Plan My Next Vacation: '08 Edition

So looking for something less epic than Spain to do during one of the kids' school breaks this winter/spring, but equally interesting/tasty, my wife came up with the following plan:

1) Take an Amtrak sleeper car to Memphis.

2) Couple of days in Memphis/area.

3) Toodle south to end in New Orleans, making such stops as seem interesting.

4) Few days in New Orleans/area.

5) Back to Memphis, take the train back.

So I submit this for LTHForum commentary. Questions that occur at first are:

1) If we do this during the winter break, which is mid-February (AFTER Mardi Gras), will the weather likely be such that we'll want to get out and tromp around Civil War battlefields or whatever low-intensity attractions we will find along the way? (The kids are of an age still where a minor historical site with room to run around trumps a Smithsonian-level attraction.)

2) Are there Pigmon-BBQ shack level food stops to be made within a reasonable distance of this itinerary? (I haven't started plotting stuff on a map yet to see what's near our likely path.)

3) Will there be enough for the kids to enjoy in New Orleans, or will it mainly consist of Dad explaining why no one else is eating at 6 pm and who those women standing there in hardly any clothes are? Heck, for that matter, what about Memphis? I've been there but I can't think of much, other than ducks in the Peabody, that we did there that the kids would go for. (I'm not knocking these cities in any way, just wondering about their suitability for kids aged 6 and 9.)

Any insights into the feasibility of this idea, and any logical alterations one might suggest, would be much appreciated.

Mike G wrote:3) Will there be enough for the kids to enjoy in New Orleans...

There are all kinds of seemingly-fun tours.
I didn't get a chance to go on one,
but wanted to check out the cemetery,
and one of the "haunted places" tours.
My wife and I spent several hours in
a Voodoo Shop - felt more like a
folk-art museum than just a "cheesey
trinket shop" as one might expect. Every
where I looked was something interesting
to see. I wish I had photos to post, but they
were very clear about photography not being
allowed. My wife was also very impressed
with some fortune-teller/psychic that she
visited. I think as a kid I would have
gotten a kick out of that stuff.

How are you getting from Memphis to New Orleans? By car or train?

We'll be heading to N. Mississippi and NE/NW Louisiana over the Christmas holidays.

I think New Orleans is an adult city. Memphis has Beale Street and some bars and clubs and the Elvis stuff, again mostly adults. Both of those cities are high crime. Just take a drive down Stony Island instead.

Why not do the Yellowstone, Tetons, S. Dakota Badlands. Mt. Rushmore, Sioux/Custer trip with kids? Just a thought.

How are you getting from Memphis to New Orleans? By car or train?

By car, theoretically, it's all theoretical at this point. What takes you to those parts, anything besides family?

Why not do the Yellowstone, Tetons, S. Dakota Badlands. Mt. Rushmore, Sioux/Custer trip with kids?

Because it will be February, mainly.

February in New Orleans can be very rainy, but it's still a great time. It's a pretty adult city, but there are some fun things to do for the kids; like ride the St. Chrles streetcar (which I understand is again operating) and take one of the cemetary tours. You can also get the boys all hopped up on coffee and begnets at Cafe du Monde.

There are tons of swamp tours outside N.O. that let you toss marshmallows to the gators.

Also, some 20 min. south of Memphis in Holly Springs, MS is Graceland Too, home of Paul Macleod and his son Elvis Aaron Presley--World's Greatest Elvis Fans:

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/ElvisLives.html

The N.O. Audubon Zoo is wonderful, one of the nicest in the country. The albino alligators and white tigers alone are worth the trip. The Aquarium of the Americas is also great. The Audubon institute, which operates both, has tons of special educational programs for kids, including some in the evenings, so their parents can go have an adult dinner . There is an IMax there too. You used to be able to take a boat from the Aquarium at the bottom of Canal Street near the Riverwalk to the Zoo. I don't know if they still do this. You could buy a combined ticket that included the Aquarium, the Zoo and the boat ride. I would suggest taking the boat one way, then walking through Audubon park to the St. Charles streetcar for the return ride downtown.

http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/PageServer

EDIT: I found out that the zoo boat is not currently running, and won't be back until 2009.
http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/aquazoo.html

Mike G wrote:By car, theoretically, it's all theoretical at this point. What takes you to those parts, anything besides family?

1) I still have 17 vacation days left this year.

2) I want to sneak down to Lafayette, LA for some turducken and to restock my pantry (Community Coffee, Cajun Power Sauce, boudin, etc.).

3) It is one of the few areas that we have never been to (or spent much time in),

4) I am in some serious need of "downhome" cooking.

And there are a few other reasons.

Guess I should start writing travel books.

I prefer the joy of driving over taking the train - of course 2-lane roads over the interstate. It will certainly open up options of things to see and eat.

I would certainly argue the point that NOLA is an adult city. Some of my favorite museums are there. I highly recommend the Historic New Orleans Collection; they're even highlighting food in a current exhibition: What's Cooking in New Orleans

I also like the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve

The first trip the Bride and I ever took was to drive to New Orleans for the World's Fair. We then went back for our tenth wedding anniversary. Have also taken a weekend outing to Lafayette and Breaux Bridge for the Crawfish festival.

With kids your age, Mike, you probably would enjoy the bayou country a bit more than the city. Take a boat trip, visit a couple of islands (which are not islands) head up to Natchez and Baton Rouge to visit some old plantations. I also am pretty fond of some of the Mississippi style barbecue you can get around Jackson, and even over in Alabama. In that direction, you can also see what is up with Jeff Davis' old place in Gulfport (Beauvoir).

If you are just going for a week, there is more than enough to do between New Orleans, Lafayette, Gulfport, and Natchez without trying to combine time in Memphis, IMO. The Natchez daughters of the confederacy (or was it the garden club- so hard to recall) do a particularly good time warp take on trying to maintain the standards of antebellum decorum in the plantations they operate, as I recall.

The Smithsonian guidebook to the Southeast was a particularly good resource.

Anyway, on that trip back in the dawn of time, before the Bride was even my bride, in addition to visiting the least successful World's Fair of all time (it was closing 4 months early, a number of the pavilions had already shut down, and the ones that were open definitely had the everything must go sales in full swing) the Bride and I pushed the envelope of intimacy and by the time we hit Evansville on the trip back north were just listening to the Cubs boot that series away to Steve Garvey and the Padres (guess it must have been 1984) and not speaking to each other. Somehow we got over it... Still our dinner at Commander's Palace was probably prepared by Emeril himself, though who would have known?

My wife and I drove from St. Louis to Baton Rouge five or six years ago, largely taking Highway 61. On the drive from Memphis to New Orleans, I think Clarksdale is a good stop on 61 (some blues-related touristy things to do there), as is Vicksburg (for the Civil War stuff). We didn't have kids at the time, but there should be things for the kids to see and do in those cities. Natchez is worth a visit as well.

In New Orleans, in addition to some of the options mentioned above, there is a children's museum (I believe the Louisiana Children's Museum) and a WWII museum. There are any number of plantations from Natchez down to Baton Rouge and then from Baton Rouge down to New Orleans. Unfortunately you'll be hitting a bit of a dead spot for festivals and the like, as after Mardi Gras it seems that things don't pick up again until later in March or early April.

In addition to good eats in New Orleans, there are some great options in the small towns on 61 and the river roads between New Orleans and BTR and BTR and Natchez, and then obviously on into Acadiana as well.

New Orleans for the food and music alone would be great for the kids. Sure Bourbon St is pretty racy - but even during the day it isn't bad. Dirty, yes. It looks cleaner at night.

I can't say much more as I haven't been post-Katrina. I'm sure lots has changed since then.

What could be really quite pleasant in February would be a Charleston/Hilton Head/Savannah trip. Although, maybe not that exciting for two little boys...depends on how easily they can entertain themselves--and all those cities are less adult-oriented than New Orleans or Memphis.

New Orleans has a great zoo; I know this because on our last trip, April '06, Mrs. JiLS and I just wandered in unobserved and unchallenged through the employee entrance on a Monday afternoon (when the zoo was officially closed), got our fill of the place, and left before anybody saw us and might have said something like, "Hey, y'all, maybe come back when we can sell you a ticket, or something, hmm? Enjoy the rest of your day!". It was that kind of vibe, although that close to Katrina, maybe a bit out of the ordinary. Anyway, I'd recommend it highly for family fun in New Orleans. Your kids are from the big city; they can handle it.

Have you done the Amtrak thing with the kids before, Mike? We are considering it someday for the aforementioned Western trek, or maybe the one through Canada. Friends of ours did it with kids considerably smaller and they enjoyed it quite a bit - I'm interested in your take on it.

Also, just occurred to me: though I can't say anything about your itinerary, but generally, something we check when we travel is museums and zoos that are free with our membership to the Boonshoft in Ohio; the ASTC museum list (is Miles too old for that stuff now?) and the AZAzoo list for those that have reciprocal relationships. Kept this info in my back pocket during our visit to FLA and didn't wind up needing it, but it's a good fallback. (there's also the ACM, which the Boonshoft doesn't have an agreement with) It's a good resource even if you don't get the free admission.

I love New Orleans, i lived there for 3 years. I have many friends there and we all agree on this point.

Bourbon Street between Canal and St. Ann (near the Bourbon Pub) is not New Orleans. It is drunken disneyland New orleans. The rest of the French Quarter is New Orleans, Bourbon Street is for adults and might as well be Orlando. Bourbon Street can be fun for kids if they are a little older but you have to stay away after dark (as soon as they block off the street) if you have children. Unless, of course, you are ready to explain some things to your kids.

That having been said New Orleans and surrounding environs is a magical place for kids, forget the food for one second and let me explain.

The city is unique to the US in that a large part of it is more then 200 years old. Do your kids like Pirates? The legend of Jean Laffite and the many historic landmarks related to his brand of privateering will fascinate them. Do they like history? The D-Day Museum is really cool. So is the battleground where they fought the Battle for New Orleans. Music? Brass bands are way cool for kids Swamps? The Atchafalaya is an hour away, Lafitte State park is also an hour away, you can rent a canoe and get up close to a gator too. Plantation house tours, voodo and haunted houses, streetcars (if they are back in order since the storm) the zoo, the aquarium, and The Quarter are a wonderland for kids. Just stay off of Bourbon street at night and you will be fine.

New Orleans is a high crime city, no doubt about it, but if you use your head and take cabs instead of walking at night, it is no issue.

ALSO, Mardi Gras is a kids holiday in New Orleans. There is no better time to visit new orleans for kids then during Mardi Gras. I know the travel channel says Mardi Gras is about booze and boobs. Thats not how the locals do it. You can buy an Arthur Hardy's guide to Mardi Gras or look it up on the internet for more information.

BTW the food is really great too!

I have spent a lot of time in the Mississippi Delta and while it is great for a pass through or stop for the night, I wouldnt spend much time there. Memphis to New Orleans is a 6-8 hour drive with stops

m'th'su wrote:There are tons of swamp tours outside N.O. that let you toss marshmallows to the gators.

We were planning to visit one of the gator farms near Lafayette as I met the owner at Festival Acadienne a few years back. We were told that msot of the gator tours end mid-October as the alligators are dormant with the start of the winter months.

My daughter was in first grade and already a big Elvis fan when we visited Graceland. Since it was December, there were no crowds, and the home was actually kind of eerie, but memorable, what with the all-white living room, the waterfall room, and the room with the shag-carpeted ceiling. The only thing my daughter seems to remember is Elvis' grave by his swimming pool and the fact that he kept a pet monkey. It's always interesting to learn from one's children the most salient aspects of an experience.

I admit that Graceland is unique. The really priceless thing about the whole Graceland gestalt is the scripted Legend of Elvis tour-guide spiel. Some very creative branding genius has come up with a biography of the man that practically beatifies him. Judging from the reverent looks on the faces of my fellow tourists, this may be a concession to the demand for a populist hero from a simpler time--someone who can swivel his hips. The Elvis museum across the street was actually pretty upbeat, with a bunch of cool vintage cars and memorabilia and an acceptable malt shop-burger joint.

In downtown Memphis there is an interesting civil rights museum near the site of Dr. King's assassination. They have the bus where Rosa Parks made a stand, and the curators have made an excellent effort to make the historical artifacts understandable to school-age children. Liam might not understand much but the basic ideas, but Myles is old enough to take in more of the content, and I recall that the exhibits provoked some thoughtful questions from my daughter.

We ate BBQ pizza one day and walked down Beale Street, which had some cool Five and Dime-type stores to poke around in. There might be some all ages blues spots, but we ran out of steam before the evening.

The Peabody was a really nice place to stay, and the rates were surprisingly reasonable. My daughter loved the ducks, high tea in the lobby, and signing for room service for the first time ever.

Memphis is an interesting place, and I'm glad we visited.

I found the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis far more compelling than Graceland. It is located at the site of the former Lorraine Motel, the exterior of which has been restored to how it looked in the 1960s. Inside is a real treasure of history relating to the civil rights movement in this country including Dr. King's room recreated to look as it did the night of his assassination right down to his uneaten dinner left at the foot of the bed.

http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/about/about.asp

Grand Canyon Tours sounds like a great idea. I think I would have a great time there. I will let you know how it was after I will come back.