Hello all, I have been reading this forum for a few months and aside from wishing there were more frequent updates (maybe once we get some federal highway funding?), I'm very pleased with the amount of information and the dedication of the posters. Hopefully I can beat some of you to the punch with some future news and updates and prove my worth in the world of roadgeekdom.
For the time being though, I would appreciate any advice anyone could offer on a road trip I am planning for sometime this Spring or Summer. I will be starting/ending at Charleston, SC and plan on taking a week or so to explore an area of the country my 28 years on this earth has not given me the chance to explore yet: the Deep South. I'm planning New Orleans as my turnaround point, and will probably need to take two days to fully appreciate the city. I need your help with deciding the best routes between the two. I'll list a few of my necessities and then describe the route I have in mind, looking for any recommendations along it or any places I should reroute for better scenery or more interesting towns/cities.
Musts:
Travel through Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana to clinch those 4 states as well as the Southeastern quadrant of the US
Drive along the gulf coast, focusing on small towns with good local cooking and avoiding the congested resort type areas (Destin, Panama City) that may or may not be crowded when I take my trip-must also visit Bayou La Batre, home of Forrest Gump, even if the movie wasn't filmed there and even if there's no tangible place to visit a la Chippewa Sq. in Savannah
Drive through some Mississippi River delta/bayou towns. Not sure if driving to Venice or Grand Isle, LA will be worth the trip or should I stick to areas around Houma and Morgan City?
Drive through Talladega, AL to "clinch" the NASCAR track
My route I have planned so far is to take US 17/I-95 from Charleston to Jacksonville/St. Augustine which is a part of Florida I have not visited. Skipping Savannah as I have been there a few times already. Planning on early morning departure from Charleston so hoping to get there by late morning and leave sometime early afternoon and take I-10 to Live Oak before breaking south towards 98 passing through Perry and Apalachicola. From there I will drive along the coast until I get sick of stop lights and then make my way back north towards I-10 to find a place to sleep for the night. (I will be alone so I do not mind long days and will likely sleep in my car some of the nights to save on hotels).
Second day I hope to pass through Mobile (worth stopping)? Then head down through Bayou La Batre and follow US 90 into New Orleans. Hoping to get to NO around noon on that second day, giving me almost a full day to explore and a night of partying. I will spend the next morning there and probably leave early afternoon to check out the delta towns and start my drive north and end up staying somewhere near or north of Baton Rouge.
The third day I would like to take US 61 up to Natchez and Vicksburg then hop across the river and take US 65 north on my way to Greenville, Mississippi, clinching a corner of Arkansas along the way. I have pretty good direction up until this point. From here on, I have 3 or 4 days (depending on if I choose to stay an extra day in New Orleans) to get back to Charleston. There are plenty of towns and cities that look interesting to me but I have no basis on which to decide what would be the better routing.
Memphis-I've clinched TN but never been to Memphis, it's farther north than I really want to go though so unless I get some strong push it's probably not going to happen.
Tupelo-everyone knows of Tupelo, do people visit though?
Philadelphia, MS-I'm intrigued by it's isolation from any major routes and I saw it mentioned on another road trip thread on another site, worth skipping Starkville and Tuscaloosa?
Selma, AL-Important in Civil Rights, anything worth seeing there?
Birmingham/Montgomery-which is better?
Aside from New Orleans I don't plan on spending more than an hour in the smaller towns (likely for a meal) and a few hours in some of the bigger cities (one or two scenic or cultural attractions). Not very interested in nature that I can't see from my car (ie I don't want to hike in the woods for hours somewhere). I mostly enjoy peaceful drives and the kinds of towns "that time forgot", especially when it comes to local food. I have flexibility with time but I will be renting a car and paying for lodging on at least a few of the nights so I am trying to keep it to around a week. Don't want to have to rush back but I also want to get the most out of the trip.
Thanks for reading, I look forward to any pointers!