Must sees on road trip between Florida and New Orleans?

[meggiebeth]

I had no idea the Help wasn’t filmed in Jackson - oops! Thanks for letting me know. Greenwood looks like it’s even further away so not sure we’d make it there. Perhaps just stopping off at the diner in Jackson would work while driving elsewhere. Is the state relatively safe would you say? Some of the laws/ social situations are very different to the UK and so I want to make sure we don’t go into the wrong areas by accident after hearing about the Delta here!

Thanks for your fantastic tips about visiting Nashville - given me food for thought for sure!

The Delta is a very different part of the state. I haven’t seen all of it but where I have been is very rural. Lots of farms. Dh used to work up there a lot in construction. All he says is the food is amazing, the music is great, the people are nice and the mosquitoes will carry you off lol. Lots of places with music and food apparently lol.

Sounds lovely - we’d love to get a feel for the local culture! Although not sure I like the thought of all those mosquitoes - we got dozens of bites when we visited South Carolina and it was not pretty!!

I used to live about three/four hours west of Jackson in Shreveport and had to travel to Jackson MS often for work. It's not a place I would visit if I was sightseeing around the South. But then Shreveport wasn't much either. Also lived in Montgomery AL for about two years and wouldn't sightsee there either.

I would spend time visiting Civil War destinations because I'm a history buff.

Thanks for letting me know about Jackson - I wouldn’t have had a clue had you all not responded to me! It all looked so beautiful in The Help until southernmiss revealed it actually was filmed mostly elsewhere! I guess at this point as we would be driving past Jackson anyway, we could stop at the diner in the film to say we’ve been there, and then move on quickly!

We would love to visit some historical locations - I love history too. We aren’t very familiar with the US Civil War but things like slavery, plantations, European settlements we are much more aware of. I speak English and French so would love to see some of the states’ French backgrounds for sure.

We used to have family that lived near Jackson, MS. Now, they live in Biloxi.

I didn't find anything terribly special about Jackson, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Biloxi/Gulfport area. I would love it if DH could find a job somewhere near there, & we could move to the area. On our 1st visit, we toured Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis's home & presidential library, which was really interesting & very well done. Margaritaville is fun for the whole family, & Ocean Springs is a lovely community just over the bridge w/ lots of unique shops & restaurants - it's also very "walkable". New Orleans is about an hour away, & we really enjoyed our visit when we drove over for the day during one of our times in Biloxi. On another visit, we drove over to Dauphin Island, AL, which was fun.

We also visit St. Augustine 2-3 times/year - it's our absolute favorite city. If you only have a week before your Disney trip, there is honestly plenty to do in St. Augustine & the surrounding area that would keep you occupied for the week. I could write pages & pages of things to do & see & places to eat! You seem like you may be more interested in the Gulf Coast, though; however, if you'd like any specific recommendations for St. Augustine, just ask! If you do decide to go w/ St. Augustine, you could also drive down to the Kennedy Space Center which is about an hour & 1/2 away.

Regarding the heat, we live in the south, &, where we live, is actually usually hotter/more humid in the summer than the coastal area around St. Augustine.

Thank you so much for your advice - it’s good to hear of some recommendations near to Biloxi as we were looking at stopping there on the way back to Florida from New Orleans.

Honestly, I would have been quite happy to spend two nights in Savannah and the rest of the week in St Augustine, but I’m bringing my parents who have decided they very much like the idea of seeing New Orleans, as it’s very well known in the UK. It’s tough having to choose - I’d have liked a beach stay before going to Disney!

We travel to Orlando from New Orleans multiple times a year. Occasionally we will take a jog and go over to St. Augustine which is lovely.

I am very fond of Mobile. It's a great city. And I love Bellingrath Gardens outside of Mobile. Lots to do in the Biloxi/Gulfport area. That's were many New Orleans people spent their vacations for many years.

Not sure where you are leaving from, but there are now direct flights to New Orleans from London. The driving time between New Orleans and Orlando is 9-10 hours plus of course the time you spend stopping on the way.

Thank you very much! We are looking at stopping in the Biloxi area so your advice is very helpful!

I didn’t know there were direct flights to New Orleans from London - the London airports are local to us so this will be very helpful!

 

[amberpi]

If you decide to enjoy Nashville, I'd be happy to provide any insight you might want.

 

[arminnie]

I loved the book and movie "the Help", but I have to say that I found some major discrepancies IRL. I graduated from HS in 1964 and went to a fairly upscale women's college in New Orleans. I had a roommate who was a debutante in Jackson and was in several homes of her contemporaries. FYI - she was a major liberal until her early death.

Let me be clear - there was blatant racial discrimination in this time period - but I never saw things like the "help" not being allowed to use a bathroom or not being allowed to touch food. When my friends went home for holidays the black servants ran up and hugged them to welcome them home. Unfortunately the discrimination was often subtle with a thought that "they are different".

I am NOT DEFENDING the horrid discrimination that really existed. It was real and awful - but the details about a black person not being allowed to touch a white person or their food does not match with my real life experience. The utter dismissal of the humanity of blacks was despicable.