A Poor Man’s Pre-Trip Report for the Deep South, 2017
Have I lost you yet? You’re still here? Fine, here’s the plan for our summer trip this year.
Day 1: Driving all day to my uncle’s place in Virginia. Crash there.
Day 2: Hiking/shooting stuff, as my uncle likes to do. Then drive to Cherokee, North Carolina.
Day 3: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, followed by Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Dang it! I wish that I had known that you were going through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park too. I have some travel brochures that I could have put in the package that I just sent you. If you have the time, drive through Cade's Cove and hike up to Clingman's Dome (be prepared you will get winded or maybe we just got winded because we are out of shape). The views are amazing!
If you go into Gatlinburg, go to the Mellow Mushroom. The food is so good. About halfway through the town and on the main strip, often there is free live music played just outside of Mellow Mushroom and Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine.
Day 4: Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia. Still undecided on doing World of Coca-Cola or CNN Studios tours.
Day 5: MLK National Historic Site in the morning. Then driving west to Arkansas, with a stop for BBQ in Memphis.
Day 6: Hot Springs National Park, followed by Crater of Diamonds State Park and a quick hop across the border to cross off Oklahoma. Sorry, Oklahoma. Spending the night in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Ahhh, Hot Springs National Park...holds a special place in my heart because I've gone there year after year since I was a wee little girl. Check out those articles that I linked on Facebook. There's some great stuff to see and some of it's free! The Bathhouse Tour is free of charge and educational. The kids can get their Jr. Ranger stamp too. Definitely skip the wax museum and their pitiful excuse for an aquarium. You'll be demanding your money back at the aquarium. The local pet store has a better set up.
I'm not sure if it is still there, but The Arlington Hotel (smack in the middle of the main strip) used to have one of Al Capone's cars in their lobby. There was talk that it would be removed but we didn't check last time we were in town.
If you have any ailments, buy a couple of plastic jugs and fill them with the water from one of the local jug fountains. The jugs are for sale at many of the stores along the main street/strip/bathhouse row. Everybody swears that the water has healing powers and after a long road trip, you may have some aches and pains. If there is a parking space near one of the public fountains, take advantage of it! The water is HOT HOT HOT! We parked about a block away and we had to stop several times to let our hands cool off.
I believe that one of the brochures that I included in your package has a guide to the walking/hiking paths that are in town. One will take you up the mountain to a view of the area. There are two roads that will take you up the mountain. There is one past The Arlington to the right and the other is to the left and then you follow the signs. Both are pretty drives and provide nice views. There are a few picnic areas that you can take advantage of too.
If while in Hot Springs, you are looking for a hole in the wall place to eat but serves up some good food, try McClard's. It's been open for decades. Or go over to The Purple Cow. It's great too and reminds me of Beaches & Cream at Disney's Beach Club.
Other freebies are the Park Ranger programs/events held at Lake Ouachita State Park which is not too far from town. On some evenings, they have special presentations such as films on how Blakely Mountain Dam was built (very close by too) and a favorite is when they bring out some of the local animals for a show and tell.
Don't be surprised if, when driving out to Crater of Diamonds, you think that you're never ever going to find the park. It's way out in the middle of nowhere. Not sure if you will have room in the van but if you do, pack your own digging tools like the little trowels and spades that you work in the flower beds with. They rent them there but it's cheaper if you can bring your own. Bring plenty of sunscreen! Lots of it! There's hardly any shade in those fields. There are usually park rangers scattered about the fields helping diamond miners clean up and identify what they've found. If you don't see one in the field, take them inside and there are rangers who will be glad to help you.
And beware, there is a splash play area in the Crater of Diamonds campground and, if I am remembering correctly, you drive right past it when going into the park. Just thought I'd let you know in case your kiddos neeeeeeeded to check it out. I believe that it is only accessible to those staying at the park.
Shreveport is just 100 miles from us! Once you figure out what time you'll be passing through our town, let me know. We may have a chance to say hello. Shreveport and Bossier are pretty much one in the same. One of the popular spots for the locals is Strawn's Eat Shop. My niece goes there at least once a week. Ralph and Kacoo's is also another local favorite but a bit more on the expensive side. If you have time to explore Shreveport (also known as the Hollywood of the South), the Sci-Port Science Museum is pretty cool and not too terribly expensive.
If you travel through West Monroe/Monroe, the Biedenharn Museum has some neat Coca-Cola memorabilia and is pretty wallet friendly. And if you do stop in West Monroe and it's close to lunch time, go to West Monroe Coney Island. It's a true dive but has THE best coneys and chili cheese burgers around these parts. There are all sorts of hot dog related items plastered on the wall, on the shelves near the ceiling and every other nook and cranny. But make sure that you go before 3:00 p.m. because they shut it down after the lunch crowd dies down. (or in the Winter time...when it starts getting dark)
Day 7: Vicksburg battlefield (Mississippi), then New Orleans (hopefully visit N.O. Jazz National Historic Site).
The Mississippi Visitor's Center serves free Coke samples during their operating hours. And it's a nice place to stop and take pictures with the cannons and the mighty Miss-iss-ipp. Did I mention that they have nice clean bathrooms? Yeah, that's my go-to pit stop when we travel that way. You can ask any member of my family and they'll tell you that I know every bathroom/pit stop from here to the other side of the United States.
In addition to the battlefield, there's also the Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum. (By the way, I'm ticked at Coca Cola right now too. They shut down the Coke Rewards program and I can't get into the new way of collecting those points.)
Day 8: Thought about more New Orleans here (WWII Museum), but instead we’re managing long drives over the next two days. Stopping near Pensacola, Florida for Gulf Islands National Seashore, finishing the night in Tallahassee, Florida.
If at all possible, try to get on the East side of Tallahassee, the traffic is a pain in the you know what! If you can at least get past several of the State Capital exits, it will be better.
Day 9: Driving all day to W. Palm Beach, Florida.
Day 10: Everglades National Park and Biscayne Bay National Park, returning to W. Palm Beach.
Day 11: Kennedy Space Center, followed by [REDACTED – TOP SECRET]
Day 12: [REDACTED – TOP SECRET]
Day 13: Driving all day to Fort Mill, SC. Possible DIS meet(s) happening.
Day 14: Heading home.
Day 15: Crash.
So there you have it! I think this may actually set a new road trip record for mileage for us. Unfortunately, that mileage will be piled onto our own van this time.
But, hey—that’s what we have it for.
Let me know what you think! Are we nuts? Any suggestions? Things we should do differently? Places to eat? Things we shouldn’t miss?
Coming Up Next: I’ll do a quick TR of our Texas vacation over spring break, if I ever get the photos uploaded.