Calling Out Southern Belles: Visiting the South

Smokey Mountains, Williamsburg, VA, Outer Banks, NC

Memphis is a nice trip too (Graceland is cheesey in my opinion), but Beale St., the Pyramid and Mud Island are worth checking out. I would also recommend Oxford, MS (home of the University of Mississippi). Sounds like a great trip!

Savannah, GA one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the South. It's in between your destination states, it's definitely worth the trip.

No one mentioned Chattanooga, TN. Maybe it's too touristy? My family has visited Ruby Falls and Rock City a couple of times and loved it.

I echo Denise: Smoky Mountains...Gatlinburg, TN to be specific... and the myriad of walking/hiking trails and waterfalls that are ALLLLL around that area. You can even whitewater raft or kayak. And there is also Cherokee, NC for the native american taste. "Unto These Hills" (a telling/show depicting the Trail of Tears) is phenomenal I am told.

P.,
Someone said Graceland was cheesy. I would disagree except for the shops all around it. I was actually more a fan of Elvis after visiting and learning more about him.
If you like history, you might also want to consider a drive through the Civil War memorial park in Vicksburg, MS. This is the 150th anniversary so there may be special events planned. We stayed in a lovely cabin beside a plantation there.
Also, there is the Hermitage outside Nashville--Andrew Jackson's home.
Of course, New Orleans is a must. We also love Nachitoches.

Molto bene!

IMHO The French Quarter of New Orleans should be on everyone's bucket list (I used to live not far from... and wouls spend every weekend I could)... although your friend may be naturally resistant (Franchese is something of a curse word in Italian). You may have to grind in that the Cajuns & New Orleaneans are as different from the real French as we are from the English. More, really. To boot, the FQ is the only area in the US I've been to that is in any way similar (culturally) to Italy. People look at you, people speak their minds (usually welcoming), people REVEL in the food and in the music, children stay up late. Italy happens to be my favorite country in the world, as far as culture goes. New Orleanen culture is the closest thing to Italian culture I've ever come to it. Radically different on the surface, mind, but in the tempo of living, and the details... durn close.

Also having lived in Charleston (SC) I'm strongly for Hilton Head as well, but that may be bias.

Plantation tours nearly anywhere, if he hasn't been.

Continuing north, the Outer Banks

And still more north

If he is at all into history, Collonial Williamsburg http://www.history.org/

((Whoops... wrong link posted earlier))

I love the south and visiting my family there every chance I get.
Asheville is gorgeous. Bristol, TN is actually the birthplace of country music. They have a wonderful Old Town area. Don't forget Virginia which is close by. Tennessee and Virginia actually have quite a few historic places related to the Civil War.
The Biltmore Estate is a fabulous tour. They even have a winery with tasting, etc. He can take a drive in the Smokey Mountains Park. Some of the views are so stunning.

I hope you get lots of great ideas. I sure wish I could go!

Remember Alabama and Mississippi as the travels between LA & SC....Vicksburg, MS has antebellum homes and AL is full of historic sites and university towns. He needs to see the Mississippi Riverboats too. Savannah, GA is worth the stop. Hilton Head has become too commercial. Actually I'm thinking of how he'll be driving across I-10 so southern AL has so many beach towns,with wonderful white-sand beaches, better than the East coast.

I highly recommend getting a Southern Living magazine that's current for the dates he plans to travel. It will be full of info and suggestions for exactly what you're asking. It will also have dates for different events scheduled for the different areas.

Having lived here for a bit now, and having traveled even more, you are right on with Asheville. It is a gorgeous town with tons to do, and the Biltmore is amazing!

I would suggest he stay AWAY from the Outer Banks. Unless he is going to do the Wright Bros Memorial, it is WAY too commercial. In fact, very few people who live in NC actually go there! I would suggest that he head to Wilmington. There is a battleship, gorgeous beaches nearby, lots of history (they still call the Civil War the War of Northern Aggression down here...), and it is the largest movie making spot in all of the East! Wilmington area is where all of the "locals" go, and he will definitely be able to tell why within a short period of being there!

I think either Charleston or Hilton Head would be quite nice for him to visit, and the Smokey Mountains would be a nice stop on the way to TN! Memphis has a lot of BBQ, so that may be a fun one too. Actually, speaking of BBQ, have him get it every where he goes. It is SO drastically different from place to place down here, and that would be a fun cultural thing for him to take back with him (as southerners live for their BBQ)!

Hope this helps!

I've never been to Williamsburg, but I'd like to go there partly due to my family history. I'd recommend Cape Hatteras and other lighthouses, the mountains, and the locations of battles such as King's Mountain. Chimney Rock was nice. Jamestown, obviously. I once toured an aircraft carrier while in Wilmington, NC. Roanoke Island was the first colony and nobody knows what happened to settlers (there's a play there about the colonists). The Outer Banks have a history of piracy and are the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

be sure to tell him to stop in the visitors center when he gets to SC. they have a lot of great suggestions and coupons too! there are tons of beautiful waterfalls in the upstate of south carolina if he likes to hike.