The Deep South – New Orleans & Mississippi

• Itinerary
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Fly-Away Dates: January 15 – 25, 2010 (11 days)

Day 1 – Home to Kansas City
Today we begin our journey to exciting Cajun Country and the deep south.  Overnight in Kansas City this evening.
Hotel: Drury Inn

Day 2 – Kansas City to Little Rock
Take a scenic drive with sweeping vistas of the lovely Ozark Mountain country.  We’ll stop for a light lunch in Branson before our afternoon journey to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Included Meals: Light Breakfast, Lunch             
Hotel: Baymont Hotel

Day 3 – Little Rock to Natchez
Travel deep into the south to Vicksburg, steeped in ambiguous history.  Tour the Vicksburg National Military Park , one of the best preserved Civil War Battlefields in America. It’s here that one of the Civil War’s most devastating battle took place.  Tour the historic monuments, miles of reconstructed trenches, the restored Union gunboat USS Cairo, and the Vicksburg National Cemetery.  Visit historic Natchez, featuring immense plantations and magnificent mansions from the booming days of the cotton industry. Experience true southern hospitality this evening at a candlelight dinner in an elegant antebellum mansion.  This evening the Civil War will come to life at the Confederate Pageant performance.
Included Meal: Breakfast, Dinner    
Hotel: Grand Soleil Hotel

Day 4 – Natchez
A local guide joins us for the Natchez Pilgrimage Tour of Homes as we tour some of the beautiful antebellum mansions, which are more plentiful here than anywhere else in the United States. Tour Shields Town House, built in 1860 boasting beautifully landscaped courtyars and fomral gardens.  The last fine town house built in Natchex prior to the War between the States. Later explore Airlie, built prior to 1790 during the Spanish occupancy.  Airlie was used as a Federal hospital during the War between the States.  Visit the extravagant octagonal Longwood home, a National Historic Landmark and a site on the Civil War Discovery Trail. View the interior where construction was halted during the Civil War and never completed. Cross the Mississippi River and tour Frogmore Plantation, a 1,800-acre working cotton plantation from 1790.  Experience slave culture, sharecropping, & more. Tonight enjoy a presentation called “Southern Road to Freedom”.
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 – Natchez to Lafayette
 Today motor deep into the heart of Cajun Country, an area first settled by French Acadian farmers.  Experience more of the heart of “Cajun Country today.  Visit Avery Island, unique feel of the South Louisiana marshes and bayous to the nature preserve inhabited by indigenous plants and animals, Avery Island experience. Seeing how we age TABASCO® Sauce in white oak barrels and ship it all over the world. Stroll through Avery Island’s 250-acre Jungle Gardens and see, in season, a variety of azaleas, camellias and bamboo. You might even spy some alligators, deer, and raccoons that live in the hills and marshes around the gardens. And then there are thousands of snowy egrets who nest on the island each spring on specially-built, pier-like structures in a pond nicknamed “Bird City”.  This evening R & J Tours has arranged for a local couple to accompany us to Mulate’s, a cajun dance hall, for a delicious dinner and dancing.  Enjoy live entertainment, good friends, and great conversation.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner                      
Hotel: Drury Inn & Suites

Day 6 – Lafayette – New Orleans
Travel the Old Spanish Trail, with mossy trees, swamps, and the misty, moody basin of the Atchafalaya River. Visit the beautiful Houmas House Plantation and Gardens on Louisiana’s historic river road.  Experience the original French provincial house, the mansion and carriageway to the grand home, described as “The Sugar Palace.”  Enjoy a delicious lunch and some time to walk through the beautiful gardens.  Later, we will make our way to New Orleans.  Your hotel is nestled right up next to the French Quarter giving you opportunity to truly experience this exciting area.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Hotel: Drury Inn

Day 7 – New Orleans
Our guide circles the sights of the French Quarter, including St. Louis Cathedral and its adjoining Cabildo, Bourbon Street Jazz District, French Market Place, Pirates Alley, Garden District, and the bustling harbor front.  This afternoon we will take our swamp tour down the river and bayou area.   Your captain is a native of the swamps and fully narrates your tour.  Tonight board the New Orleans Steamboat as we cruise the mighty Mississippi River for dinner and live jazz!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner  

Day 8 – New Orleans
Experience a jazz brunch served at the famous Court of Two Sisters, where the food is great and the entertainment is grand.  Enjoy a leisurely day with time to stroll the French Quarter for a close look at the lush, hidden courtyards and wrought iron balconies the French Quarter is famous for.  You may have the option at your own coast to visit the WWII Museum or take a relaxing carriage ride through the French Quarter. Stop in at historic Cafe Du Monde for the famous cafe au lait and beignet’s.  Later stroll along Bourbon Street as the wonderful sounds of jazz and Dixieland music, and the delightful aroma of Creole and Cajun cooking fill the air.  
Included Meals: Brunch

Day 9 – New Orleans to Biloxi
This morning, travel to Mardi Gras World where you have the opportunity to peek behind the curtain and see Mardi Gras in the making. Then, motor along the sparkling Gulf Coast to the city of Biloxi, a resort city famous for its shrimpm and fishing fleets. Take a cruise along the scenic coastline and learn first hand the art of shrimping. Drive past picturesque  harbors and the Biloxi Lighthouse. Tonight, stay at the Beau Rivage, perfectly placed on Biloxi’s sparkling beachfront.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: The Beau Rivage Resort               

Day 10 – Biloxi – Memphis
Travel to Memphis and tour Graceland, the beautiful estate of the “King of Rock-n-Roll,” Elvis Presley. We’ll check into the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Memphis and freshen up for an exciting evening.  Tonight visit famous Beale Street for a delightful dinner featuring southern delicacies.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Hotel: Crowne Plaza Hotel

Day 11 – Memphis to St. Louis
Our Step On Guide will take us on an exciting tour of Memphis, with a stop at famous St. Jude’s Hospital .  View beautifully restored mansions, breathtaking views of the mighty Mississippi River, and parkways lined with expertly sculpted trees.  Imagine the music of Beale Street, Historic Entertainment District, with its enticing “Red, Hot, and Blue” rhythms. Along the way, our guide will tell of the adventures and tragedies that have made Memphis what it is today…and infused it with all its good old-fashioned Southern Charm. We’ll make our way to St. Louis for the evening.
Hotel: Drury Inn
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 12 – St. Louis to Kansas City
This morning following breakfast, we’ll discover St. Louis with our local guide.  Motor through Missouri enroute to Kansas City, where we will check into our hotel.  
Included Meals: Breakfast                           
Hotel: Drury Inn

Day 13 – Kansas City to Home
After breakfast we make our final stretch home.
Included Meals: Breakfast