitar Factory • Beale Street • Drive to Little Rock Arkansas • Arkansas State Capitol building • Clinton Presidential Library

Day 5

• Little Rock High School and Visitor Center • Crater of Diamonds State Park • Drive to Shreveport, Louisiana

Day 6

• Tour Natchitoches • Louisiana State Capitol Building in Baton Rouge • Cajun Pride Swamp Tour, La Place • Explore the French Quarter, New Orleans • Dinner at Bubba Gumps • Overnight in New Orleans

Day 7

• Beignet at Café Du Monde • The Cabildo • Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World • Overnight in New Orleans

Day 8

• Biloxi Shrimping boat tour • Gulf Islands Water Park • Drive to Jackson Mississippi • Overnight in Jackson

Day 9

Mississippi State Capitol Building • Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma Alabama • Alabama State Capitol Building, Montgomery • Rosa Parks Bus Stop • Rosa Parks Library and Museum • Bass Pro Shops, Prattville • Overnight in Birmingham

Day 10

• Birmingham Civil Rights Institute • Jack Daniels Distillery, Lynchberg Tennessee • Overnight in Nashville

Day 11

• Fly home