USA- FLORIDA AND THE SOUTH'S BEST TRIPS

KENTUCKY lL Murfreesboro battlefield into suburbs,
#Nashville ^#1 but the Carter House
UVÓ24 #] (%615-791-1861; www.carter-
#] house.org; 1140 Columbia Ave;
#I #p328 UÓV24 adult/senior/child $8/7/4;
Clarksville h9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm
Sun; c#) property is a
#\2 Franklin preserved 8-acre chunk
of the Battle of Franklin.
Kentucky Columbia The house is still riddled
Lake #] with 1000-plus bullet
Fayetteville holes.
#\ #Old Trace 3
ÓVU65 #\ The Drive » The Parkway
Paris
#Meriwether 4 Pulaski carves a path through dense
Lewis Site #\ Huntsville woodland as you swerve past
another historical district at
[Ù13 #\ #] Leiper’s Fork before coming
to the first of several Old Trace
ÓVU40 TENNESSEE Lawrenceburg turnouts.

Milan 16 Natchez Trace ParkwayDecatur #]3 Old Trace
#\
sippi River At Mile 403.7 (don’t
#]Jackson Savannah #] Florence mind the ‘backward’
#\ ALABAMA mile markers, we think a
PicLkawkeick north–south route works
best) you’ll find the first
Bolivar ##] Corinth 5 Bear Creek Mound of several sections of the
#\ #6 Tishomingo Old Trace. In the early
GF27 ÓVU78 19th century, Kaintucks

#Pharr Mounds 7 State Park LINK
YOUR
Collierville [Ù45 TRIP
#\
#8 Confederate Gravesites i Historical
VUÓ78 #\ Holly #]#9 Tupelo Mississippi
Springs
#Hp201 From Oxford to Vicksburg,
SLaarkdeis Chicasaw Village don’t abandon the past
Oxford ]# in Natchez, continue your
& Bynum Mounds Ù[82 odyssey through the deep
#10 West]# roots of Mississippi’s
complex history.
Batesville #\ ÓUV55 MISSISSIPPI Point
#\ Starkville r Memphis
[Ù6 to Nashville

#\ Clarksdale #\ Grenada #11 Jeff Busby Park Follow this trip in reverse,
Winona #\ #12 French Camp start in Nashville and make
GF18 your way to Beale St.
Ù[25
Kosciusko #\ 199

Indianola #\ UÓV20

#\ Leland Tupelo-

##] MGirsseisenville
Yazoo Baldcypress

4]Û9W City Madison 13RRSoesswesraBvmaoirrpnett BNiaetniovnilalel
#\ #\ Forest

Delta
H#ARKANSAS
National Clinton #\ ^# p205
Forest Jackson

[Ù49

Vicksburg #\ Crystal
Springs
]#

Tallulah #\ FG18 [Ù84

ÓUV20 Brookhaven

#]

#] [Ù98

Monroe Mccomb #\

LOUISIANA #14 Emerald Mound UÓV55

Km#1#]5 Natchez

e# 0 100 km
0 50 miles

16 Natchez Trace Parkway (boatmen from Ohio and travel to Washington along the parkway, all of
Pennsylvania) floated DC to defend his them in Mississippi. They
coal, livestock and spending of government varied in shapes from
agricultural goods down funds. Think of it as an Mayan-like pyramids to
the Ohio and Mississippi early-days subpoena domes to small rises and
Rivers aboard flat-bottom before a Congressional were used for worship,
boats. Often their boats committee. At Fort to bury the dead, and
were emptied in Natchez, Pickering, a remote some were seen as power
where they disembarked wilderness outpost near spots for local chiefs who
and began the long walk modern day Memphis, he sometimes lived on top of
home up the Old Trace met up with a Chicasaw them. That was arguably
to Nashville, where they agent named James the case at Bear Creek,
could access established Neely. Neely was to which was built between
roads further north. This escort the Lewis party 1100 and 1300 AD.
walking path intersected safely through Chicasaw Archaeologists who did
Choctaw and Chicasaw land. They traveled the 1965 excavation work
country, which meant it north, through the bush, here are convinced that
was hazardous. In fact, and along the Old Trace there was a temple and/
indigenous travellers were to Grinder’s Stand, and or a chief’s dwelling on
the first to beat this earth. checked into the inn the top of the rise.
You can walk a 2000ft run by the pioneering
section of that original Grinder Family. Mrs The Drive » The highway
trail at this turnout. Grinder made up a room
for Lewis and fed him, bisects Tishomingo State Park
The Drive » There’s and after he retired, at Mile 304.5.
two shots rang out.
beaucoup beauty on a 20-mile The legendary explorer TRIP HIGHLIGHT
stretch of road, as the Parkway was shot in the head
flows past Jackson Falls and and chest and died at 6 Tishomingo
the Baker Bluff overlook, which 35. Lewis’ good friend, State Park
offers views over the Duck River. Thomas Jefferson, was
convinced it was suicide. Named for the Chicasaw
4 Meriwether His family disagreed. Indian Chief Tishomingo,
Lewis Site if you’re taking it slow,
The Drive » Continue on and you may want to camp
At Mile 385.9, you’ll (%662-438-6914; www.
come to the Meriwether you will cross into Alabama at mississippistateparks.
Lewis Site, where the Mile 341.8, and Mississippi at reserveamerica.com; mile-
famed explorer and Mile 308. marker 304.5 Natchez Trace
first governor of the Parkway, Tishomingo; campsite
Louisiana territory 5 Bear $16; c#) here, among the
died of mysterious Creek Mound evocative, moss-covered
gunshot wounds at sandstone cliffs and rock
nearby Grinders Inn. Just across the formations, fern gullies
His fateful journey Alabama state line and waterfalls of Bear
began in September, and in Mississippi, at Creek canyon. Hiking
1809. His plan was to Mile 308.8, you’ll find trails abound, canoes
Bear Creek Mound, are available for rent
an ancient indigenous if you wish to paddle
ceremonial site. There Bear Creek, and spring
are seven groups of wildflowers bloom once
Indian mounds found the weather warms. It’s
a special oasis, and one

200

that was utilized by the DETOUR: 16 Natchez Trace Parkway
Chicasaw and their Paleo OXFORD
Indian antecedents.
There is proof of their Start: 9 Tupelo
civilization in the park If you plan on driving the entire Natchez Trace from
dating back to 7000BC. Nashville to Natchez, you should make the 50-mile
detour along Hwy 6 to Oxford, Mississippi, a town
The Drive » Just under 20 rich in culture and history. This is Faulkner country,
and Oxford is a thriving university town with terrific
miles of more wooded beauty restaurants and bars. Don’t miss the catfish dinner at
leads from Tishimongo State Taylor Grocery (p216), 15 minutes south of Oxford.
Park to the next in a series of
Native American mounds at
Mile 286.7

7 Pharr Mounds What led to their fate and American history
has been lost in time, displays, and detailed
The Pharr Mounds is but theories range parkway maps. You
a 2000-year-old, 90- from their having died should pick the brains of
acre complex of eight during the Confederate local rangers behind the
indigenous burial sites. retreat from Corinth, counter, who may know a
Four of them were Mississippi, following secret or two. Of course,
excavated in 1966 and the legendary Battle of music buffs will know
found to have fireplaces Shiloh. Others believe that Tupelo is world
and low platforms they were wounded in famous for its favorite
where the dead were the nearby Battle of son. Elvis Presley’s
cremated. Ceremonial Brices Cross Roads, and Birthplace (p270) is
artifacts were also buried by their brothers, a pilgrimage site for
found, along with copper here. Today they rest as those who kneel before
vessels, which raised reminders of the ultimate the king. The original
some eyebrows. Copper cost of war in any time structure has a new roof
is not indigenous to and place. and furniture, but no
Mississippi, and its matter the decor, it was
presence here indicated The Drive » Less than 10 within these humble
an extensive trade walls that Elvis was
network with other miles later you will loop into the born on January 8, 1935,
nations and peoples. comparatively large hamlet of where he learned to play
Tupelo, at Mile 266, where you the guitar and began to
The Drive » About 17 miles can gather road supplies for the dream big. His family’s
southward push. church, where Elvis first
on, at Mile 269.4, you’ll come was bit by the music bug,
across a turnout that links up to TRIP HIGHLIGHT has been transported
another section of the Old Trace and restored here, as
and offers a bit more recent 9 Tupelo well.
history.
Here, the Natchez The Drive » Just barely
8 Confederate Trace Parkway Visitors
Gravesites Center (%800-305- out of Tupelo, at Mile 261.8, is
7417; www.nps.gov/natr; Chicasaw Village. The Bynum
Just north of Tupelo, on mile-marker 286.7 Natchez Mounds are another nearly
a small rise overlooking Trace Parkway; h8am-5pm, 30 miles south. You’ll see the
the Old Trace, lies a row closed Christmas; c#) turn off just after leaving the
of 13 graves of unknown is a fantastic resource Tombigbee National Forest.
Confederate soldiers. with well-done natural

201

WHY THIS IS A a Chicasaw Village
CLASSIC TRIP. & Bynum Mounds
ADAM SKOLNICK, AUTHOR
South from Tupelo, the
When you combine natural Trace winds past the
beauty with deep history, and Chickasaw Village Site,
add to that a smooth road where displays document
(that makes for terrific cycling) how the Chickasaw lived
and hiking trails and streams, you have 444 and traveled during the
miles of enriching, vacation reverie at your fur-trade heydays of the
disposal. Versatile enough to suit existential early 19th century. It was
soloists, active retirees or even young families, it 1541 when Hernan De
takes hard work to have a bad time on the Trace. Soto entered Mississippi
under the Spanish flag.
Left: Emerald Mound
Right: Confederate gravesites

FRANKE KEATING / GETTY IMAGES © themselves up against PAT CANOVA / ALAMY ©
not only the French, but
They fought a bitter their Choctaw allies. remains were found.
battle, and though That was the state of Two of the mounds have
De Soto survived, affairs when this now been restored for public
the Chickasaw held leveled village and fort viewing.
strong. By the 1600s the compound was built in
English had engaged the 18th century. Further The Drive » Between Miles
the Chickasaw in what down the road are the
became a lucrative fur site of six 2100-year-old 211 and 205 this gold and green
trade. Meanwhile, the Bynum Mounds. Five of riverine parkway turns post-
French held sway just them were excavated just apocalyptic thanks to an April
west in the massive after WWII, and copper 2011 tornado that decimated
Louisiana territory. tools and cremated the forest, with hundreds of
As an ally to England, trees snapped like so many
the Chickasaw found toothpicks. This profound and
astonishing dead zone is a sight
to behold. Jeff Busby Park can
be found at Mile 193.1.

203

16 Natchez Trace Parkway TRIP HIGHLIGHT c French Camp in a vintage log cabin,
there are a number of
b Jeff Busby Park The site of a former historical photos on the
French pioneer porch, as well as framed
Don’t miss this hilltop settlement, here you can newspaper articles and
park with picnic tables tour a cute antebellum maps in the museum
and a fabulous overlook two-story home, built itself.
taking in low-lying, by Revolutionary War
forested hills that extend veteran Colonel James 4 p207
for miles, all the way to Drane. An end table is The Drive » As you head
the horizon. Exhibits at set for tea, aged leather
the top include facts and journals are arranged south, the forest clears for
figures about local flora on the desk and Drane’s snapshots of horses in the
and fauna, as well as a original US flag is in an prairie, before the trees
primer on indigenous upstairs bedroom along encroach again and again.
tools. Little Mountain with an antique loom.
Trail, a ½-mile loop Even more noteworthy d Tupelo-
that takes 30 minutes is the ornate stagecoach Baldcypress Swamp
to complete, descends of Greenwood LeFlore,
from the parking lot which carried the last At Mile 122, you can
into a shady hollow. chief of the Choctaw examine some of these
Another ½-mile spur trail nation east of the trees up close as you tour
branches from that loop Mississippi on his two the stunning Tupelo-
to the campground below. trips to Washington to Baldcypress Swamp. The
negotiate with President 20-minute trail snakes
The Drive » Thirteen miles Andrew Jackson, a through an abandoned
route that demanded channel and continues
down the road, at Mile 180, the the navigation of a on a boardwalk over
forest clears and an agrarian hazardous piece of the the milky green swamp
plateau emerges, jade and Old Trace known as shaded by water tupelo
perfect, as if this land has been the Devil’s Backbone. and bald cypresses. Look
cultivated for centuries. For more recent French for turtles on the rocks
camp history you can and gators in the murk.
peruse the French
Camp Museum. Set The Drive » The swamp

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: empties into the Ross R Barnett
KAYAKING Reservoir, which you’ll see to
THE OLD RIVER the east as you speed toward
and through the state capital
According to Keith Benoist, a photographer, of Jackson. The next intriguing
landscaper and co-founder of the Phatwater sight is just 10.3 miles from
Challenge marathon kayak race, the Mississippi Natchez, accessible by graded
has more navigable river miles than any other state road that leads west from the
in the union. Natchez-born Benoist trains for his Parkway.
42-mile race by paddling 10 miles of the Old River,
an abandoned section of the Mississippi fringed e Emerald Mound
with cypress and teeming with gators. If you’re lucky
enough to meet him at Under the Hill, he may just Emerald Mound is by far
take you with him. the best of the indigenous
mound sites. Using stone
tools, pre-Columbian
ancestors to the Natchez
people graded this

204

8-acre mountain into a DETOUR: 16 Natchez Trace Parkway
flat-topped pyramid. It is JACKSON
now the second-largest
mound in America. There Start: d Tupelo-Baldcypress Swamp
are shady, creekside
picnic spots here, and Twenty-two miles south of the swamp, and just a
you can and should climb bit further along the inteterstate, is Mississippi’s
to the top where you’ll capital. With its fine downtown museums, and artsy-
find a vast lawn along funky Fondren District – home to Mississippi’s
with a diagram of what best kitchen – Jackson offers a blast of Now if you
the temple may have need a pick-me-up. The city’s two best sites are the
looked like. It would Mississippi Museum of Art (p223), which promotes
have been perched on the home-grown artists and offers rotating exhibitions,
secondary and highest and the Eudora Welty House (p214). This is where the
of the mounds. A perfect literary giant, and Pulitzer Prize winner, crafted every
diversion on an easy last one of her books. And do not leave town without
spring afternoon just enjoying lunch or dinner at Walker’s Drive-In (p216).
before the sun smolders,
when birdsong rings owners didn’t pay their mansions throughout the
from the trees and co- staff). Yes, old cotton South.
mingles with the call of a money built these homes
distant train. with slave labor, but they Natchez has dirt
are graced all the same under its fingernails
The Drive » As you approach with an opulent, Gone too. When Mark Twain
With the Wind charm. came through town (and
Natchez, the mossy arms of ‘Pilgrimage season’ is in he did on numerous
southern oaks spread over the the spring and fall, when occasions), he crashed in
roadway, and the air gets just a the mansions open for a room above the local
touch warmer and more moist. tours, though some are watering hole. Under the
You can almost smell the river open year-round. The Hill Saloon (%601-446-
from here. brick-red Auburn Mansion 8023; www.underthehillsaloon.
(%601-446-6631; www com; 25 Silver St; h9am-late),
f Natchez across the street from
.natchezpilgrimage.com; Duncan the mighty Mississippi
When the woods part, River, remains the best
revealing historical Park; h11am-3pm Tue-Sat, last bar in town, with terrific
antebellum mansions, you tour 2:30pm; c) is famous (and free) live music on
have reached Natchez, for its freestanding spiral weekends.
Mississippi. In the staircase. Built in 1812,
1840s, Natchez had more the architecture here 5 4 p207
millionaires per capita influenced countless
than any city in the world
(because the plantation

205

Eating & Sleeping

Nashville 1 piece of white bread with a side of pickles, is
Nashville’s unique contribution to the culinary
16 Natchez Trace Parkway 5 City House New Southern $$$ universe. Tiny, faded Prince’s, in a gritty,
northside strip mall, is a local legend that’s
(%615-736-5838; www.cityhousenashville. gotten shout-outs everywhere from the New
York Times to Bon Appétit. In mild, medium,
com; 1222 4th Ave N; mains $15-24; h5-10pm hot and death-defying extra hot, its chicken
will burn a hole in your stomach and you’ll be
Mon, Wed-Sat, to 9pm Sun) This signless brick begging for more.

building in Nashville’s gentrifying Germantown

hides one of the city’s best restaurants.

The food, cooked in an open kitchen in the 4 Hutton Hotel Hotel $$$

warehouselike space, is a crackling bang-up (%615-340-9333; www.huttonhotel.com; 1808

of Italy-meets–New South. They do tangy kale West End Ave; r from $289; paiW) Our

salads, a tasty chickpea and octopus dish favorite Nashville boutique hotel riffs on mid-

flavored with fennel, onion, lemon and garlic, century Modern design with bamboo-paneled

and pastas feature twists like rigatoni rabbit, walls and grown-up beanbags in the lobby. Rust-

or gnocchi in cauliflower ragu. They cure their and chocolate-colored rooms are sizable and

own sausage and salamis, and take pride in their well appointed with marble rain showers, glass

cocktail and wine list. Save room for dessert. wash basins, king beds, ample desk space, fat

Sunday supper features a stripped down menu.

5 Monell’s Southern $$ flat screens, high-end carpet and linens, and top

(%615-248-4747; www.monellstn.com; 1235 6th level service.

Ave N; all-you-can-eat $13-19; h10:30am-2pm 4 Indigo Nashville Downtown Hotel $$

Mon, 10:30am-2pm & 5-8:30pm Tue-Fri, 8:30am- (%877-846-3446; www.ichotelsgroup.com;
301 Union St; r from $139; paW) Most of
3pm & 5-8:30pm Sat, 8:30am-4pm Sun) In an old downtown’s midrange hotels are corporate
behemoths catering to conventioneers. Not
brick house just north of the District, Monell’s is so the Indigo, with its mod high-ceiling lobby,
space-age violet-and-lime color schemes, and
beloved for down-home Southern food served arty floor-to-ceiling photomurals of Nashville
landmarks. Parking is $20.
family-style. This is not just a meal, it’s an

experience. Especially at breakfast when platter

after platter of sausage, bacon, bone in ham,

skillet-fried chicken, hominy, corn pudding,

baked apples and potatoes are served along 4 Union Station Hotel Hotel $$$

with baskets of biscuits and bowls of sugary (%615-726-1001; www.unionstationhotel

cinnamon rolls. nashville.com; 1001 Broadway; r from $359;

5 Prince’s Hot Chicken Fried Chicken $ paW) Set in the old grey stone, church-like

(www.facebook.com/pages/Princes-Hot- edifice that was once the Nashville train station.
Chicken/166097846802728; 123 Ewing Dr;
quarter/half/whole chicken $5/9/18, cash only; The lobby is especially glorious with an arced,
hnoon-10pm Tue-Thu, noon-4am Fri, 2pm-
4am Sat; p) Cayenne-rubbed ‘hot chicken,’ stained-glass ceiling, and roaring fireplace.
fried to succulent perfection and served on a
Rooms are elegant, modern and Marriott

approved.

206

French Camp c & Sat; c) Down by the riverside, this attractive
wooden storefront grill with exposed rafters
4 French Camp B&B B&B $ and outdoor patio is a good place for a pork
tenderloin po’boy, or a fried crawfish spinach
(%662-547-6835; www.frenchcamp.org; Mile salad.

180.7 Natchez Trace Parkway; r $85; c) Stay 4 Historic Oak Hill Inn Inn $$

the night in a log cabin built on a former French (%601-446-2500; www.historicoakhill.com; 409

pioneer site that was further developed by a S Rankin St; r incl breakfast from $125; paW)

Revolutionary War hero. Staying at classic Natchez B&B Historic Oak Hill

Inn you’ll get a taste of antebellum aristocratic

Natchez f living, from period furniture to china. A

high-strung staff makes for an immaculate

5 Cotton Alley Cafe $$ experience.

(www.cottonalleycafe.com; 208 Main St; mains 4 Mark Twain

$10-15; h11am-10pm Mon-Sat) This cute Guesthouse Guesthouse $

whitewashed dining room is choc-a-block with (%601-446-8023; www.underthehillsaloon.

knickknacks and artistic touches and the menu com; 33 Silver St; r without bath $65-85; aW)

borrows from local tastes. Think: grilled chicken Riverboat captain Samuel Clemens used to

sandwich on Texas toast and jambalaya pasta, drink till late at the saloon and pass out in one

but it does a nice chicken Ceasar and a tasty of three upstairs bedrooms (room 1 has the

grilled salmon salad too. best view) with shared baths. Can be noisy until

5 Magnolia Grill Southern Fusion $$ after 2am.

(%601-446-7670; www.magnoliagrill.com; 49
Silver St; mains $13-20; h11am-9pm, to 10pm Fri

207

Columbus Childhood home of
Tennessee Williams

CINDY HOPKINS / ALAMY ©

Southern Gothic

17Literary Tour

Serve regional drama (obscene riches, crippling poverty, racial
oppression), garnished with sweltering nights and powerful
storms, and become a giant in the South’s own literary genre.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 7 DAYS
1336 MILES /
750 miles 450 miles 2150KM
Oxford Monroeville
Visit the estate that Capote, Harper Lee GREAT FOR...
fed William Faulkner's and Atticus Fitch’s
tortured soul home town (kind of) B

##5 BEST TIME TO GO

# Jackson # Ll March to June for
# Natchez ##1 nature in bloom and a
Columbus perfect mild climate.
mK##8
##4 I ESSENTIAL
PHOTO
New Orleans Savannah
Because it’s always Arts, architecture Faulkner’s wooded lair
fine to be sipping in and oak trees on a gorgeous Oxford
New Orleans 0 miles estate.
1200 miles
K BEST FOR
ARTS &
ARCHITECTURE

Discovering the roots
of some of America’s
finest authors.

209

Southern TRIP HIGHLIGHT

17 Gothic Literary 1 Savannah
Tour
Our journey begins at
The South has produced some of America’s most Midnight in the Garden
glorious writers, novels and characters. William of Good and Evil, also
Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers known as Savannah,
and Flannery O’Connor have roots in Southern Georgia. This opulent,
soil, as do the unforgettable Vampire Lestat, the historical town is nestled
brave Atticus Fitch, and wily Huckleberry Finn on the Savannah River.
and his friend Jim. The Great American Novel was Lowcountry swamps and
invented here, and the Southern Gothic genre has massive oaks heavy with
flourished. There have been countless bestsellers, Spanish moss surround
Pulitzers and one Nobel Prize. countless antebellum
mansions and Colonial
relics; explore it on our
walking tour (p190). It’s
a beautiful place, and
you’re here because of

ARKANSAS Oxford ]# Decatur ÓVU75
Arkansas River
#5 äb6 Tupelo William ÓVU59 Alabama River
B. Bankhead
]# National Forest Gadsden ]#

GF19 MISSISSIPPI

[Ù43

Greenville VÓU55 ]# West VÓU20

]# Point Birmingham #] TNaFaloltairodenestgaal Ù[27
Ù[82
Û]49W Tombigbee
National #]
Delta
National Forest [Ù45 Tuscaloosa

Forest [Ù25 VÓU59 [Ù82 ß`280

M ississippi River Vicksburg ALABAMA ÓVU85
]# 6 Jackson Alabama River
#VÓU20 Meridian #Columbus 3
#]
VÓU20 ]#
Montgomery

VÓU55 Ù[49 VÓU65

# äb84 ]# Monroeville
7 Natchez ]# Brookhaven Laurel [Ù84 ]Û431
#4
HNoFmaotoirocenhstaitlto [Ù98 #] Hattiesburg ]#
[Ù84
[Ù61 Black [Ù45 ÓVU65 Conecuh Dothan
Creek
VÓU59 Wilderness Ù[98 National ÓVU10
Forest

LOUISIANA ]# Mobile

Baton ^# Biloxi VÓU10 ]# Pensacola FLORIDA
Rouge
Gulfport ]# ]# ]# Pascagoula

I# Km#ÓVU10 Gulf Islands #] Panama
8 New Orleans National Seashore City
GULF OF

[Ù90 p262 MEXICO

one of the more recent opened for tours in 2004. 17 Southern Gothic Literary Tour2 Andalusia
books on our list. The ‘garden of good and
Midnight was written evil’ refers to Savannah’s nnah River Flannery O’Connor was
by John Berendt in 1994, raised on the 544-acre
and though it’s classified Bonaventure Cemetery estate, Andalusia (%800-
as nonfiction, it reads (www.savannahga.gov; 330 653-1804; www.andalusiafarm.
like a novel. Written in Bonaventure Rd; h8am-5pm). org; Greene St, Milledgeville;
the Southern Gothic Serious lit buffs should admission by donation;
tone, this tale revolves also stop by the Flannery h10am-4pm Mon, Tue & Thu-
around the murder of Sat; c), when her family
a local hustler, Danny O’Connor Childhood moved from Savannah.
Hansford, by respected Home (%912-233-6014; www After attending the
art dealer Jim Williams – .flanneryoconnorhome Writers Workshop at the
an event that triggered .org; 207 E Charlton St; adult/ University of Iowa, she
four murder trials. student $6/5; h1-4pm returned here to write.
Williams lived in the Fri-Wed, closed Thu) on Her acclaimed short
Mercer-Williams House beautiful Laffayette Sq. story collection, A Good
(p190), where Hansford Man is Hard to Find,
was killed. Williams died 5 4 p216 was published in 1955.
in 1990 and the house Like her father, she died
The Drive » Take 1-16W for of lupus. She was just
39. Before she passed
112 miles to GA-19 north for 3 she published two novels
miles to US 441N for 44 miles. and two short story
collections. She won the
e# 0 200 km National Book Award
0 100 miles for her compilation,
The Complete Stories,
VÓU85 VÓU385

MLuarkrae y Columbia

^#

]# Athens

]# Atlanta SOUTH
CAROLINA
NOFacotoironensetael #]
Sava LINK
Augusta YOUR
TRIP
Milledgeville ÓVU95
##\ 2 Andalusia j The Blues Highway
Macon An easy adjunct
Û]]# 441 to the literary tour would
be to follow Hwy 61 from
äb22 lLÓVU16 Jackson into Clarksdale –
Ù[80 the beating heart of the
Mississippi Delta, the
GEORGIA #1 birthplace of the blues and
American popular music.
ÓVU75 Savannah
b Savannah to
I# the Golden Isles

p190

[Ù84 FG11
Ù[84 #] Valdosta
Cumberland
Island National
Seashore

]# Tallahassee #]Jacksonville From Savannah follow the
coast to a host of wild and
VÓU10 beautiful beaches.

ApaBlaaychee ]# Gainesville 211

PETER JOHANSKY / GETTY IMAGES ©published posthumously.
Set amid beautiful
17 Southern Gothic Literary Tour wooded, rolling hills, her
home is open for walk-in
tours five days a week

The Drive » From Andalusia,

McCullers fans should make
their way back to the I-16W,
merge onto the I-75S and exit
onto GA-22/US 80W which
you’ll follow to GA-208W
which leads to GA-315W into
Columbus.

3 Columbus The Drive » Take US 431S for nonfiction novel, and
his childhood friend,
Carson McCullers, 99 miles to the small town of Harper Lee. To Kill a
Tennessee Williams’ Dothan, where you’ll catch the Mockingbird, written
favorite protégé, was US 84 and take it 22 miles until by Lee, in the Southern
born here and her it meets the AL-36. Hang a right Gothic style, takes aim at
home town served as and you’ll reach Monroeville. the institutional racism
inspiration for the mill of the South. A runaway
town depicted in her TRIP HIGHLIGHT hit, it earned her the 1961
first and greatest novel, Pulitzer Prize, and takes
The Heart is a Lonely 4 Monroeville place in the fictional town
Hunter. It’s a beautifully of Maycomb, a mirror
sad yet ultimately Monroeville is a small image of Monroeville.
hopeful tome about Alabama town that gave The plot revolves around
an enlightened deaf us both Truman Capote,
mute and his various the progenitor of the
friends and confidantes
(including an adolescent
girl, an African American
doctor, a business owner
and a hard-drinking
communist) during the
Great Depression. These
days, her childhood
home (%(706) 565-4021;
www.mccullerscenter.org;

1519 Stark Ave; admission $5;
hby appointment) is open
for tours, and it’s the
base of operations for the
Carson McCullers Center
which runs a McCullers-
based archive and offers
fellowships to aspiring
writers and artists. Call
at least a day ahead to
tour the home.

212

Bonaventure Cemetery The original ‘garden of good and evil’

the trial of a young black To Kill A Mockingbird TRIP HIGHLIGHT
man who is wrongfully at the Old Courthouse
accused of raping a Museum (%251-575-7433; 5 Oxford
white woman during the www.tokillamockingbird.com; 31
Great Depression. It’s N Alabama Ave; admission free; Nobel Prize winner
narrated by six-year-old h8am-4pm Mon-Fri, 10am- William Faulkner may
Scout Finch, whose dad, 2pm Sat; c), which also be long dead, but he still
Atticus, risks his and his has permanent exhibits owns this town, home
family’s safety to defend on both Lee and her pal, to the lovely University
his railroaded client. Capote. of Mississippi (p220).
If you’ve never read it, Rowan Oak (www.rowanoak.
this book is an absolute The Drive » When the curtain com; Old Taylor Rd; adult/child
must. Each May, curtains $5/free; h10am-4pm Tue-Sat,
rise on a production of drops, find US 45N and take the 1-4pm Sun), Faulkner’s
long drive to MS-6 and Oxford,
Mississippi.

213

17 Southern Gothic Literary Tour fine, 33-acre estate, There’s a Faulkner always welcomed). She
nurtured many novels, section upstairs, next to cut and pinned up her
but required him to slum the cafe. manuscripts, in what was
in Hollywood as a studio- her own (pre-Nabakov)
owned screenwriter to 5 4 p216 revision system. Noted
pay it off. Ninety-percent author, traveler and
of Rowan Oak’s original The Drive » After enjoying thinker Richard Wright
furnishings are in tact – was also a Jackson
you’ll see Faulkner’s Oxford, detour through Tupelo, native. Best known for
prized typewriter, rusted the birthplace of King Presley, his story collection Uncle
golf clubs, and an outline and hop on the Natchez Trace Tom’s Children, based
for a never-written fable Parkway through a glorious in part on lynchings in
written on the walls. oak-and-swamp-studded Mississippi, he was an
His 1950 Nobel Prize is countryside, before buzzing east important writer and
on permanent display at on I-20 to Jackson. devoted communist
the Center for Southern living in New York by
Culture (p221). It also has 6 Jackson the time he was 30.
a copy of his acceptance Eventually he moved
speech, which became an Mississippi’s capital is to Europe, where he
instant classic. Oxford clean, historical and mingled with Sartre and
isn’t all about the past. resolute. Eudora Welty, Camus and died too soon
Square Books (%662- one of the state’s great at 52. Wright was the
236-2262; www.squarebooks. writers and a Pulitzer valedictorian of Jackson’s
Prize winner, lived here first African American
com; 160 Courthouse Sq; all her life. She moved School (p223). Wright’s
into what is now the and Welty’s insightful
h9am-9pm Mon-Thu, to Eudora Welty House words grace the eaves
(%601-353-7762; www. at the worthwhile
10pm Fri & Sat, 9am-6pm mdah.state.ms.us/welty; 1119 Mississippi Museum of
Sun) is one of the very Pinehurst St; htours 9am, Art (p223).
best indie bookstores 11am, 1pm & 3pm Tue-Fri)
in America. Visiting when she was 16 and 5 4 p216
authors read from their penned every one of The Drive » Merge back onto
newly published works her books in the study,
on the regular, and where readers and I-20 west to the Natchez Trace
autographed copies visitors would descend Parkway, and follow that green
of hot novels abound. unannounced (and were band of historical beauty until it
ends in Mark Twain’s old haunt.

SOUTHERN GOTHIC EXPOSED

Gothic literature was born in England, when writers 7 Natchez
took on the moral blindness of the medieval era
through supernatural tales. Southern writers, for Natchez is one of the only
the most part, muted the supernatural in their antebellum towns left
work. Instead they plumbed the characters and standing in the South.
communities damaged by a regional history of white Mostly because when
Christian supremacy, frosted with an ‘everything- Sherman and his Union
is-just-fine-as-it-is’ veneer. Writers knew that such troops marched in, the
social tension led to years of brutality, as well as local ladies served them
economic and moral bankruptcy, because they lived sweet tea and Southern
it. Which makes their stories more dramatic and hospitality. A hundred
poignant. and fifty years later and
Natchez attracts visitors

214

from around the world to ADAPTATION 17 Southern Gothic Literary Tour
its historical antebellum
mansions. Especially The book is always better, but that doesn’t mean we
during pilgrimage don’t love movies. Here are three Southern Gothic
season. But if slaver dramas that made the leap with style:
wealth leaves you cold
(or angry, or both), head »»A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Brando’s
down to the riverside. Stanley Kowalski loves STELLA! Four Oscars, Marlon
becomes a star.
The Mississippi River
forms a natural border, »»To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Best actor, Gregory
dividing Mississippi Peck, is Atticus Finch.
and Louisiana, and is
another of Natchez’s »»Interview With a Vampire (1994) An unintentional
main attractions. Back comedy. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt vamp around
when Mark Twain was New Orleans in wigs and makeup.
steamboat pilot Samuel
Clemens, he cruised TRIP HIGHLIGHT courtyard, order a scoop
through town countless of shrimp remoulade in a
times and did his 8 New Orleans half avocado and dream
drinking at the Under sultry literary dreams.
the Hill Saloon (p205) This is the town of
(still a local hot spot with Tennessee Williams, If you prefer sexed-
live music on weekends). Anne Rice and Ignatius up vampires who are
And when he’d had J Reilly (explore its into rock’n’roll and a
enough, he often crashed history on our walking bit of evil, check out
upstairs. tour, p262). Many of Lafayette Cemetery No 1
the city’s literary sites (Washington Ave at Prytania St;
Of course, Mark are concentrated in the h9am-2:30pm; g11 or 12).
Twain moved on from French Quarter. Lafitte’s Shaded by magnificent
the riverboat to become Blacksmith Shop (p248), groves of lush greenery,
the inventor of the Great a stone shack on the this Garden District
American Novel (or so corner of Bourbon St, landmark was a favorite
he has been credited) claims to be the oldest haunt (pun intended)
with the publication bar in the USA. Williams of Anne Rice, and has
of The Adventures of used to party here with featured prominently
Huckleberry Finn, which fellow artists while a in many vampire and
followed Huck and Jim pianist played whatever witches of Mayfair
as they floated downriver sheet music Williams novels. You’ll notice
on a raft, searching for brought in that day. many German and Irish
freedom. Nearby Napoleon House names on the above-
(%504 524 9752; www ground graves, testifying
5 4 p217 .napoleonhouse.com; 500 that immigrants were
The Drive » Eventually, all Chartres St; h11am-late), devastated by 19th-
an attractive bar set in century yellow-fever
southern roads pass through a courtyard building epidemics. Not far from
New Orleans, and the literary erected in 1797, was the entrance is a tomb
one is no exception. From another drinking haunt containing the remains
Natchez drive south on US 61 of Williams; on hot of an entire family that
until it merges with I-110E in days you can sit in the died of that plague.
Baton Rouge and then I-10E
towards New Orleans. 5 4 p217

215

Eating & Sleeping

Savannah 1 Oxford 5

5 11 Ten Local New American $$$ 5 City Grocery New Southern $$

(%912-790-9000; www.local11ten.com; 1110 Bull (%662-232-8080; www.citygroceryonline.com;

St; mains $24-32; h6-10pm Mon-Sat) Upscale, 152 Courthouse Sq; mains $9-22; h10am-2pm

sustainable, local, fresh: a combination & 6-10pm Mon-Sat) Eclectic Southern cuisine is

17 Southern Gothic Literary Tour of elements that creates a monumental served on the south side of the square. Writers

experience in an elegant, well-run restaurant, and students congregate at the stylish, funky

and it’s hands down the best food in Savannah. upstairs bar. It does a well-documented and

Start with a spring roll salad. The roll is unfurled beloved shrimp and grits and a Southern-

and speckled with ginger dressing. Then move style crudo where gulf tuna is chopped and

onto the big eye tuna, seared perfectly and served with pickled onions and preserved okra

plated with kim chi and green pea puree. Or drenched in Georgian olive oil. Its desserts rock.

just pick a grilled protein – filet, fresh catch, 5 Taylor Grocery Seafood $$

scallops, or chicken breast, and one or three of (www.taylorgrocery.com; 4 County Rd 338 A;

its awesome sauces and sides like brussels with dishes $9-15; h5-10pm Thu-Sat, to 9pm Sun) Be

walnuts and sausage or a historically good mac prepared to wait (and to tailgate in the parking

and cheese. lot) at this splendidly rusticated catfish haunt.

5 Wilkes’ House Southern $$ Get your cat fried or grilled, and bring a marker

(www.mrswilkes.com; 107 W Jones St; lunch to sign your name on the wall. It’s about 7 miles

$16; h11am-2pm Mon-Fri) The line outside can from downtown Oxford, south on Old Taylor Rd.

begin as early as 8am at this first come, first 4 Inn at Ole Miss Hotel $$

served, Southern comfort food institution. Once (%662-234-2331; www.theinnatolemiss.com;

the lunch bell rings and you are seated family- 120 Alumni Dr; r from $129; paiWs)

style, the kitchen unloads on you: fried chicken, Unless its a football weekend, in which case,

beef stew, meatloaf, collard greens, black-eyed you’d be wise to book well ahead, you can

peas, mac ‘n’ cheese, rutabaga, candied yams, usually find a nice room at this 180-room hotel

squash casserole, creamed corn and biscuits. and conference center right on the Ole Miss

It’s like Thanksgiving and the Last Supper rolled Grove. Although less personal than the local

into one massive feast chased with sweet tea. inns, it’s comfortable, well-located and walkable

4 East Bay Inn Inn $$$ to downtown.

(%912-238-1225; www.eastbayinn.com; 225 E

Bay St; r from $235) Wedged between corporate Jackson 6

rivals this brick behemoth offers just 28 huge

rooms all with original double wide wood floors, 5 Walker’s Drive-In Southern $$$

exposed brick walls, soaring ceilings, slender

support columns and flat screens, along with (%601-982-2633; www.walkersdrivein.com;

much charm and warmth to spare. 3016 N State St; lunch mains $10-17, dinner mains

$25-35; h11am-2pm Mon-Fri & from 5:30pm

Tue-Sat) This retro diner has been restored

216

with love and infused with new southern foodie Fri & Sat, to 10pm Sun, 11:30am-2:30pm Fri &
ethos. Lunch is diner 2.0 fare with grilled redfish Sat, 10:30pm-2:30pm Sun) Sylvain is the sort
sandwiches, tender burgers and BBQ oyster of exciting new New Orleans restaurant the
po boys, as well as a seared, chili crusted tuna French Quarter is sorely in need of. This rustic
salad, which comes with spiced calamari and yet elegant gastropub draws inspiration from
seaweed salad, and is exceptional. Things get the dedication to ingredients and localvore love
even more gourmet at dinner. Think: lamb demonstrated by chefs like Thomas Keller. The
porterhouse, wood grilled octopus and miso duck confit served on a bed of black-eyed peas
marinated seabass. There’s an excellent wine is indicative of the gastronomic experience: rich,
list and service is impeccable. refined and delicious. They also mix some mean
cocktails if you need to tie one off before dinner.
5 Mayflower Seafood $$$
4 Hotel
(%601-355-4122; 123 W Capitol St; mains Historical Hotel $$$

$21-29; h11am-2:30pm & 4:30-9:15pm Mon-Fri, Maison de Ville

4:30-9:30pm Sat) It looks like just another (%504-561-5858; www.hotelmaisondeville.com;

downtown dive, but it’s a damn fine seafood 727 Toulouse St; aWs) The Maison greets

house. Locals swear by the broiled red fish, and with a quintessentially French Quarter facade of

the Greek salad, which becomes a meal when twirling wrought iron and candy-colored plaster

you add pan seared scallops (sensational!). shell. The Audubon Cottage suites (where artist

Everything is obscenely fresh. John J Audubon stayed and painted while in

4 Fairview Inn Inn $$ town) surround a lushly landscaped courtyard;

(%601-948-3429; www.fairviewinn.com; the pool is rumored to be the oldest in the

734 Fairview St; r incl breakfast $129-329; Quarter (from the late 1700s).

paiW) For a colonial estate experience, 4 Hotel Monteleone Hotel $$$

the 18-room Fairview Inn, set in a converted (%504 523 3341, 800 535 9595; www.

historical mansion, will not let you down. The hotelmonteleone.com; 214 Royal St; r from $250)

antique decor is stunning. It also has a full spa. Perhaps the city’s most venerable old hotel,

the Monteleone is also the French Quarter’s

Natchez 7 largest. (Not long after the Monteleone was

built, preservationists put a stop to building on

5 Magnolia Grill Southern Fusion $$ this scale below Iberville St.) Since its inception

See Trip g (p207). in 1866, the hotel has been the local lodging of

choice for writers, including luminaries such as

4 Historic Oak Hill Inn Inn $$ William Faulkner, Truman Capote and Rebecca

See Trip g (p207). Wells. The Carousel Bar, a New Orleans classic,

has appeared in numerous films and TV shows.

Rooms throughout exude an old-world appeal

New Orleans 8 with French toile and chandeliers.

5 Sylvain Contemporary $$

(%504-265-8123; 625 Chartres St; mains

$12.50-25; h5:30-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight

Rowan Oak A scenic insight into
the life of William Faulkner

BUDDY MAYS / CORBIS ©

Historical

18Mississippi

Over the course of her history, Mississippi has proven to be
beautiful and wild, serene and violent, complex yet simple. To
explore her turbulent past is to discover Mississippi now.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 3 DAYS
354 MILES / 570KM
64 miles lL# #2# #1
GREAT FOR
Clarksdale
Home of Red's, a B
classic Mississippi
Delta juke joint BEST TIME TO GO

272 miles ##6 # September and
October for a respite
Vicksburg Jackson from the summer heat;
Gravitas and April to June for fresh
mKMississippi River Oxford blooms.
# Our favorite town in
beauty Mississippi for good I ESSENTIAL
Natchez reason PHOTO

0 miles The gorgeous grounds
of Rowan Oak.

K BEST FOR
HISTORY

The entire route, from
Indian mounds and the
birth of the blues to the
civil rights movement.

219

18 Historical TRIP HIGHLIGHT
Mississippi
1 Oxford
Stroll in the footsteps of literary masters and civil
rights heroes, consider the origins of American Oxford is one of those
popular music, and hear gun shots ring and rare towns that seeps
crosses burn in the mind as you stroll blood- into your bones and
soaked battlefields and consider the state’s once- never leaves. Local life
impenetrable segregation stranglehold. Her history revolves around the
will never be easy to reconcile, but her stories – quaint-yet-hip square,
her people – are forever compelling. where you’ll find inviting
bars, wonderful food and
decent shopping, and the
rather regal University of
Mississippi (www.olemiss
.edu), aka Ole Miss. All
around and in between
are quiet residential
streets, sprinkled with
antebellum homes and

4#H100 km 45 miles to Memphis
e# ‚ New
50 miles \# Albany
44 lL#Clarksdale 2\#
0 \# ]#
0
Helena p222 Tupelo
Batesville #]#1
\#
Û]278 äb6 Oxford
Pine Bluff ]#

4Ù[61 [Ù49

ARKANSAS Dumas Cleveland Glendora RGerseenrvaodier äb8 Aberdeen
\# \# \#
##\3 FG16 ]# West Point
GFäb8 \# Grenada
Warren 19
\# \# Monticello

4 #äb4 Indianola Ù[82 \# Winona \#

\#4 Greenwood \# \# Columbus

Greenville ]# Starkville

Crossett h^49W Mississippi River ÓVU55
\# ALABAMA
44 Kosciusko \#

\# äb25 Louisville

[Ù61 Yazoo City MISSISSIPPI
\#
44Delta
NFaotiroenstal \# Philadelphia
äb3
Monroe Ù[49 \# Canton

]# 4# #Tallulah\# Madison Meridian
Vicksburg Forest
LOUISIANA \# ]#
\#
]#6 Ù[20 \# ^#5 Brandon

Clinton \#

Jackson

\# Crystal [Ù49 VÓU59 Ù[45

Springs

[Ù61

mK#]#7 VÓU55 äb27 Laurel \# Waynesboro
Natchez
Ù[84 ]# Brookhaven ]#

DeSoto
National

Forest

]# Homochitto \# Mccomb ]# Hattiesburg
National \# Columbia
44Alexandria Forest

shaded by majestic oaks. Choctaw lacrosse sticks, who finally put the 12-bar 18 Historical Mississippi
Oh, and there’s history Confederate soldier gear, blues down on paper,
to spare. Begin at The and original Man Ray several years after he
Grove, the heart of and Georgia O’Keefe first heard a nomadic
Ole Miss, and home to canvasses, through the guitar man strumming
one of the Civil Rights woods to Rowan Oak in tiny Tutwiler in 1903.
movement’s iconic scenes. (www.rowanoak.com; Old Their convergence is
The Center for Southern Taylor Rd; adult/child $5/ remembered with a
Culture (%662-915-5855; 1 free; h10am-4pm Tue-Sat, mural along the Tutwiler
Library Loop; admission free; 1-4pm Sun). This 33-acre Tracks (p233).
h8am-9pm Mon-Thu, to 4pm estate is the former
Fri, to 5pm Sat, 1-5pm Sun; home of Faulkner. Ninety The Drive » From Clarksdale,
c) archive, on the 3rd per cent of the original
floor of the JD Williams furnishings are intact, take Hwy 49 south for 13 miles
Library, displays including his prized to 49 east, which diverges from
William Faulkner’s typewriter. For more on 49 west for 13 miles, though
correspondence along Rowan Oak, see (p213). both run north and south. Yes,
with his 1950 Nobel it’s confusing, but 16 miles later
Prize. A half-mile trail 5 4 p225 you will land in Glendora.
leads from the University
of Mississippi Museum The Drive » It’s just over 3 Glendora
(www.museum.olemiss
.edu; University Ave, at 5th St; an hour east on MS-6/US Sixteen miles south of
admission $5; h10am-6pm 278 through rolling hills into Tutweiler is another
Tue-Sat), where you’ll Clarksdale and the Delta. small Delta town, but
find a collection of early Glendora’s legacy is
astronomical marvels, TRIP HIGHLIGHT much darker. It was
here on August 28,
LINK 2 Clarksdale 1955, that Emmett Till
YOUR was kidnapped and
TRIP You can’t explore murdered following a
Mississippi history brief encounter with a
g Natchez without paying homage white woman in a local
Trace Parkway to the birthplace of store. Born in Chicago
American music. Blues and just 13 years old,
The 444-mile Natchez legend Robert Johnson is he was ignorant of the
Trace Parkwayis one said to have sold his soul local racial mores, and
of the most beautiful to the devil down at the supposedly said, ‘Bye
roads in America, and Crossroads (cnr Hwy 61 & Baby,’ to a white woman
offers even more history Hwy 49; admission free; c#), on a dare. Days later he
if you’re still hungry for the junction of Hwy 61, was murdered by the
stories. the Blues Highway, and woman’s husband and
Hwy 49 in Clarksdale. half brother-in-law who
j The Blues Clarksdale is the hub of were swiftly acquitted of
Highway Delta blues country and the crime, though there
its most comfortable and was never an argument
Jump from the history vibrant base. Here you that they did it. After
book to the origins of can visit Muddy Water’s Till’s mother ordered
American popular music childhood cabin at the an open casket at his
on this journey through Delta Blues Museum funeral, so all could
the Mississippi Delta. (p231), and see modern- see how badly he had
day blues men howl at been beaten, his case
Red’s (p231). WC Handy became national news,
was the first songwriter

221

GETTY IMAGES ©and a rallying cry for
civil rights activists
18 Historical Mississippi throughout the South.
You can learn more about
the case at the Emmett
Till Museum (%662-375-
9304; www.glendorams.com/
cultural-heritage-tourism/
emmett-till-museum/; 33
Thomas St; admission $5;
h10am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 2pm
Sat), which also has a
wing dedicated to local
blues legend and BB
King’s mentor, Sonny Boy
Williamson.

The Drive » Take Hwy 49E

south for 8 miles to MS-8
west to Hwy 49W, which runs
south through the plains until
it intersects with Hwy 82 in
Indianola.

4 Indianola son, and you’ll see his Center (p234). The
likeness on murals, region’s very best
Indianola is a rather and on a plaques on his museum offers engaging
prosperous middle class favorite street corner, interactive exhibits that
town in the delta with and you’ll learn all about illuminate the various
a corporate bloom on his difficult, triumphant musical influences on
highway 82, and wide, life at his brand new the Delta blues sound,
lovely leafy streets dotted BB King Museum & and on King’s music in
with well-kept single Delta Interpretive particular. It’s a must see
family homes around for music geeks.
downtown, where BB
King used to play guitar The Drive » Drive south on
for passers by. BB King
is Indianola’s favorite US 49 to Jackson.

DETOUR: 5 Jackson
MEMPHIS
Mississippi’s capital and
Start: 2 Clarksdale largest city has plenty
Easily accessible to both Oxford and Clarksdale, of history to explore,
Memphis is a thriving city with a blues history to and the Old Capitol
match Mississippi. Set right on the river, the musical Museum (www.mdah.state
roots here (Stax Records, Sun Studios, Graceland) .ms.us/museum; 100 State St;
are what attract the tourists, but the warmth and h9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 1-5pm
hospitality of the locals is why you’ll fall in like or love.

222

University of Mississippi The Lyceum, the university’s oldest building

Sun) is a good place to Sun) includes 200 works and perseverance of the
start. It tells the story from Mississippi artists. African American legacy
of the Greek Revival Our favorites were the in Mississippi. And then
building itself, and in photographs of literary there’s the Eudora Welty
so doing touches on scions Eudora Welty House (p214), a must for
Mississippi history. You’ll and William Faulkner, literature buffs.
learn that 15 lawmakers and another of Quincy
opposed secession in Jones and Elvis crooning 5 4 p225
the run-up to the Civil at a Tupelo concert.
War, and there are some Housed in Mississippi’s It’s 44 quick miles west from
interesting exhibits first public school for Jackson to Vicksburg on I-20.
on reconstruction and African American kids
what were the nation’s is the Smith Robertson TRIP HIGHLIGHT
harshest ‘Black Codes,’ Museum (www.jacksonms
the gateway to full .gov/visitors/museums/ 6 Vicksburg
segregation.
smithrobertson; 528 Bloom St; Vicksburg is famous for
The Mississippi its strategic location in
Museum of Art (www adult/child $4.50/1.50; h9am- the Civil War, thanks to
.msmuseumart.org; 380 its position on a high
5pm Mon-Fri,10am-2pm Sat, bluff overlooking the
South Lamar St; permenant 2-5pm Sun), the alma mater Mississippi River, and
of author Richard Wright. history buffs dig it.
collections free, special It offers insight and General Ulysses S Grant
explanation into the pain
exhibitions $5-12; h10am-

5pm Tue-Sat, noon-5pm

223

18 Historical Mississippi JAMES MEREDITH log-cabin republicans
to intellectual liberals
The generally peaceful and serene Grove was the and down-home
site of a riot on September 21, 1962, when a violent folks. Perched on a
mob of segregationists descended to prevent bluff overlooking the
James Meredith, the school’s first ever African Mississippi, it attracts
American student, from enrolling for the semester. tourists in search of
With the Mississippi governor siding with the mob, antebellum history
the Kennedy administration called in 500 federal and architecture – 668
marshals and federalized the national guard to antebellum homes
tamp down the rioters and ensure Meredith’s pepper the oldest
safety. Those troops remained on campus when civilized settlement on
Meredith and state NAACP chairman, Medgar the Mississippi River
Evers (who would later be assassinated), marched (beating New Orleans
through thousands of vitriolic segregationists by two years). Although
to break the Ole Miss color barrier on October most such towns were
1, 1962. Meredith went on to march 220 miles torched by Union
across the state, from Memphis to Jackson, in a troops, Natchez was
1966 protest against racial violence. Some of his spared thanks to what
correspondence is on display at the Center for legend has it were some
Southern Culture (p221). rather hospitable local
ladies who invited the
besieged the city for 47 regal old homes lined up troops in for rest and
days, until its surrender on terraced bluffs with relaxation. The visitor
on July 4, 1863, at which views of slender wooded
point the North gained islands forming natural and welcome center
dominance over North inlets, which loom at (%601-446-6345; www.
America’s greatest river. arms length along with visitnatchez.org; 640 S Canal
The Vicksburg National those riverboat casinos. St; tours adult/child $12/8;
Military Park (www.nps As long as you’re h8:30am-5pm Mon-Sat,
.gov/vick; Clay St; per car/ downtown don’t miss 9am-4pm Sun) is a large,
the Attic Gallery (p323). well-organized tourist
individual $8/4; h8am-5pm It features virtuoso resource with little
regional artists, and a exhibits of area history
Oct-Mar, to 7pm Apr-Sep) funky collection of folk and a ton of information
honors that battle. You art and jewelry. on local sites. During
can drive, or pedal (if the ‘pilgrimage’ seasons
you’re travelling with 4 p225 in spring and fall, local
bicycles), along the mansions are opened to
16-mile Battlefield Hop on US 61, which follows visitors, though some
Drive, which winds past the Mississippi River (though properties, such as the
1330 monuments and not always so closely) down to Auburn Mansion (p205),
markers – including Natchez. are open year-round.
statues, battle trenches, Natchez is also the end
a restored Union 7 Natchez (or is it the beginning?)
gunboat, and a National of the scenic 444-mile
Cemetery. Vicksburg’s Adorable Natchez stews Natchez Trace Parkway
historical riverside core together a wide variety (see p197).
is rather pretty, and of humans, from gay
worth a look. You’ll find 5 4 p225

224

Eating & Sleeping

Oxford 1 Jackson 5

5 City Grocery New Southern $$ 5 Walker’s Drive-In Southern $$$

See Trip h (p216). See Trip h (p216).

4 (5) Twelve B&B $$ 4 Old Capitol Inn Boutique Hotel $$

(%662-234-8043; www.the12oxford.com; 512 (%601-359-9000; www.oldcapitolinn.com; 18 Historical Mississippi
226 N State St; r incl breakfast from $135;
Van Buren Ave; r from $115; paW) This six- paiWs) A heck of a deal, this 24-room
boutique hotel, near museums and restaurants,
room B&B has an antebellum-style exterior and has up-to-date rooms that are comfortably and
uniquely furnished. The rooftop deck, complete
modern interior (think: tempurpedic beds and with hot tub, overlooks a courtyard and pool. A
full Southern breakfast and early-evening wine
flat screens). Room rate includes full Southern and cheese are included.

breakfasts to order, it’s an easy walk from shops

and restaurants, and we cannot say enough

good things about the innkeepers. They make

you feel like family.

Clarksdale 2 Vicksburg 6

5 Yazoo Pass Cafe $$ 4 Corners Mansion B&B $$

(www.yazoopass.com; 207 Yazoo Ave; lunch (%601-636-7421; www.thecorners.com; 601

mains $6-10, dinner mains $13-26; h7am-9pm Klein St; r incl breakfast from $125; paW)

Mon-Sat; W) A contemporary new space The best part of this Old South 1873 B&B could

in town with exposed brick walls, polished be looking over the Yazoo and Mississippi

concrete floors, rattan furnishings and leather Rivers from your porch-swing vantage point.

booths where you can enjoy fresh scones The gardens and Southern breakfast don’t hurt

and croissants in the mornings, a salad bar, either.

sandwiches and soups at lunch, and pan seared

ahi, filet mignon, burgers and pastas at dinner. Natchez 7

4 Shack Up Inn Inn $ 5 Magnolia Grill

(%662-624-8329; www.shackupinn.com; See Trip h (p217). Southern Fusion $$

Hwy 49; d $75-165; paW) Guests stay

in refurbished sharecropper cabins or the

creatively renovated cotton gin. The whole place

reeks of down-home dirty blues and Deep South

character – possibly the coolest place you’ll

ever stay.

225

Clarksdale The ideal base for a
Mississippi blues tour

MICHAEL VENTURA / ALAMY ©

The Blues

19Highway

Listen to living blues legends howl their sad enlightenment and
pay homage to the music that saturated northern Mississippi
for a century, and bloomed rock’n’roll.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 3 DAYS
350 MILES / 563KM
Ll
GREAT FOR...
# Memphis
B

Helena BEST TIME TO GO

# May and June for blues
festivals in the Delta.
100 miles ##4 110 miles
Clarksdale #5# Tutwiler I ESSENTIAL
The inviting hub of Pay homage to the tiny PHOTO
Delta blues country #7# town that sprouted the
Red’s smoky, burgundy
180 miles blues glow when a bluesman
Indianola # Greenwood is wailing on stage.
Home to our favorite
museum in the Delta K BEST FOR
MUSIC
Km#Bentonia
The music and soul
of the Mississippi
Delta – a cultural
immersion with an epic
soundtrack.

227

19 The Blues
Highway

In the plains, along Hwy 61, American music took root. It arrived from Africa
in the souls of slaves, morphed into field songs, and wormed into the brain
of a sharecropping troubadour waiting for a train. In Clarksdale, at the
Crossroads, legend has it that Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil
and became America’s first guitar hero. But to fully grasp its influence, start
in Memphis.

1 Memphis the Missisippi genius who The Drive » US 61 begins
made good here. And it
The Mississippi Delta was in Memphis where in Memphis, where it is a wide
and Memphis have WC Handy was first avenue snaking through the
always been inextricably credited with putting city’s rough seam. Eventually
linked. Memphis was the blues to paper urbanity gives way to flat
a beacon for the Delta when he wrote ‘Beale farmland, and the highway goes
bluesmen, with its Street Blues’ in 1916. rural as you enter Mississippi
relative freedoms, You can visit the house
African American–owned (p330) where he lived. 2 Tunica
businesses and the bright The Mississippi Delta
lights and foot-stamping legacy bubbles up at Sun A gathering of casinos
crowds of Beale St, which Studio (p271), where you rests near the riverbanks
is still rocking (check can tour the label that in Tunica, Hwy 61’s
it out as part of our launched Elvis, whose most prosperous and
walking tour, p330). Rum interpretation of the least authentic town.
Boogie Cafe (%912-528- blues birthed rock’n’roll. Nevertheless, it is the
0150; www.rumboogie.com; And it’s running gateway to the blues
182 Beale St) is a Cajun- through the veins of the and home to their juke-
themed blues bar with a wonderful Stax Museum joint mock-up of a
terrific house band. The of American Soul Music Tunica Visitors Center
original BB King’s (%901- (p311). Those connections (%662-363-3800; www
524-5464; www.bbkingclubs are explained perfectly .tunicatravel.com; 13625
at the Memphis Rock ‘n’ US 61; h9am-6pm), where
.com; 143 Beale St; hnoon- Soul Museum (p274). a cool interactive digital
guide comes packed with
1am, kitchen open until 11pm) 5 4 p236 information on famed
is a living monument to blues artists and the

228

e# 0 20 km lLTENNESSEE Mississippi Blues Trail
0 10 miles itself. It’s a good place
GF#Memphis #]1 to get inspired about
Wynne #\ what you are about to
#I 27 experience, and perhaps
VÓU40 ARKANSAS #\ Hughes do some plotting and
p330 planning. Unless you
play cards, however,
[Ù61 Tunica is not otherwise
noteworthy.
4#\ Marianna Arkabutle
Reservoir The Drive » Continue on the
Saint Francis
National arrow-straight road for 19 miles,
Forest then veer west on US 49 and
19 The Blues Highway#2 TunicaÓVU55over the Mississippi River into
Helena, Arkansas.
Marvell #\Mississippi RiverHelena
#\3 3 Helena
#[Ù49
Helena, Arkansas, a
[Ù49 depressed mill town
32 miles north and
Lula#\ across the Mississippi
River from Clarksdale,
ssissippi River FG[Ù61 was once the home of
18 blues legend Sonny Boy
Williamson. He was a
Snow Mi ##\4 Clarksdale
Lake LINK
Ù[61 [Ù49 YOUR
#\ TRIP
#H ##\5 Tutwiler
i Historical
p235 Mississippi

Shelby #\ From the Delta, continue
your journey through the
#\ Merigold h^49E Mississippi mind by taking
in the towns of Oxford,
\# Cleveland Jackson, Vicksburg and
Natchez and exploring the
MISSISSIPPI past and present all at once.

Indianola #6#\ Greenwood r Memphis
to Nashville
#Greenville #\7 [Ù82
Head from the rhythm and
# #9#] [Ù82 h^49W blues haunts of Beale St to
the down-home honky-
8#\ tonks that put Nashville on
the map.
Leland
229
Isola #\

\# Belzoni

4 h^49W

h^49W \#Yazoo City

4 NDateioltnaal Ù[49
Forest
mK#Bentonia 1#\0
Canton #\

FG ÓVU55 Ross
18 Barnett
Reservoir

DAVID LYONS / ALAMY ©regular on King Biscuittwo festivals of note.
Time, America’s original The King Biscuit
19 The Blues Highwayblues radio show. It still Blues Festival (www
broadcasts out of the .kingbiscuitfestival.com; tickets
$45; hOct) is held over TRIP HIGHLIGHT
Delta Cultural Center three days each October.
(%870-338-4350; www In 2013, the headliners 4 Clarksdale
.deltaculturalcenter.com; were Greg Allman and
141 Cherry St; admission Robert Cray. It also hosts Clarksdale is the Delta’s
free; h9am-5pm Tue-Sat), a Live On The Levee most useful base – with
a worthwhile blues (www.kingbiscuitfestival.com/ more comfortable hotel
museum. Down the live-on-the-levee; adult/child rooms and modern,
street you’ll find the $30/free) concert series, tasteful kitchens here
Delta’s best record store, with regular concerts in than the rest of the
the spring and summer. Delta combined. It’s also
Bubba’s Blues Corner Rockabilly fans will want within a couple of hours
(%870-995-1326;105CherrySt; to land here in May, for of all the blues sights.
admission free; h9am-5pm the annual Arkansas If you want to know
Tue-Sat; c). Delightfully who’s playing where,
disorganized, it’s Delta Rockabilly Festival come see Roger Stolle at
supposedly a regular (www.deltarockabillyfest.com; Cat Head (%662-624-5992;
stop on Robert tickets $30; hMay). www.cathead.biz; 252 Delta
Plant’s personal blues Ave; h10am-5pm Mon-Sat;
pilgrimages. Bubba The Drive » US 49 c). He also sells a good
himself is warm and range of blues souvenirs,
friendly and a wealth converges with the US 61 in and is the main engine
of knowledge. If the Mississippi, and from there
shop isn’t open when it’s 30 miles south until you
you fall by, give him a reach the Crossroads. Peeking
ring, and he’ll happily out above the trees on the
open up. Helena hosts northeast corner of US 61
and US 49, where the roads
diverge once again, is the
landmark weathervane of
three interlocking blue guitars.
You have arrived in the Delta’s
beating heart.

KING BISCUIT TIME

Sonny Boy Williamson was the host of King Biscuit
Time when BB King was a young buck. He recalls
listening to the lunch-hour program, and dreaming
of possibilities. When he moved to Memphis
as a teenager and began playing Beale St gigs,
Williamson invited King to play on his radio show,
and a star was born. Williamson remained an
important mentor for King as his career took off.
The radio show, which begins weekdays at 12:15pm,
is still running, and has been hosted by Sunshine
Sonny Payne since 1951.

230

Memphis Rum Boogie Cafe

behind the annual your-face charm by Red The Drive » From Clarksdale,
himself. He’ll fire up his
Juke Joint Festival enormous grill outside take US 49 south from the
(www.jukejointfestival.com; on special occasions. The Crossroads to the tiny town of
tickets $15). Wednesday Tutwiler.
through Saturday live Delta Blues Museum
music sweeps through (www.deltabluesmuseum TRIP HIGHLIGHT
Clarksdale like a .org; 1 Blues Alley; adult/senior
summer storm. Morgan & student $7/5; h9am- 5 Tutwiler
Freeman’s Ground 5pm Mon-Sat), set in the
Zero Blues Club (www city’s old train depot, Sleepy Tutwiler is where
.groundzerobluesclub.com; has a fine collection WC Handy heard that
of blues memorabilia, ragged guitar man in
0 Blues Alley; h11am-2pm including Muddy 1903. Handy, known as
Waters’ reconstructed the ‘father of the blues,’
Mon-Tue, to 11pm Wed & Thu, to Mississippi cabin. The was inspired to (literally)
1am Fri & Sat) has the most creative, multimedia write the original blues
professional bandstand exhibits also honor BB song, in 12 bars with a
and sound system, but King, John Lee Hooker, three chord progression
it will never compare Big Mama Thornton and and AAB verse pattern,
to Red’s (%662-627-3166; WC Handy. in 1912, though he wasn’t
395 Sunflower Ave; cover widely recognized as an
5 4 p236 originator until ‘Beale
$10; hlive music 9pm Fri Street Blues’ became a hit
& Sat), a funky, red-lit,
juke joint run with in-

231

DELTA BLUES MUSEUM ©

WHY THIS IS AZUMA PRESS, INC. / ALAMY ©V
CLASSIC TRIP
ADAM SKOLNICK,
AUTHOR

The story of America is one of
arrival from elsewhere, suffering
at the mercy of nature – or an
oppressor or time – and it’s also
a story of rebirth. The blues is
America’s soundtrack. Beautiful and
wild, it thrums up in those darkest
hours and explodes like catharsis.
It’s a painkiller, a purification. In the
moment, it feels like liberation. It’s a
sound that revolutionized America.
And it happened here.

Top: Instrument display, Delta Blues Museum
Left: Tunica Visitors Center
Right: James ‘Chicken’ Dooris, Ground Zero Blues
Club

232

19 The Blues Highwayin 1916. That way-back
divine encounter, which
GETTY IMAGES © birthed blues and jazz,
is honored along the
Tutwiler Tracks (off Hwy
49; c), where the train
station used to be. The
mural also reveals the
directions to Sonny Boy
Williamson’s Grave (off
Hwy 49; c#). He’s buried
amid a broken-down
jumble of gravestones.
Williamson’s headstone
is set back in the trees.
Rusted harmonicas,
candles and half-empty
whiskey bottles have
been left here out of
respect.

The Drive » Continue on the

other Blues Highway, US 49
south through more farmland,
across the Yazoo River, and into
the rather charming and tony
town of Greenwood.

6 Greenwood

Greenwood is the Delta’s
most prosperous town
that doesn’t involve slot
machines. The financial
backbone here is the
Viking Range corporation
which build its magnificent
ranges in town and whose
wares you can buy in
upmarket showrooms.
There is also a fantastic
cafe and a fine hotel – the
best in the Delta – within
these city limits. And each
May, the town gets behind
the local music scene,
with its annual River to
the Rails (%662-453-7625;
www.rivertotherails.org; 325
Main St) festival. Along
with two days of live
blues, there is a barbecue

233

19 The Blues Highway and an art competition. .clubebony.biz; 404 Hannah history and his musical
As far as history goes, St; no cover; hnoon-late influences – African,
Greenwood happens to be daily, live music 6-10pm gospel and country.
the hometown of Byron de Sun), a fixture on the Other interactive
la Beckwith, the presumed so-called ‘chitlin circuit.’ exhibits demonstrate
murderer of Medgar Evers. Ebony gave BB his first his influence on the next
steady work, and hosted generation of artists,
5 4 p237 legends like Howlin’ including Jimmie
The Drive » From Greenwood, Wolf, Muddy Waters, Hendrix and the Allman
Count Basie and James Brothers. Oh, and his
take US 82 east, over the Brown. The corner of 12 Grammy awards are
Yazoo River, through leafy Church and 2nd is where here too. King returns
horse country, and through an BB used to strum his to Indianola for a free
ugly commercial bloom of big beloved guitar, Lucille, annual show as part
chain stores and kitchens, into for passers-by. Nearby, of his annual BB King
Indianola. the BB King Museum Homecoming (www
.bbkingmuseum.org; Fletcher
TRIP HIGHLIGHT & Delta Interpretive Park; advance purchase/day of
Center (%662-887-9539; $12/18) festival.
7 Indianola www.bbkingmuseum.org;
400 Second St; adult/child The Drive » From Indianola,
You have reached the 5-12yr/under 5yr $12/$5/free;
home town of arguably h10am-5pm Tue-Sat, noon- go west through the fast-food
the Delta’s biggest star. 5pm Sun & Mon) is set in a jumble along US 82 into Leland.
When BB King was still complex around the old
a child, Indianola was Indianola cotton gin. The 8 Leland
home to Club Ebony experience starts with a
(%662-887-3086; www 12-minute film covering Leland is a small, down-
his life’s work. Afterward on-its-luck town, but one
you are free to roam halls with a terrific museum.
packed with interactive Highway 61 Blues
exhibits, tracing King’s Museum (%662-686-7646;
www.highway61blues.com;
BB KING’S BLUES 400 N Broad St; admission $7;
h10am-5pm Mon-Sat; c)
BB King grew up in the cotton fields on the outskirts offers details on local
of Indianola, a leafy middle-class town, and it didn’t folks like Ruby Edwards
take long before he learned what it meant to have and David ‘Honeyboy’
the blues. His parents divorced when he was four. Edwards. It also puts on
His mother died when he was nine. His grandmother a lauded blues festival
passed away when he was 14. All alone, he was forced each October, held in
to leave Indianola – the only town he ever knew – to Warfield Point Park, right
live with his father. He quickly became homesick, on the Mississippi River.
and made his way back. As a young man he was
convinced he would become a cotton farmer. There Local luminary Jim
weren’t many other possibilities to consider. Or so he Henson, the creator of
thought. When he went to Memphis for the first time the Muppets, is also from
in the 1940s, his world opened. From there he drifted Leland, and his life and
into West Memphis, Arkansas, where he met Sonny work are celebrated at
Boy Williamson, who put the young upstart on the the Jim Henson Exhibit
radio for the first time, launching his career. (%662-686-7383; www
.birthplaceofthefrog.com; 415
S Deer Creek Dr; donations

234

encouraged; h10am-4pm DETOUR: 19 The Blues Highway
Mon-Sat) on the bank of PO MONKEYS
Deer Creek.
Start: 4 Clarksdale
The Drive » Head west on US Take US 61 south from Clarksdale for about 27
miles and head west on Dillon Rd through farmland.
82 for 25 miles until it ends near Po Monkeys, in Merigold, Mississippi, is one of the
the river. Delta’s most beloved juke joints. It only has live
music about once a month, but there’s sweet trouble
9 Greenville to be found here on Mondays when naked Shack
Dancers prowl, and on Thursdays when college kids
The Mississippi River dance to DJ sets till the wee hours. Being a night-
town of Greenville was a time venue, you’ll be doubling back to Clarksdale
fixture on the riverboat after partying here.
route and has long been
a gambling resort area. the Jim Crow period, them. The joint still
For years it supported when African Americans opens in the evenings,
blues and jazz musicians weren’t even allowed to but live blues only blooms
who played the resorts, sip Coca-Cola. They sold during Bentonia’s annual
and some – including BB house-stilled corn liquor festival (www.facebook
King – make appearances (to blacks and whites) .com/BentoniaBluesFestival;
to this day. Although during Prohibition and
it’s scruffy around the welcomed all the Delta Downtown Bentonia; tickets
edges, Greenville can be blues artists of the day: $10; hmid-Jun) when the
pleasant along the river. Sonny Boy, Percy Smith town comes back to life,
But the real reason to and Jack Owens among if ever so briefly.
visit is to try the steaks,
tamales and chili at FAVORITE BLUES FESTS
Doe’s Eat Place (%662-334-
3315; 502 Nelson St; h5-9pm To make the most of your music-loving dollar, hit the
Mon-Sat), a classic hole- Delta during one of its many blues festivals. Rooms
in-the-wall joint you may can be scarce. Book well in advance.
never forget. »»Juke Joint Festival (www.jukejointfestival.com; tickets
$15) Clarksdale, mid-April
The Drive » Return to »»King Biscuit Blues Festival (www.kingbiscuitfestival
.com; tickets $45) Helena, October
Indianola then drive south on US »»BB King Homecoming (www.bbkingmuseum.org;
49W to humble Bentonia. Fletcher Park; tickets $18) Indianola, early June
»»Highway 61 Blues Festival (www.highway61blues.
a Bentonia com; Warfield Point Park) Leland, early June
»»Bentonia Blues Festival (www.facebook.com/
Bentonia, once a thriving BentoniaBluesFestival; Downtown Bentonia; tickets $10)
farming community, now Bentonia, mid-June
has fewer than 100 people »»Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival
and the downtown is (www.sunflowerfest.org) Clarksdale, August
gutted, but it’s still home
to one of Mississippi’s
most historical jukes. The
Holmes family opened
The Blue Front (%662-
755-2278; www.facebook
.com/BentoniaBluesFestival;
downtown Bentonia; hhours
vary, call ahead) during

235

CREDIT/LONELY PLANET IMAGES ©

19 The Blues Highway
Eating & Sleeping

Memphis 1 of Lonely St (seriously) across from Graceland,
this basic hotel is tarted up with all things Elvis.
5 Arcade Diner $ Ramp up the already palpable kitsch with one
of the themed suites, such as the red-velvet
(www.arcaderestaurant.com; 540 S Main St; monstrosity that is the Burnin’ Love room.

mains $8-10; h7am-3pm, plus dinner Fri) Elvis 4 Madison Hotel Boutique $$$

used to eat at this ultra-retro diner, Memphis’ (%901-333-1200; www.madisonhotelmemphis

oldest. Crowds still pack in for sublime .com; 79 Madison Ave; r from $264; paiW

sweet-potato pancakes and greasy-spoon s) If you’re looking for a sleek treat, check

cheeseburgers. It’s walking distance from in to this swanky, boutique sleep. The rooftop

downtown and Beale St. garden is one of the best places in town to watch

5 Charlie Vergos’ a sunset, and rooms have nice touches, like high

Rendezvous Barbecue $$ ceilings, Italian linens and whirlpool tubs.

(%901-523-2746; www.hogsfly.com; 52 S 2nd St;

mains $10-20; h4:30-10:30pm Tue-Thu, 11am- Clarksdale 4

11pm Fri, from 11:30am Sat) Tucked in an alleyway

off Union Ave, this subterranean institution sells 5 Abe’s BBQ $

an astonishing 5 tons of its exquisite dry-rubbed (%662-624-9947; 616 State St; sandwiches $4-

ribs weekly. The ribs don’t come with any sauce, 6, plates $6-14; h10am-9pm Mon-Thu, 10am-

but the pork shoulder does, so try a combo 10pm Fri & Sat, 11am-2pm Sun; c) In business

and you’ll have plenty of sauce to enjoy. The at the crossroads since 1924, the slow-burning,

beef brisket is also tremendous. With a superb, chili-smothered tamales and melt-off-the-bone

no-nonsense waitstaff, and walls plastered with ribs are dynamite, and it does brisket and pulled

historical memorabilia, eating here is an event. pork sandwiches and plates too.

Expect a wait.

5 Gus’s World 5 Delta Donuts Donuts $

Famous Fried Chicken Chicken $ (%662-627-9094; 610 N State St, Clarksdale;

(%901-527-4877; www.facebook.com/pages/ doughnuts $2; h6am-11am; c) Forget

Guss-World-Famous-Fried-Chicken-Memphis- calories, and enjoy one of these delectably

TN/103867756323858; 310 S Front St; mains warm doughnuts stuffed with chocolate and

$6-9; h11am-9pm Sun-Thu, to 10pm Fri & vanilla cream.

Sat) Fried-chicken connoisseurs across the 5 Oxbow Deli $

globe twitch in their sleep at night, dreaming (115 3rd St; h10am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat)

about the gossamer-light fried chicken at this Self-caterers will want to stop by this fresh

downtown concrete bunker with the fun, neon- gourmet market and art gallery with some

lit interior and vintage juke box. On busy nights, produce and a selection of specialty deli meats,

waits can top an hour. So worth it. cheeses, artisan breads, and an array of house-

4 Heartbreak Hotel Hotel $$ made salads including a tasty-looking qunioa

(%877-777-0606, 901-332-1000; www.elvis salad and citrus ginger slaw.

.com/epheartbreakhotel; 3677 Elvis Presley

Blvd; d from $120; paiWs) At the end

236

5 Rust Southern $$ Greenwood 6

(www.rustclarksdale.com; 218 Delta Ave; mains

$12-36; h6-9pm Tue-Thu, to 10pm Fri & Sat) 5 Delta Bistro Southern fusion $$

Upscale comfort food done with some degree (%662-455-9575; www.deltabistro.com; 117

of aplomb. The crawfish cakes (seasonal) are Main St; mains $9-24; h11am-9pm Mon-Sat) A

nice and the grilled asparagus with balsamic tasty upmarket cafe serving southern treats

reduction is a winner. The burger is decent too. like fried catfish and barbecue shrimp po’ boys

Overall, it’s good, not great, unless you count and crab bisque, as well as fine departures

the atmospherics. Think: wood floors, intimate like the tender elk brisket, and a seared duck

booths and cozy corners. It’s definitely a nice breast served with pork belly and grilled baby

spot for a dinner out before a blues show. asparagus. This is the best kitchen in the Delta.

5 Yazoo Pass Cafe $$ 4 Alluvian Boutique Hotel $$$

See Trip i (p225). (%662-453-2114; www.thealluvian.com; 318

4 Lofts at the Five & Dime Lofts $$ Howard St; r $200-215; paiW) A stunning

(%888-510-9604; www.fiveanddimelofts. four-star boutique hotel done up by the Viking
com; 211 Yazoo St; lofts $150-175) Set in a 1954
building are six plush, loft-style apartments corporation, with a gushing fountain in the
with molded concrete counters in the full
kitchen, massive flat screens in living room and courtyard and spacious rooms and suites with
bedroom, exposed rafters, terrazzo showers
and free sodas and water throughout your stay. all the trimmings: soaker tubs, high ceilings,
Units sleep up to four people comfortably.
granite wash basins and checkerboard parlor

floors in the bath. Some rooms have courtyard

views. Others overlook the antiquated

downtown. Book ahead, especially on weekdays.

4 Shack Up Inn Inn $ This is a business hotel, after all.

See Trip i (p225).

237

Breaux Bridge Steamy swampland
and outstanding Cajun cuisine

DOSFOTOS / CORBIS ©

20Cajun Country

Enter a maze of bayous, lakes, swamps and prairies where the
crawfish boils, and all-night jam sessions and dance parties
don’t end.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 4 DAYS
370 MILES / 595KM
216130 miles 105 miles
Chicot State Park Breaux Bridge GREAT FOR...
Dine on decadent
Wander between HB
bayous and Cajun fare
BEST TIME TO GO
cypress stands
March to June for
#3# festivals in Acadiana,
plus warm weather
# and lots of parties.

Mamou I ESSENTIAL
PHOTO
Km##2Ll# New Iberia
##6 Cajun concerts rocking
Fred’s Lounge every
Morgan Thibodaux Saturday morning.
City
# K BEST FOR
CULTURE
#
The unique folkways of
230 miles Acadiana permeating
Lafayette south Louisiana.
Split time between live
music and Cajun

cuisine

239

#\

Bunkie

20 Cajun Country `ß3042

Cross into south Louisiana, and you venture into a land #Chicot State Park 3
that’s intensely, immediately unique. You will drive past Ville Platte
dinosaur-laced wetlands where standing water is uphill #äb10 #\
from the floodplain, through villages where French is still Mamou 4\# ]Û167
the language of celebration (and, sometimes, the home)
and towns that love to fiddle, dance, two-step and, most #\ äb13 Opelousas
of all, eat well. Bievenue Louisianne, cher: this is Cajun #\
Country, a waterlogged, toe-tapping nation unto itself. Oberlin

#Eunice #\5

ß`367

äb13

#\ #\ ÓVU10

Crowley Rayne

Gueydan Kaplan
#\
#\

GIrnatnrdacoastal Waterway
Lake

White
Lake

1 Thibodaux free; h9am-8pm Mon, to Gulf of Mexico
6pm Tue-Thu, to 5pm Fri &
Thibodaux (tib-ah- Sat, closed Sun Jun-Aug, lucky, you’ll land here on
doe), huddled against plus Christmas & Mardi Gras; a Monday evening, when
the banks of Bayou c#), part of the Jean Cajun musicians jam out
Lafourcge, is the (5:30pm to 7pm).
traditional gateway to Laffitte National Park
Cajun country for those system. NPS rangers 5 p245
traveling from New lead boat tours from The Drive » Get on Hwy 90
Orleans. Thanks to a here into the bayou
city center lined with during spring and fall; and drive to Breaux Bridge. It’s
historical homes, it’s a you can either chug to about two hours nonstop, but
fair bit more attractive the ED White Plantation don’t be afraid to occasionally
than nearby Houma, (h10am-noon; admission peel off and check out some
which is often also $5) on Wednesday or the side roads.
cited as a major Cajun
country destination Madewood Plantation
but is in reality more of (h10am-2:30pm; admission
a charmless oil town. $28.25) on Saturday,
The main attraction where you’re given a
in Thibodaux is the house tour and lunch.
The Center also hosts an
Wetlands Acadian excellent onsite museum
Cultural Center (%985- and helpful staff who
448-1375; www.nps.gov/jela; provide free walking
314 St Mary St; admission tours of Thibodaux town
(2pm, Monday, Tuesday
and Thursday). If you’re

240

\# Simmesport Kentwood #\ Tangpahoa River

#\ Jackson #\ Franklinton
Bogalusa #\

20 Cajun CountryAmite #\

\# Melville Am#\ Zachary
Mississippi River
Port Barre Baton Hammond

#\ #\

Port Allen ^#Rouge VÓU12 #\ Covington
\#
Ponchatoula #\

VÓU10 Plaquemine #\ ite River ÓVU55 #\ Mandeville
äb1
VÓU49 GF17 Lake VÓU10
LOUISIANA VÓU10 Maurepas
#2#\ Breaux Bridge
\# Lake
Km# `ß]#6 321 Pontchartrain
Donaldsonville
Lafayette
äb31 New Orleans ]#

Ù[90

\# New Iberia

\# Jeanerette LlLac des

Cypremort [Ù90 Morgan Thibodaux Allemands
Vermilion Point
City #\#1 [Ù90
Bay #\ West Cote Patterson#\ \# äb1 \# Raceland SaLlvaakdeor
Blanche #\
Bay Gibson äb24
[Ù90 \# FG21 \# Larose
MIslaarnshd
Houma

Atchafalaya Golden Barataria
Bay #\ Meadow Bay

äb1 #\
Grand
Isle

e# 0 50 km
0 25 miles

TRIP HIGHLIGHT LINK
YOUR
2 Breaux Bridge TRIP

Little Breaux Bridge h Southern l Gulf Coast
boasts a pretty Gothic Go to Grand Isle
‘downtown’ of smallish Literary Tour and follow the Gulf
side streets, Cajun Coast, from Louisiana’s
hospitality and a silly Search for stories amidst wetland-speckled shores
amount of good food. the storied streets of to sugar sand beaches.
Your main objective is New Orleans while night
to eat at the ridiculously falls over her gothic
neighborhoods.

241

JOHN ELK III / ALAMY ©delicious Café des AmisSun; pc) serves decent
(p245), where sinfully seafood of the fried
20 Cajun Countrygood Cajun fare is variety, and dancing of
often served alongside the two-step and Cajun
local live music. The genre. trees that fringe Lake
shows are scheduled for Chicot are superb. There
Wednesday nights and 5 4 p245 are camp sites ($16 per
Sunday mornings (zydeco night October to March,
brunch!), but performers The Drive » From Breaux $20 April to September),
have a habit of dropping six- and 15-person cabins
in unexpectedly. Bridge you can take Hwy 49 ($85/120) and boat
Otherwise there’s not a north for about 24 miles, then rentals (per hour/day
lot to do in Breaux Bridge US 167 north to Ville Platte, then $5/20) all available.
but stroll around the LA-3042 to Chicot State Park,
handsome town center a total trip time of about 80 The Drive » Head back
and, if you’re here during minutes.
the first weekend in May, towards Ville Platte, then turn
check out the Breaux TRIP HIGHLIGHT onto LA-10 west. After 7 miles
turn south onto LA-13; it’s about
Bridge Crawfish Festival 3 Chicot State Park 4 miles more to Mamou.
(www.bbcrawfest.com).
Cajun country isn’t just 4 Mamou
Three miles south of a cultural space – it’s a
Breaux Bridge is Lake physical landscape as Deep in the hart of Cajun
Martin (Lake Martin Rd), a well, a land of shadowy, Country, Mamou is a
bird sanctuary that hosts moss-draped pine forest typical south Louisiana
thousands of great and and slow-water bayous small town six days of
cattle egrets, blue heron and lakes. Sometimes the week, worth a peek
and more than a few it can be tough seeing
gators. A small walkway all this from the
extends over the algae- roadways, as roads have
carpeted black water and understandably been
loops through a pretty built away from floodable
cypress swamp, while bottomlands. Chicot
birds huddle in nearby State Park (%888-677-
trees. 2442, 337-363-2403;
www.crt.state.la.us/parks/
Stop by Henderson, 8 ichicot.aspx; 3469 Chicot Park
miles northeast of Breaux Rd; per person $1; pc#)
Bridge. On Sunday is a wonderful place to
afternoons, Angelle’s access the natural beauty
Whiskey River (%337-228- of Cajun Country. An
8567; 1006 Earlene Dr; cover excellent interpretive
center is fun for kids and
varies; hcall for opening informative for adults,
hours) rocks to zydeco and and deserves enormous
Cajun tunes. It’s a small accolades for its open,
house, and it gets packed. airy design. Miles of
Locals dance on tables, trails extend into the
on the bar and in the nearby forests, cypress
water. Nearby Pat’s (%337- swamps and wetlands.
228-7512; www.patsfishermans If you can, stay for early
evening; the sunsets over
wharf.com; 1008 Henderson the Spanish moss–draped

Levee Rd; mains $12-24;

h11am-10pm, to 10:30pm Fri-

242

Lafayette La Chapelle des Attakapas, Vermilionville

and a short stop before warning). Sue herself will 9am-noon Sat), where you
rolling to Eunice. But often take to the stage can also pluck some CDs
on Saturday mornings, to dispense wisdom and and catch a Saturday
Mamou’s hometown song in Cajun French, all morning jam session.
hangout, little Fred’s while taking pulls off a Saturday night means
Lounge (420 6th St; h8am- bottle of brown liquor she the Rendez-Vous Cajuns
1:30pm Sat), becomes the keeps in a pistol holster. are playing the Liberty
apotheosis of a Cajun Theater (%337-457-7389;
dancehall. The Drive » Eunice is only 11 200 Park Ave; admission $5),
which is just two blocks
OK, to be fair: Fred’s miles south of Mamou; just keep from the Cajun Music
is more of a dance shack heading straight on LA-13.
than hall. It’s a little bar Hall of Fame & Museum
and it gets more than 5 Eunice (%337-457-6534; www
a little crowded from .cajunfrenchmusic.org; 230 S
8:30am to 2pm-ish, when Eunice lays in the heart CC Duson Dr; admission free;
owner ‘Tante’ (auntie) of the Cajun prairie, its h9am-5pm Tue-Sat) – a
Sue and her staff host a associated folkways, and small affair, to be sure,
Francophone-friendly music. Musician Mark but charming in its way.
music morning, with Savoy builds accordions The NPS-run Prairie
bands, beer, cigarettes at his Savoy Music
and dancing (seriously, it Center (%337 457 9563; Acadian Cultural Center
gets smoky in here. Fair www.savoymusiccenter.com; (%337-457-8499; www.nps
Hwy 190; h9am-5pm Tue-Fri, .gov/jela; 250 West Park Ave;

243

20 Cajun Country CAJUNS, CREOLES AND...CREOLES

A lot of tourists in Louisiana use the terms ‘Cajun’ and ‘Creole’ interchangeably,
but the two cultures are different and distinct. ‘Creole’ refers to descendants of
the original European settlers of Louisiana, a blended mix of mainly French and
Spanish ancestry. The Creoles tend to have urban connections to New Orleans
and considered their own culture refined and civilized. Many (but not all) were
descended from aristocrats, merchants and skilled tradesmen.

The Cajuns can trace their lineage to the Acadians, colonists from rural France
who settled Nova Scotia. After the British conquered Canada, the proud Acadians
refused to kneel to the new crown, and were exiled in the mid-18th century – an act
known as the Grand Dérangement. Many exiles settled in south Louisiana; they
knew the area was French, but the Acadians (‘Cajun’ is an English bastardization of
the word) were often treated as country bumpkins by the Creoles. The Acadians-
cum-Cajuns settled in the bayous and prairies, and to this day self-conceptualize as
a more rural, frontier-stye culture.

Adding confusion to all of the above is the practice, standard in many post-
colonial French societies, of referring to mixed-race individuals as ‘creoles.’ This
happens in Louisiana, but there is a cultural difference between Franco-Spanish
Creoles and mixed-race creoles, even as these two communities very likely share
actual blood ancestry.

admission free; h8am- catch fantastic zydeco, Cajun village, wends its
5pm Tue-Fri, to 6pm Sat) is country, blues, funk, way along the bayou near
another worthy stop, and swamp rock and even the airport. Costumed
often hosts music nights punk blasting out of docents explain Cajun,
and educational lectures. the excellent Blue Creole and Native
Moon Saloon (www| American history,
The Drive » Head east on US .bluemoonpresents.com; 215 local bands perform on
E Convent St; cover $5-8); Sundays and boat tours
190 (Laurel Ave) and turn right the crowd here is young, of the bayou are offered.
onto LA-367. Follow LA-367 for hip and often tattooed, The not-as-polished
around 19 miles (it becomes LA- but they’ll get down Acadian Village (%337 981
98 for a bit), then merge onto to a fiddle as easily as 2364; www.acadianvillage.org;
I-10 eastbound. Follow I-10 for drum-and-bass. During 200 Greenleaf Dr; adult/student
around 14 miles, then take exit the last weekend in April $7/4; h10am-4pm) offers
101 onto LA-182/ Lafayette hosts Festival a similar experience,
N University Ave; follow into minus the boat tours.
downtown Lafayette. International Next to Vermilionvile, the
de Louisiane (www NPS runs the Acadian
TRIP HIGHLIGHT .festivalinternational.com), Cultural Center (www
the largest Francophone .nps.gov/jela; 501 Fisher Rd;
6 Lafayette musical event in the h8am-5pm), containing
Western Hemisphere. exhibits on Cajun life; it’s
Lafayette, capital of a little dry compared to
Cajun Country and Vermilionville (%337- the above, but still worth
fourth-largest city 233-4077; www.vermilionville a visit.
in Louisiana, has a
wonderful concentration .org; 300 Fisher Rd; adult/ 5 4 p245
of good eats and culture
for a city of its size student $8/6; h10am-4pm
(around 120,000). On Tue-Sun; c), a restored/
most nights you can re-created 19th-century

244

Eating & Sleeping

Thibodaux 1 Sun) Your place if you’re jonesing for vegan/
vegetarian food, or even just a hookah, plus
5 Fremin’s Cajun $$ a lovely selection of beer on offer. Live music
every night and a crowd that largely consists of
(%985-449-0333; 402 West Third St; mains the student and artist set.

$11-23; h11am-2pm Tue-Fri, 5-9pm Tue-Thu, 5 Dwyer’s Diner $

to 10pm Fri & Sat) Fremin’s is one of the great (%337-235-9364; 323 Jefferson St; mains $5-12;

granddaddies of high-end, classic Cajun cuisine. h7am-3pm; c) This family-owned joint is 20 Cajun Country

The menu doesn’t change much, and while there especially fun on Wednesday mornings when

are some items that could use an update, overall local Cajuns shoot the breeze in their old-school

this is a solid menu. Case in point: soft-shell French dialect.

crab served over pasta with a meltingly good

mushroom brandy sauce. 5 French Press Breakfast $$$

(www.thefrenchpresslafayette.com; 214 E

Breaux Bridge 2 Vermillion; breakfast $6-$10.50, dinner mains

$29-38; h7am-2pm Tue-Thu, 7am-2pm & 5:30-

5 Café des Amis Cajun $$$ 9pm Fri, 9am-2pm & 5:30-9pm Sat, 9am-2pm

(www.cafedesamis.com; 140 E Bridge St; mains Sun; W) This French-Cajun hybrid is the best

$17-26; h11am-2pm Tue, to 9pm Wed & Thu, culinary thing going in Lafayette. Breakfasts

7:30am-9:30pm Fri & Sat, 8am-2pm Sun) What’s are mind blowing, with a sinful Cajun benedict

better than the Creole and Cajun menu at this (boudin instead of ham), cheddar grits (that will

joint? Not much really, but there’s a strong case kill you dead) and organic granola (offset the

to be made for the surreal folk art on the walls grits). Dinner is wonderful as well; that rack of

and the live zydeco breakfast that goes off every lamb with the truffiled gratin is a special bit of

Saturday morning. gastronomic dreaminess.

4 Bayou Cabins Cabin $ 4 Blue Moon Guesthouse $

(%337-332-6158; www.bayoucabins.com; 100 W Guest House

Mills Ave; cabins $60-125) Each of the 14 cabins (%877-766-2583, 337-234-2422; www.bluemoon

on the Bayou Teche is completely individual. guesthouse.com; 215 E Convent St; dm $18,

Cabin 1 has 1949 newspapers as wallpaper r $73-94; paiW) There’s a backyard

(aka insulation), and cabin 7 has fine Victorian nightclub and hostel environs (dorms and some

antiques and a claw-foot tub. Your full, hot private rooms) in this tidy old Lafayette home.

breakfast is served at 9am and the on-site store Does it get loud? Hell yes, but the music is great.

sells homemade cracklings and boudin. 4 La Maison de Belle B&B B&B $$

Lafayette 6 (%337-235-2520; 608 Girard Park Dr; r $110-150)
Overnight where John Kennedy Toole dreamed
5 Artmosphere American $ up Confederacy of Dunces. The grounds and
adjacent park are lovely.

(%337-233-3331; 902 Johnston St; mains

under $10; h11am-2am Mon-Sat, to midnight

245

Gulf Islands National Seashore
Remote islands and deserted beaches

JAMES RANDKLEV / CORBIS ©

21Gulf Coast

Explore a labyrinthian coast of wetlands and gulf harbors,
shrimp boats, pine forests, bayous and white-sand beaches
in three states.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 4 DAYS
648 MILES /
0 miles 648 miles 1043KM
New Orleans Mobile
Because even a hint of A rather welcoming GREAT FOR...
NOLA is always industrial port
welcome G

Km BEST TIME TO GO
##8
April to June for
Biloxi sunshine before the
heat really arrives.
##
I ESSENTIAL
Gulfport ##6 PHOTO

Ll# ##3 1# Cypremonth Point
State Park, an idyllic
# Grand nature immersion.
Isle
K BEST FOR
Avery Island Gulf Islands OUTDOOR
Explore the eccentic National Seashore ACTIVITIES
botanical beauty on Untouched barrier
Avery Island islands worth seeking The entire route –
168 miles out wetlands, bayous,
marshes and beaches.
586 miles
247

21 Gulf Coast TRIP HIGHLIGHT

Florida gets all the good press when it comes to 1 New Orleans
southern coastline, but the Gulf laps the beaches
of Louisiana, Mississippi, and, ever so briefly, Few destinations have as
Alabama too. And while she has been used and many ways to creatively
abused and even ended up in the (bad) news more kill time as the Crescent
than once during the past decade, there are plenty City. It’s deep in history
of overlooked pockets of charm, beauty and history and architecture, there’s
to occupy you. sensational food, and
more great free live music
here than anywhere
else. Begin with a tipple
at Lafitte’s Blacksmith
Shop (%504 523 0066; 941
Bourbon St; hnoon-late),
set in one of the few
18th-century cottages
to survive the French
Quarter fires during the

VÓU55
Tangpahoa River
Mississippi River

Opelousas ÓVU59
#\
ÓVU49 Baton ÓVU12
^# Rouge

VÓU10

]# Lafayette äb1 GF17 Amite River ÓVU55 PontcLhaakretrain

ÓVU10 MaLuarkeepas Ll

LOUISIANA VÓU10

#\Donaldsonville

#Avery 3 ÓVU90 AlLleamc adnesds # Lake Borgne
äb1
Island #]1 New Orleans

`ß329 Morgan #I
City
#Cypremont #\2 p262
Point #\
State Park MIslaarnshd #\ SaLlvaakdeor iver
VÓU90 Miss issippi R
Russell Sage Foundation Gibson Larose
MWarislhdlIifselaRnedfuSgtaete
#\

äb1

äb56 Port Sulphur #\

ß`#5 3235

Louisiana Universities #4#\ Grand Isle
Marine Consortium
GULF OF MEXICO (LUMCON)

DeIrsnlieesres TiImslbaanldier West
Bay
100 km
e# 0 50 miles
0