The A-Z of the American South

Nowhere in the USA can you find a greater variety of geographic, historic, cultural and sensual attractions than in America’s 11 Southern states.

FROM ALABAMA’S GOLDEN GULF OF MEXICO beaches to West Virginia’s wildly wonderful white-water rivers; from Virginia’s once blood-drenched Civil War battlefields to Kentucky’s tranquil bluegrass horse country, the 11 Travel South states are a study of contrasts… a region of great scenic beauty, a land of epic history and a sub-culture of colourful and sometimes quite curious heritage. Here are just a few things to look for as you head in their direction.

APPALACHIA AND ACADIANS

The beautiful Appalachian region, encompassing some of the tallest mountains in the eastern USA, is spanned by the Maine-Florida Appalachian Trail as well as by the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway/ Skyline Drive which meanders along the mountain tops of Virginia and North Carolina. Tucked away in its mountain hollows and valleys are pristine lakes, beautiful waterfalls, elegant resorts and centres promoting regional arts and crafts. The Acadians, on the other hand, are the former French- Canadians who settled in the Louisiana lowlands where they produce distinctive Cajun cuisine and music while retaining their unique culture and communities.

BEACHES AND BLUES

You’ve in bucket and spade paradise here as six of the Southern states rejoice in wide, golden beaches, ranging from the Atlantic strands of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia to the Gulf Coast beaches of Alabama and Mississippi. Some, such as Virginia Beach and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, are lined with fun fairs and other, sometimes cheesy family attractions. Then there are the relatively quiet Outer Banks of North Carolina with their huge dunes, wild ponies and scenic lighthouses and the chic resort islands of Georgia and South Carolina. As for Blues, where better to head that this unique music form’s birthplace, the steamy Mississippi Delta country, home to Clarksdale’s Delta Blues Museum and Indianola’s BB King Museum?

CIVIL WAR AND CIVIL RIGHTS

If you’ve always been fascinated by the tragic but decisive American Civil War you’ve come to the right place. Abolitionist John Brown’s famous (and fatal) attempt to arm the slaves at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is thought to be the spark that ignited the conflict; the April 12, 1861 firing on a Union-held fort in Charleston, South Carolina officially began the war and Richmond, Virginia, became the capital of the Southern Confederacy even as the surrounding state became its major battleground. For the most poignant Civil Rights sites turn to Atlanta, Georgia, home and final resting place of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Memphis, Tennessee, where the National Civil Rights Museum is sited on the place where he was assassinated. Then follow the Civil Rights Trail through such Alabama cities as Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham.

DRAMA AND DRAWL

Southerners thrive on drama on the stage and under the stars as well as in their personal lives. Among America’s oldest outdoor dramas is coastal North Carolina’s The Lost Colony, inspired by the 16th century English colony which mysteriously disappeared from the site, and in the state’s western highlands are Unto These Hills, staged on the Cherokee reservation and telling that Native American nation’s dramatic story, and Boone’s Horn in the West, based on the life of famous explorer Daniel Boone. Bardstown, Kentucky’s Stephen Foster Story, on the other hand, honours the composer of such classics as Oh Susanna and Camptown Races. Columbus, Mississippi honours one of the south’s most famous playwrights, Tennessee Williams, by staging annual ‘porch plays’ on the front porches of some of its lovely old homes, and at Arlington, Virginia’s Barter Theatre, founded during the Depression when actors bartered their talent for food, I saw one of the most killingly funny spoofs of Gone with the Wind, with every part from Scarlett and Rhett to Mammy and Prissy played by just four actors. As for d-r-a-w-l, many Southerners take a long time to get the message out but when they do it is often memorable, particularly if laced with some of that colourful Southern slang.

ELVIS AND EASY LIVING

If you believe that Elvis is alive and well and luxuriating on a tropical island you’re in for a shock: his grave, and those of his parents, are on the grounds of his opulent, OTT Gracelands mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, also home to Sun Studios where he cut his first record and the apartment block where he lived as a teenager (female visitors are encouraged to leave their lipstick imprint on his bedroom wall). Learn more about his early years at the museum near his modest white frame birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi. If you’re a Porgy and Bess fan you’ll remember the lyrics Summertime, when the living is easy and maybe also that New Orleans is known as ‘The Big Easy’, but the South’s relaxed lifestyle is neither seasonally nor geographically limited. Order a splendid Southern cocktail, sink down into a comfy rocking chair or hammock, tune into some cool, mellow jazz and just relax.

FOOD AND FESTIVALS

The South is definitely not the place to go on a diet or to have finicky eating habits… the food is just too divine, particularly is places like New Orleans, where the internationally-known restaurants excel in French-influenced Creole cuisine, in the nearby lowlands where Cajun dishes include everything from seafood and game birds to swamp critters, and in such gourmet Meccas as Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, where offerings might include She Crab Soup and rich Mud (ie chocolate) Pie. That’s not to forget the hearty African-American soul food or the Good Ole Boy comfort food served up in many a diner. And where there’s food there’s festivals – dedicated to everything from peanuts to pumpkins, apple butter to watermelons.

GARDENS AND GOLF

With its mild climate and fertile soil, the South is the perfect destination for garden lovers, particularly if you travel in the early spring. Take the River Road out of Charleston, South Carolina, and you reach Middleton Place, site of America’s oldest landscaped garden; divert from the beaches around Wilmington, North Carolina, and discover lush and lovely Airlie Gardens featuring a gazebo made of multi-coloured bottles. There are also treats in store for lovers of those other green areas known as golf courses, Georgia not only has the Bobby Jones Golf Trail linking 19 golf courses and resorts but also has been home since 1934 to the world-renowned Masters Tournament held in Augusta each April. With more than 40 courses and the kudos this year of hosting the back-to-back Men’s and Women’s Open tournaments, the area around Pinehurst and Southern Pines, North Carolina claims to be ‘The Home of American Golf’. But beware of retrieving your golf balls from Deep South waters. While lounging in a posh South Carolina club house, my fellow drinkers and I were suddenly, and rather alarmingly. confronted by a golfer’s wife screeching “Oh, lawdy me, an alligator has just eaten my husband’s balls!”

SOUTHERN HOMES AND HORSES

Southerners love to show off their homes, particularly if they are historic and/or ancestral. Many are open for special tours in the spring or around the Christmas holiday period. For instance, if you arrive in Virginia the third week in April you can snoop through hundreds of homes and gardens during Historic Garden Week and the charming river town of Natchez, Mississippi, stages both spring and autumn ‘pilgrimages’ to the mansions built by the pre Civil War cotton millionaires. Others open year-round include Asheville, North Carolina’s 250- room chateauesque Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in America. As for horses, where else to head than Kentucky, home of Louisville’s Kentucky Derby and the wealth of stud farms and other equine attractions around Lexington.

ISLANDS AND INDEPENDENCE

The Atlantic coast is replete with islands. Some such as Virginia’s Tangier are laid-back, traditional and still inhabited by the descendants of its 17th-century settlers; others such as South Carolina’s Kiawah and Hilton Head and Georgia’s Golden Isles are chic resort islands known for their golf, tennis and sailing. And then there are North Carolina’s Outer Banks, long barrier islands with towering sand dunes including the one where the Wright Brothers launched the first powered flight in 1903. As for independence, the Brits might not like to be reminded of it but Yorktown, Virginia, is where the colonists won their independence when General George Washington (with a bit of help from the French) defeated the Brits’ General Cornwallis. On the other hand, the Virginians might not like to be reminded that Wheeling’s Independence Hall is where West Virginia declared independence from Virginia on June 20, 1863 to become the only state formed out of the American Civil War.

JAZZ AND JULEPS

Jazz was born in the 19th century when African-American slaves gathered to play their native instruments in New Orleans’ Congo Square. It has enlivened the city and the world ever since. To see the old-timers perform visit Preservation Hall; for more variety head for Frenchmen Street or one of the city’s numerous jazz-focused festivals, including one named for local music super hero Louis Armstrong. As for juleps, you haven’t fully experienced Southern hospitality until you’ve sampled a mint julep, consisting of straight bourbon, crushed ice, a splash of water and some muddled mint.

KISSING COUSINS AND KIDS

If there’s one sport Southerners enjoy more than any other (particularly vintage Southerners) it’s climbing up and down their own (and other) family trees. If somewhere along the way they loose the plot that dear old lady that everyone loves or the rather handsome elderly man that everyone wants to adopt just becomes a kissing cousin … you just know they are somehow kin so they get invited to family gathering and kissed on the cheek. As for kids, this is the place to come. In addition to the numerous beach and mountain resorts there are children’s museums, fascinating historic villages and theme parks galore. For instance, Louisville, Kentucky, is the site of Kentucky Kingdom, featuring more than 54 rides and attractions including the Hurricane Bay water park, and eastern Virginia, not only has the family-friendly historic villages of Williamburg and Jamestown, where children can play act at being British colonials, but also Williamsburg’s two theme parks: Water Country USA and Busch Gardens. North of Richmond, King’s Dominion is home to Intimidator 305, the highest thrill ride in the eastern USA.

LITERATURE AND LAKES

The South was and is the seedbed for many of America’s best-known writers. Visit Oxford, Mississippi’s Rowan Oak, where Nobel prize-winner William Faulkner wrote many of his powerful novels, or the Asheville, North Carolina home of Thomas Wolfe (Look Homeward Angel) whose role in literature will be re-evaluated by a soon-to-be released film starring Colin Firth, Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. Take a walking tour of New Orleans sites associated with Tennessee Williams and, when in Virginia, ask about literary sites associated with William Styron, the other more recent Tom Wolfe (Bonfire of the Vanities) and the queen of gore, Patricia Cornwell. As for lakes, North Carolina’s Lake Lure featured in the film Dirty Dancing, Georgia’s Lake Lanier is surrounded by resorts and the Land Between the Lakes Region on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee offers a range of water activities plus houseboats.

MUSEUMS AND MARDI GRAS

In addition to their wide range of history and science museums, the South is known for such palaces of painting as Atlanta’s High Museum and Richmond’s Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. More recent additions include Bentonville, Arkansas’ Crystal Bridges Museum, opened in 2011 by Walmart heiress Alice Walton. Although America’s flamboyant pre-Lenten Mardi Gras festivities are often exclusively associated with New Orleans, the Cajun country to its west has its own unique version – masked (and often quite tipsy) revellers gallop on horseback between farms and villages indulging in food, drink and frivolities all along the way. And then there’s Mobile, Alabama, which claims an even older version of the pre-Lenten festivities.

NATIONAL PARKS AND NATIVE AMERICANS

Among America’s most-visited national parks are Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah National Park, perched on the top of the legendary Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, spanning the mountainous border of North Carolina and Tennessee. On its edge is the reservation of the eastern band of one of America’s best-known Native American nations, the Cherokees, who invite visitors to tour their historic village, visit their museum and enjoy their summer outdoor drama, Unto These Hills.

OUTDOORS AND OPRY

The South is ideal for lovers of the great outdoors whether you want to sail, fish or water ski on America’s largest estuary, Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay; white-water raft down turbulent mountain rivers; hike the Appalachian Trail; climb up or ski down some of the tallest peaks in the eastern USA or play a round or two of golf on world-renowned links. As for Country Music, the place to head is Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest running radio music show. While in town, drop by its original venue, The Ryman Auditorium and the Stax, Rock ‘n’ Soul and Johnny Cash museums.

PLANTATIONS AND PRESIDENTS

Many of the Southern states still have beautiful cotton, rice and tobacco plantations which are open to tourists. Among those that can be reached by both road and river via The American Queen paddlewheel boat are Louisiana’s Oak Alley, Laura and Houmas House and those around lovely old Natchez, Mississippi, also known for the opulent town houses of the plantation cotton barons. Some of Virginia’s plantations did double duty as the homes of US presidents. Among them are George Washington’s Potomac Riverside Mount Vernon, easily reached from Washington, DC, and Thomas Jefferson’s mountaintop Monticello near Charlottesville. Other presidents such as Bill Clinton grew up in more modest surroundings. You can visit his unprepossessing birthplace in tiny Hope, Arkansas, before continuing on to Little Rock’s Clinton Presidential Center and Park.

QUEENS AND QUIETITUDE

This is the land of Beauty Queens, reigning over the festivities at almost any conceivable occasion: state fairs, watermelon and pumpkin festivals, July 4 patriotic parades, plantation and garden tours (think hoop skirts, parasols, fluttering eye lashes and honeyed accents). But if you want to get away from it all you can find quietitude, particularly on the long, lovely Southern evenings, when you can lie in a hammock listening to the sound of the crickets, cicadas and chirpy tree frogs or sit on a moonlit beach listening to the sound of the surf.

RIVERS AND RESORTS

Few rivers are more internationally known than Ole Man River, better known as the Mississippi, longest in the USA, third longest in the world and the inspiration for the colourful novels of former river pilot Mark Twain. But then the whole region is laced with beauties such as the Potomac, separating northern Virginia from the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, and West Virginia’s wild, scenic New and Gauley rivers, magnets for thrill-seeking white-water rafters. As for resorts, where do you start? Every state has golf, tennis, boating. even skiing resorts ranging from the Atlantic islands of Georgia and South Carolina to the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.

STATE PARKS AND SPAS

Known as the ‘Natural State’, Arkansas may lead the pack with 52 state parks but all the Southern states boast these treasures with their swimming and boating lakes, hiking and riding trails, camping sites and rental cabins. As for spas, Arkansas has appropriately-named Hot Springs, part of a national park, as well as Eureka Springs; Virginia has its own Hot Springs, home of the stately Omni Homestead resort plus nearby Warm Springs’ historic bath houses, and, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, there’s the grand Greenbrier Resort.

TRAINS AND TRAILS

Not only are many Southern cities and small towns served by the nationwide Amtrak rail system but the region has several vintage steam trains. West Virginia’s Cass transports visitors 11 miles back into the scenic Allegheny Mountains and in the mountains of North Carolina there’s a choice of two vintage rail excursions: The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad featured in the 1993 blockbuster movie, The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, and Tweetsie, a family favourite with its Wild West-themed rides and attraction-filled Western village. Running through this same mountainous area is one of the world’s longest and most famous walking paths, the 2,180-mile Appalachian Trail passing by waterfalls, historic towns and wildife areas as it meanders through four southern states.

UNDERGROUND AND UNIVERSITIES

Some of the South’s most stunning scenery lies underground in such massive caves as Virginia’s cathedral-like Luray Caverns, one of several caves tucked under the state’s legendary Blue Ridge Mountains, and Kentucky’s Mammoth Caverns featuring 300 miles of explored passageways. As for universities it’s always a treat to tour the campuses of such establishments as Virginia’s William and Mary, America’s second oldest university after Harvard, and the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson and featuring the Rotunda which he designed, not forgetting the University of North Carolina, the country’s oldest state-supported university.

WINE AND WHISKEY

Every Southern state now has wine-producing regions – Virginia is now ranked fifth in the nation with more than 230 wineries and vineyards plus 12 wine trails. As for whiskey, no town is better known than Lynchburg, Tennessee, where ironically you can tour the famous Jack Daniels distillery but not get an alcoholic drink… Lynchburg is sited in a dry county! Bourbon lovers, on the other hand, will have no problem enjoying a tipple when touring the distillery-dotted Bourbon Trail wandering from Kentucky’s Lexington to Bardstown, home of the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History and annual Bourbon Festival.

XTRA STATE AND XMAS

You may wonder why the Xtra special state of Florida is not included in this round-up. A simple answer: although it’s the southernmost of the Southern states it’s not part of the Travel South consortium, probably because it feels that its numerous attractions speak for themselves. In addition to glitzy Hispanic Miami, fun and funky Key West the the world’s theme park capital, Orlando, they include Fort Lauderdale with its glorious, golden beaches and, on the Lee Island Gulf Coast, historic Fort Myers and delightful Sanibel Island. As for the Christmas (aka Xmas) holidays, where better to spend them than in a Southern resort or beautifully-decorated city, many offering special seasonal events and house and garden tours (see our 8 Great Places to Spend Your Christmas Holidays feature).

YACHTING AND YANKEES

This region is a yachting paradise with welcoming marinas and boat rental facilities all along the way, including around the massive Chesapeake Bay and the Inland Waterway which stretches down the coast to Florida. And an important tip: never, ever call a Southerner a Yankee – to you it might just be another name for, well, a Yank, but to Southerners Yankees were the nasty folk from up North who invaded the South during ‘The War of Northern Aggresssion’ (aka The American Civil War) and Southerners, particularly the geriatric generation, have a long, long memory.

ZOOS AND ZYDECO

Zoo Atlanta is one of only four zoos in the USA hosting giant pandas as well as rare twin gorillas; Louisville Zoo displays more than 1,700 animals in natural and mixed habitat settings and New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo is known for its rare white, blue-eyed alligators as well as for gorillas and orangutans. As for Zydeco, that unique, knee-slapping merger of French Creole blues and rhythm and blues, it’s best to be found in the Louisiana bayou country around Lafayette.

Family Fun

In addition to the glorious beaches, the numerous sporting activities and the living-history villages, there is a wealth of family attractions in the South. Among them are interesting children’s museums, such exciting train excursions as West Virginia’s Cass and North Carolina’s Tweetsie, and amusement parks filled with thrill rides, water attractions and live entertainment, such as North Carolina’s Carowinds, set near the border with South Carolina, and Virginia’s Busch Gardens and Water Country USA, both near Williamsburg, and King’s Dominion, north of Richmond.