In 2018, I focused on getting into shape, career, hiking and experimenting with cooking. At the end of the year, I was exhausted and couldn’t wait for a long vacation!
The plan
The idea was to cover southern states of USA, because it was chilly in the north during the holiday season. After taking a look at the list of states to visit, a 14 day road trip from Nashville to New Orleans was on the table!
Day 1
Kentucky has one of the largest caving systems with more than 400 miles of caves called Mammoth caves. I went on one of the tours of the caves. After that, we came back to Nashville for some great southern vegan food, and saw parts of Nashville before heading to Huntsville to rest for the night.
Day 2
Huntsville, Alabama has an actual test prototype of the Saturn 5 rocket amongst other space-related artifacts and rides in the US Space and Rocket Center!
After visiting the space center, we hit the road to Tupelo, MS - birthplace of Elvis. The tiny house he was born in shows humble beginnings and demonstrates a perfect example of seizing the opportunity that US offers.
Day 3
Possibly my favorite day in the trip. This day was packed with visits to different types of places, through Mississippi, all the way to New Orleans. We started with Vicksburg - a place where a key battle during Civil war was fought. We saw the place where the union took over the confederates - a turning point in US history! This is also the home of U.S.S. Cairo - a sunken and restored battleship which took part in the war.
Then, we made a quick stop at Windsor Ruins - one of the biggest ruined mansions (caused by a cigarette, apparently). We followed it with a stop to a ghost city - Rodney, MS. There was a random guy scouting the area which spooked me, so we left the place at the earliest - to visit Emerald mounds - second largest in USA.
Day 4
NEW ORLEAAAANS! I was tired with all the driving, so we took it easy and hit the garden district and saw some cool architecture owned by “important” people. We also visited a cemetery - where bodies are buried above ground due to the marshiness of the soil!
We even went to Frenchmen street at night to listen to some great live music after visiting a rum distillery.
Day 5
Finally, we visited historic French Quarters part of town. We reached there by using the oldest operating streetcar system in the world ! We started the day with a guided tour of the area including a quick stop at the cathedral, market and Cafe du Monde.
We also drank a few hand grenades and visited preservation hall for a Jazz concert. Would love to do it again! :)
Day 6
Christmas eves day, everything is closed. So, we visited a park! I was pleasantly surprised with the sculpture park - some of the pieces are beyond beautiful and artistic.
We also cooked at the AirBnB and relaxed while watching “rust to riches” on Netflix. LOL.
Day 7
Christmas day, everything is closed. So, we visited another park - Fontainbleau state park.
We also crossed the longest bridge in the US - Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. This is also the longest continuous over the water highway bridge of the world and spans around 24 miles.
Day 8
We visited Melrose plantation in the morning - this beautiful plantation is rich in history with roots of slavery and home of famous artists including African American folk artist, Clementine Hunter. Her African House Murals are amazing to see in person!
We also tried to visit another plantation - which was closed because of government shutdown. So, we visited a fort in Natchitoches instead before heading to Shreveport.
We tried a local brewery at Shreveport - this city surprised me. It seems very livable with a tight knit society. :)
Day 9
The waterworks museum in Shreveport is a must-visit if you’re in the city. I learnt a lot about early water filtration systems. We then headed to Hot Springs, AR. Texarkana, a city between Texas and Arkansas was on the way, so we stopped to see the border. Then, we went on a small hike on Hot Springs National Park.
Day 10
How can we visit Hot Springs without dipping into the waters?! That’s exactly how we started the day - at Quapaw baths.
In the evening, we drove to Little Rock, AR and hiked up Pinnacle Peak (hard route).
Wish we reversed the activities! :)
Day 11
Started the day by seeing Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock (meh). Then, we drove to Memphis to visit Sun Recording Studios - which is known for recording some famous artists including Elvis.
We then took a small detour to see Pinson Mounds state archaeological park which houses multiple mounds.
We spent the night at a cozy cottage with no cellular reception and internet. A break from tech was relaxing. :)
Day 12
Land Between the Lakes is a beautiful recreational area near Nashville. We hiked part of it during the day, and reached Nashville in the evening. We hit a couple of bars with live music in Nashville. :)
The cat shelter AirBNB at Nashville is my favorite AirBNB experience so far! :)
Day 13
New years eve! We rested in the morning because of the early flight we had to catch after new years celebration!
In the evening, we went to Nashville’s music city midnight festival and saw live performances from some awesome artists including Judah and the Lions, Peter Frampton and Keith Urban!
