US South - 17 Day to 3 week ideas?

Charleston and Savannah
Charleston loses more of what made it special every passing year, so I’d go now.
Depending on how fast you like to move, you could pair with New Orleans. That’s roughly a week for each and travel between. I think those are the three most beautiful cities in the country. I’d only come for those and our national parks. Yes, I am biased!
Actually I am also growing more fond of eastern NC more and more each year. It reminds me of how the South Carolina coast was before massive growth. I go in summer for beaches but I’d like to go in a season where bugs and heat would be less of a factor.

You cannot mention Eastern NC without mentioning Barbecue!!
It's great, great fun to seek out the BBQ shacks in the small towns. I could give you a list but many keep "flexible" hours so you have to double check.

The Big Daddy of them all is the SKYLIGHT INN in Ayden, not too far from the pretty, historic town of Edenton.
(Look for the building with a replica of the US capitol on top!!). The sounds of chopping they use whole hog, not shoulder like in western NC) greets you as you enter and the Q is "fine!!!" Bum's in the same town has BBQ and other things--good for mornings.

These places are a remnant of the American South, often run as a side business by locals who have full time jobs during the week, and so they often are open weekends only. But SKYLIGHT and MC CABES are open most days and those are only two of many all dotting much of NC and to a slightly lesser extent, SC. It's hard work, tending the pit, especially if they still use wood, and might not be around much longer..so go now! Each region has its own sauce--vinegar, mustard (in SC) etc.

Just off I-95 in SC you have McCabe's which is more of a real "shack."
There are all kinds of regional dishes around there--cheese biscuits, fresh herring in the spring season, Brunswick stew which you find in both Georgia and both Carolinas, etc...

This guy knows his stuff:

https://johntannersbbqblog.wordpress.com/category/north-carolina/

I will tell you my honest opinion and not sugar-coat it or look through rose-colored glasses.
Atlanta, Charlotte....IMHO, these are huge cities without any charm.
Atlanta and Charlotte are just big cities that the interstate highway goes through; bumper-to-bumper traffic, lots of accidents.
Time I would devote to either on vacation....zero.
Atlanta has an art museum, but since you did not visit a bunch of these during your visit to D.C., I assume you're not interested.

New Orleans.....some old buildings in the French Quarter worth seeing.
New Orleans and Memphis both play up the "music scene" to draw in tourists, but both fall short of delivering what you're expecting after much trouble and expense to visit there.
The streets are dirty (trash) in New Orleans. It would be a lovely place if they (the city) would just clean it up! Bourbon St. is mainly people walking around drinking. A few people standing on street corners playing horns or sax.......nothing to plan a vacation around just to see that.The best thing in New Orleas might be the World War II Museum.
Ditto for Memphis's Beale Street. Nothing special IMO.The National Guard is there anyway now.
I'm not much of an Elvis fan, so we skipped Graceland. The Peabody Hotel downtown....nothing to see there....it's just a hotel. If that makes the "must see" list for this town, one must be pretty bored is all I can say.

Charleston will give you the same era of buildings that you would go to New Orleans to see, as well as there are jazz concerts there. You might check the VisitCharleston website to look for concerts while you are there. Several hotels in Charleston that have lovely courtyards feature jazz concerts in the evening during happy hour.
Savannah has a lovely waterfront with lots of restaurant choices. Take the horse-drawn carriage ride around town to see all the squares in town.

As long as you are "doing" the Atlantic Coast, you might as well drive south from Savannah through Jacksonville, FL, and onward to St. Augustine, FL with its outstanding old Spanish fort (built 1672–1695) and Old Town area. Great restaurants/seafood, great B&B's, a lighthouse and nice beach. Castillo de San Marcos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castillo_de_San_Marcos

Charleston, Savannah, Wilmington NC ( nice), maybe the Gulf Coast and end in New Orleans.

Charlotte: Not much but barbecue is worth a stop

Memphis: Graceland, Peabody Hotel maybe some jazz. Not much else. Way off course if doing a coastal vacation.

Mississippi: Natchez and not much else….but the allure of the river.

Alabama: Why? Except seeing Montgomery and absorbing where one aspect of civil rights movement thrived. Of course if “Roll Tide” means something catch some college football

Atlanta: Carter Library, CNN tour, Some nice old neighborhoods

Charlotte: Not much but barbecue is worth a stop.

Charlotte is not the place for barbecue. Keep on driving east. Eastern North Carolina is where great barbecue is happening. Smithfield and the small towns east of Raleigh. Raleigh itself has quite a few great restaurants, including barbeque.

Follow I-40 from Raleigh on down to Wilmington...ah, yes, southern charm. Great downtown area with an old museum in a warehouse facing the waterfront. See the U.S.S. North Carolina battleship. BBQ restaurants and more cafes all over the old town downtown area. If parts of it look familiar, it was a filming location for the TV series "Dawson's Creek". Warner Brothers Studios were here.

Then continue south on U.S. 17 toward Charleston, stopping along the way at roadside restaurants that look good. There you'll find good BBQ and seafood.

You'll find good BBQ and seafood in Charleston, too. Charleston has dozens of great restaurants.

We really enjoyed the National Civil Rights Museum ( https://civilrightsmuseum.org) in Memphis.

Happy travels.

We just returned from a trip that started in Atlanta (The Carter Library and MLK Museum were closed due to the government shutdown). Drove to the Florida panhandle for a wedding; stopped at the Roosevelt Little White House in Warm Springs on the way; we really enjoyed that. Then to Vicksburg to tour the Battlefield. Vicksburg appears to be very depressed; some nice restaurants downtown, but not much else. Drove the Natchez Trace to Natchez. Natchez is nice with some antebellum homes to tour, but not much else. Ended in New Orleans. I have been there several times through the years. Seems more and more that visitors are just looking for Mardi Gras atmosphere all year long. My husband thoroughly enjoyed the World War II Museum.

I am a Southerner and have been all over the South.

New Orleans was a bit of a let down for me. I have been twice and the city was dirty and some areas dangerous to go at night.
Still, loved the music on Burbon Street and some of the historical sites.

Memphis, sorry, didn't care much for it.

The Natchez Trace, starting in Natchez, Mississippi is interesting.
Charleston, Savannah, Jekyl Island, St. Augustine, that is a nice trip.
I live in South Georgia and love it.

Virginia is great, loads of history there, Charlottesville with the University of VA, Jeffersons and Madison's homes, the foothills of the Appalachians. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g143051-d287943-Reviews-Appalachian_Trail-Shenandoah_National_Park_Virginia.html

Nashville is great if you like country music. Kentucky is nice if you like the Kentucky Derby.
Texas has many great places to visit.

Thanks all. Appreciate suggestions from those of you who live in, or love, the South. And, I’d love thoughts on itinerary ideas below - with the proverbial Q, am I trying to do too much?

• Valdelphia. Yes re N.O. and Charleston; perhaps Savannah, which was on my original list and which a couple of others have also suggested. We are thinking spring. Perhaps May. Avoid summer heat in the South - and we love the Pacific NW in summer.
• Ekscrunchy. Thnx. Will look later with plan and map in hand.
• Sam. Good thoughts to focus on smaller communities, as well as Charleston SC, though N.O. is a must. We have a friend who lives there, can lead us to music venues NOT on Bourbon street and who has been volunteering at the WW2 museum that padams mentioned. FL is beyond our scope on this trip, tho.
• Veterantraveler. Wilmington is a great suggestion. As to Natchez Trace, which geovagriffith and padams also mention, a Seattle friend has biked there and loved it, so I’ll take a look.
• Geovagriffith. Your comments about VA are spot on. We were in VA last September and visited much of what you mentioned (plus Roanoke), as described in the TR linked in my original post.

Re Bourbon St. and Beale St. YES - HAPPY to STAY AWAY. Just as we couldn’t stand merely crossing Broadway in Nashville. Fortunately, we found country music at a small venue in Five Points in E. Nashville as part of the American Music Fest when we were in Nashville, plus a great quartet at a jazz club, Rudy’s.

So, with the above thoughts and your suggestions in mind, how might the following work out?

• Fly to NO; 4 nights. Music. Bayou or Cajun oriented day trip?
• Drive to Natchez. 1 night
• Drive to Vicksburg. 1 night. Music along the way?
• Drive to Memphis. 2 nights. Music?
• Drive to Oxford. 1 night. Ole Miss; Faulkner
• Drive to Birmingham 1 night. Birmingham Civil Rights Inst.
  
• Drive to Montgomery 2 nights; Montgomery Civil Rights Museums (Rosa Parks Museum; Legacy Museum & Nat’l Memorial for Peace &Justice; Tuskeegee
• Drive to Atlanta 2 nights. King Center; Carter Center
• Drive to Savannah 2 nights. Parks and some of your suggestions. Beaches?
• Drive to Charleston 2 nights. Suggestions. Beaches?
• Drive to Wilmington 2 nights. Suggestions? Beaches?

Sights to include, things to do? Sights along the way? Too much?

Alternative itinerary piece? Natchez Trace 5 to 6 day bike ride and scratch Vicksburg, Memphis and Oxford? That would extend trip from 20 nights to 21.

Looking forward to any and all replies

Fred, my suggestions for Charleston and New Orleans and Savannah that we really enjoyed.......

Charleston:
Boone Hall Plantation (not the fancy furniture in the big house type of tour...fantastic Gullah experience and tour into the fields)
Fort Sumter (no explanation needed here)
Old Slave Market (recordings from former slaves and descendants made in the 30s as a WPA project, photos, absolutely moving)
Carriage ride through the old town (various themes)
Walk around the old neighborhoods of grand houses

New Orleans:
WWII museum (could spend a whole day here)
Whitney Plantation (again, not about the fancy house but about slave life and history)
Cajun Pride bayou boat ride (not the big fan type boat, more leisurely and better views of flora and fauna)
Frenchman Street (WAY nicer than Bourbon St, and all about the music, not the drinking)
Creole Queen Historical River Cruise (from Nola to the Battle of New Orleans battle sites tour guide there but govt. shutdown may have cancelled the NPS guide) Boat ride still there I believe.
Drink at the gorgeous Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel (flourishes by the bar staff in making your drinks)

Savannah:
Breakfast at Mr. Wilkes' Dining Room (worth the wait in line for a very Southern menu...bring an appetite)
Wander around the old squares and a walk through Forsyth Park
Congregation Mikve Israel (est. 1733, we were lucky to have a terrific docent give us the history)
The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist (beautiful, est 1873)

I'm not inspired to visit Florida, Mississippi or Alabama. Virginia has tons and tons of things to see and do. North Carolina sounds pretty good to me, as does following the Natchez Trace. And a combo visit to Kentucky and Tennessee for 10-12 days would be nice.

What a lot of choices you have! Best of luck in your plans!

We have done a couple of variations on your trip.

First, a few years ago we flew into Memphis for a couple of nights, mainly to eat at Central Barbecue, see the duck parade at the Peabody and listen to a little music. Then we headed to Vicksburg with some specific Civil War spots my husband was interested in. Went further south to Baton Rouge to meet up with family and toured a couple of homes along the Mississippi. Then onto New Orleans (been many times before). This time meeting up with friends from Texas and South Carolina. We stayed near Bayou St. John, planned an entire day at the WWII museum, did a little walking around and dinner at Arnaud’s. Avoided Bourbon Street.

We were in New Orleans again last year for a week for Jazz Fest. Stayed in the Garden District which we enjoyed. SIL went to two concerts each day in different venues, along with Jazz Fest. We all went to Preservation Hall which was a must see for them. We had been before, but the venue is unique.

Another trip started in Houston with friends. Drove to Mobile to see the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. Mobile was a pleasant surprise. We found a couple of great restaurants and it is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. We also visited Pensacola and the National Naval Aviation Museum and the home of the Blue Angels, again spent the day. If you see a pattern here, retired Naval officer and another history buff.

On to Savannah. Stayed near Forsyth Park. Highly recommend a tour of Bonaventure Cemetery. Enjoyed the waterfront area.

Then Charleston. We had been several times before, friends from Houston had not. Other friends met us there. As history buffs, went to Fort Sumpter, again. In the past we had stayed at Folly Beach, this time we stayed at Mount Pleasant. Lots of walking around, some shopping. We had toured a couple of houses in the past.

Finished outside of Columbia. We had stayed in Aiken before. Cute little town close to Augusta. Final stop Augusta National for a practice round day at The Masters which was the entire reason for the trip.

As another PacNW person, we found the south so very different. We had lived in Virginia a couple of times over the years, but never spent any time in the south outside of New Orleans.

Highlights:

New Orleans, yes, it’s dirty and definitely has a crime problem, but we were there last year with a three year old who delighted in everything, especially the street cars. Music is hard to beat if you know where to go. WWII Museum is outstanding and the food is hard to beat.

Savannah is different than Charleston, both are worth a couple of days each.

Mobile was a total surprise!

NC barbecue is good, and the smaller the town, the better.

I could have gone on and on. Feel free to PM if you have specific questions!

Fred,
We stayed at the Planter's Inn in Savannah. Recommend it and would stay again. Parking available in parking structure next door, covered by hotel.

correction, Mrs. Wilkes', not Mr.

A small city I’d recommend for an overnight is Greenville, South Carolina. It’s been a few years since I’ve been, but it’s a place that made smart decisions about their Main Street and downtown. Very walkable with history and livability in mind.

Fred,

Just commenting on this part since I'm from there:

"Drive to Birmingham 1 night. Birmingham Civil Rights Inst.
Drive to Montgomery 2 nights; Montgomery Civil Rights Museums (Rosa Parks Museum; Legacy Museum & Nat’l Memorial for Peace &Justice; Tuskeegee"

Try to see if you can visit Selma as a part of this (since your focus is on Civil Rights)! It is fairly close to Montgomery. The EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) Museums complex is incredible and moving--they just opened a hotel as a part of it as well. It is called the Elevation hotel.

In my personal opinion, I'd pick Selma over Tuskegee, BUT if you know there is something you want to see, the drive from Montgomery can be arranged to pass through small towns, farms, etc, or you can just take the interstate.

General thoughts:

May will still be hot in some places in the South, but the humidity should not be at peak yet. However, May is college and high school graduation season, and some of these places will have some hotel/traffic impacts--not all, but certainly any of the college towns. I'd lump Montgomery in as well with several colleges/universities.

I second Judy's Charleston thoughts though I'd personally skip the carriage ride.

I love New Orleans, and Judy gave you a good list there as well. We also enjoyed walking from the Garden District to Tulane and visiting the botanic gardens if you need some outdoor/down time activities in the city.

If you have any Alabama specific questions, feel free to message me, though I will keep trying to check this board!

Savannah definitely. It's one of the prettiest cities in the US IMO and a natural combination with Charleston. If you're making your way to New Orleans, Mobile and Fairhope are a nice stop. Depending on how much time you have, you could also add Fort Morgan.

Two nights is not remotely enough for Charleston, you’ll sit in traffic half that time, lol.
If you are only interested in beaches, you can find better elsewhere anyway.

But why has no one mentioned what is perhaps the most interesting part of Lousiana''the area around Lafayette.

We stayed in a B/B near Eunice, as a side trip from NOLA and had a great time visiting Fred's Lounge in Mamou for the Saturday morning radio show featuring live Cajun music and lots of drinks and dancing, beginning at 8am.

https://lbcommuter.com/hot-damn-freds-lounge-in-mamou-louisiana/

Liberty Theatre in Eunice for their live Saturday night radio program''live music.

Fabulous food and dancing and wonderful restaurants''boudin and crawfish. Look up DJ´s for crawfish owner is a pilot for Delta and they have live music many nightsÑ

https://www.discajunrestaurant.com

This is an area of the US that has not yet been homogenized and well worth a trip. I´d skip the eat coast and spend more time around there, with New Orleans. And skip Bourbon street entirely.. There are very interesting areas of the city, much more interesting and less touristy than the horrible, dirty Bourbon Street. Marigny, Bywater, Garden District, the cemeteries, etc..... And some great Israeli food at SHAYA.

Just FYI, in Savannah Mrs. Wilkes is no longer open for breakfast -- only lunch. And while it is great southern cooking, the price, in my opinion, is a bit too much. And they only take cash -- no credit cards. You can check their website for the menu and price info.

On the other hand, there are many good places to eat in Savannah if you are really into the food scene. There was a time when we drove across the state just to spend two or three days trying different places.

The is also a very interesting museum just outside Savannah in Pooler Ga. dedicated to the 8th Air Force and their role in WWII.

New Orleans is also a great city for foodies. And the best place for music, in my opinion, is Preservation Hall. And of course the WWII museum.

Rachel, Acher and ekscrunchy. Thnx for the specific suggestions.

Mary and Valdelphia and all … if you have thoughts about pacing, let me know. Ditto for whether we should possibly end in Charleston, rather heading up along the coast and/or islands to Wilmington. Were we to end in SC, what about Greenville, as acher has recommended? Of course, there is the BBQ draw up towards Wilmington.

One can never do it all. And striking the right balance between historic sights and getting a feel for place and people and culture is huge.