I plan on going to the US for two weeks or so, sometime in September. I want to fly to New Orleans and drive to Memphis. See a little bit of the Blues highway (61), enjoy some music and enjoy the scenery.

But how is New Orleans these days? Has it recovered a bit from Katrina, is it (ethically) okay to visit the town?

New Orleans is back on its feet. Edith Grove can give all the details and advice as he's from NO.

Hi imonlysleeping,

I was there for Mardi Gras last year and while the evidence of the hurricane was there to see in the outlying areas the French Quarter was back to normal. Ethically it's OK to visit the place because they need tourism to flourish again. I wouldn't go on any of the ghoulish trips to see the devastation.

While you're there you might to visit the House of Blues. Great venue and they do a great Sunday gospel brunch. Opposite there's a great record shop called Louisiana Music Factory at 210 Decatur that's well worth a visit - amongthe best in the world.

For drinks, one of the best pubs in the world is located in Frenchman called DBA. About 300 beers, live music and crazy gals. Opposite is another amazing bar called the Spotted Cat that also has live music.

Hotelwise, the Crowne Plaze just on the fringe of the French Quarter has pretty good rates. Enjoy yourself and let us know what it was like.

Silver Dagger,

Thanks for the advice: just the kind of tips one needs. I'll be sure to print and bring them. And I will not take a tour to the disaster area: I do not like to organized trips anyway, let alone to an area that is so devastated.

Greetings from New Orleans, imonlysleeping!

First, you will need to check this site [www.flymsy.com] to find out what airlines fly to N.O.
[www.neworleansonline.com] has a good listing of hotels as well as dining and entertainment options.

As for the drive from N.O. to Memphis, I have done it many times.
The main route these days is Interstate 55 and it is a 400-mile ride, about seven hours driving.
Highway 61 (officially U.S. Hwy 61) was the original route to Memphis and onwards to Minnesota. It is still maintained, unlike Route 66, and runs through many small towns the interstate highway misses.
Since Highway 61 runs mostly along the Mississippi River and through towns, the driving time between N.O. & Memphis is much longer.
If your time is limited, you may want to drive portions of your journey along I-55.

Here are some links to help you plan your trip through Mississippi:
[www.msbluestrail.org]
[www.visitmississippi.org]
[www.thebluehighway.com]
[en.wikipedia.org]

Much of the drive along Hwy 61 through Mississippi goes through miles of cotton fields, and I believe Sept./Oct. is the cotton picking season.
The last time I drove Hwy 61 was during Oct., and the fields were snow-white then.

Lastly, here is a link that should help you with planning in Memphis:
[www.memphistravel.com]

Feel free to ask as many questions as you may have, either here or send me an e-mail.
Have a great trip!

Man, I envy you. It is going to be a gas. I drove from Austin to Clarksdale to Memphis in March. beat all of the bad weather and had a gas. Crossing the mighty Mississippi was beautiful. Visit the Blues museum in Clarksdale, check out Sonny Boy's resting place in Tutwiler about 15 miles outside of Clarksdale. Memphis is cool too, eat at the rendezvous for cool ribs downtown. Also check out A and R Bar B Que on Elvis Presley Blvd for bar b que spaghetti.

Edith Grove, magenta,

Thanks for the tips. I plan to take it slow along the way. Drive Highway 61 for the better part of the journey, cross the mississippi every now and then and stay overnight at some of the the towns between New Orleans and Memphis.

In Memphis, see the ususal places (Graceland, Beale Street, Sun Records, Mississippi River, etc.).

Here's a couple of other great (and not so well-known) spots - The Rock and Soul Museum at the old Stax Records studio and The Civil Rights Museum at The Lorrainne Motel (where MLK was assassinated).

Lots of history (musically and otherwise) in Memphis.

Oh yeah, go by The Peabody Hotel (about a block off of Beale Street) and see the ducks! It's worth seeing!

[www.peabodymemphis.com]

Here's a good guide to Memphis:

[www.tunica-ms.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-04 15:52 by Elmo Lewis.

I drove from New Orleans - Lake Ponchartrain to Memphis over 20 years ago.
If you hit the road 49 from Jackson, you can visit Yazoo city.
There was bluesy atmosphere all over the place. I hope it is still there.
I think I bought a record of Skip James.

I believe O Brother, where art thou? was filmed in that city.

AVOID THE HOUSE OF BLUES!

Do not support HOB. I avoid that place like the plague. Good food? Not really. It's quite bland actually. There are way better places to eat in the FQ than the HOB. As well as out of the FQ.

Camellia Grill is open again and the streetcar is now running the entire roue of the St Charles/Carrollton avenues.

Ethically OK to visit? Just what does that mean? As in, it is OK to go even though there are homeless people? There were homeless people before Katrina. The government is just as screwed up as it was before Katrina. So, with exception to the destruction that is there, in a lot of ways a whole lot has not changed.

I'd agree about the food at the House of Blues, but they get some good shows in there.

Up until recently, the HOB was the largest place for a concert, other than the New Orleans Arena.
I believe the HOB holds up to 3000 SRO when full , but the University of N.O. Arena, which I believe seats about 5000, recently re-opened.
Another sign of N.O.'s recovery.





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-04 22:23 by Edith Grove.

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Elmo Lewis
New Orleans is back on its feet.

Which part?

BTW, another route you could take is the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Quote
Koen

Quote
Elmo Lewis
New Orleans is back on its feet.

Which part?

I'm not sure what you're getting at here, Koen. Perhaps you should pay a visit and see for yourself.
Don't forget the mass media tends to focus on the negative. That's what draws the viewers.
I would be incorrect to say that the recovery is complete, but there are parts of cities in the U.S. that would scare a person shitless if lost in, and those cities never had the worst natural disaster this country has ever seen.
Some of the hardest hit neighborhoods, Fats Domino's is one, are very slow to come back, but they ARE coming back.
Anyone visiting N.O., and spending their entire time in the tourist areas, may not even notice what happened here in August 2005.
If such a person has the time to tour the hardest hit neighborhoods, I would encourage him/her to do so, not for the ghoulish aspects, but to understand just how tenuous life can be since there is no place immune to disaster, either natural or man-made.

Quote
Edith Grove

Quote
Koen

Quote
Elmo Lewis
New Orleans is back on its feet.

Which part?

I'm not sure what you're getting at here, Koen. Perhaps you should pay a visit and see for yourself.
Don't forget the mass media tends to focus on the negative. That's what draws the viewers.

Just curious, Edith - I know through the media that the FQ/downtown area is recovered. I was just wondering about other parts of the city, that's all

Damn, y'all, the place (New Orleans, not IORR) is getting better daily. I have no political agenda here. onlysleeping was asking for tourist information, not a discourse on Bush or Katrina.

Lots of love bugs on that windshield, Bro!

Imonlysleeping, there is a bit of Stones trivia associated with Highway 61.
Just outside of New Orleans, alongside the highway, is a cemetery known as Garden of Memories.
This is where Gram Parsons is interred.

Here is a link to find Gram's resting place: [www.findagrave.com]

Oh yeah, The Stax museum is great. Too many cheap things at Graceland. I was ready to spend some dough. Buy some cat clothes at Lanksy's at the Peabody.

A positive news report on N.O.:

[www.wwltv.com]

Thanks again for all the response. Baboon Bron: what road was that you were driving on? Was that the infamous 61?
Edith Grove, isn't that part of mississipi littered with Stones trivia, as you call it? Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf all left their footsteps there. And I read somewhere that Gram's body was taken form that grave and moved to somewhere in California.

Baboon's video was filmed along the Natchez Trace, a very scenic parkway, but not generally associated with Mississippi blues.

[www.nps.gov]

Gram Parsons is indeed buried in that cemetery just outside New Orleans.
Gram's friends stole his body from the L.A. airport and attempted to cremate it at Joshua Tree National Monument in California.
Gram's stepfather eventually brought the body back to N.O. for burial. Weird story.

Somewhere along the the Natchez Trace is the Loveless Cafe. Eat there although it's in Nashville. Visit the Country Music museum and see who the 800 pound gorilla of modern music.......It's Elvis because he is mentioned at Country Music museum, the Stax museum and of course the Sun museum.

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magenta
Somewhere along the the Natchez Trace is the Loveless Cafe. Eat there although it's in Nashville.

I have dined there. Damn great country cooking! Nashville is a pretty good ways from Memphis, though.
[www.lovelesscafe.com]

Here's a good place to make a stop, and it is right on Hwy 61, just north of Baton Rouge:
[www.myrtlesplantation.com]

Here is the story behind The Myrtles Plantation:
[www.prairieghosts.com]

i went for jazz fest two years ago and they place is great....

needs your tourism dollars and has a ton to offer.. great music great food..

Definitely do the Stax Tour. It's worth it.
I enjoyed it just as much as Sun Records.
And you have to do Graceland. Afer all, it's Elvis.
There's a Gibson guitar factory near the arena by Beale Street.
I didn't do a tour, so I don't know if their tours are any good,
but it looked interesting.
Mud Island is good if you wanna cathch the Mississippi River in all its might,
which is a must. Enjoy the BBQ, too. Lord, have mercy, that was good food.