Mississippi Vacation Holiday

13 Days / 12 Nights

Inlcuded Features:

• Clarksdale
  • Delta Blues Museum
  • Sunflower River Trading Company
  • Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art
• Cleveland
  • Historic Crosstie Shopping District
  • Cleveland Depot Library
• Greenville Welcome Center
• Greenwood
  • Cottonlandia Museum
• Canton
  • Allison Wells School of Arts & Crafts
  • Historic Business District
• Jackson
  • Old State Capitol
  • Governor's Mansion
  • Mississippi Ag Museum
• Vicksburg
  • Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum
  • Old Courthouse Museum
  • River City Blues Museum
  • Vicksburg National Military Park
• Natchez
  • Tour Dunleith Plantation antebellum home
• Gulf Coast
  • Biloxi Shrimping Trip
  • Beauvoir Historic Home
  • John Stennis Space Center
• Meridian
  • Jimmy Rogers Museum
  • Dentzel Menagerie Carousel
• Columbus
  • Columbus Welcome Center - Tennessee Williams Home
  • Self-guided Walking Tour of historic homes area
• Tupelo
  • Elvis' Birthplace & Museum
  • Tupelo Automobile Museum
• Corinth
  • Curlee House
  • Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center
  • Northeast Mississippi Museum

DAY 1 - Clarksdale from Memphis (75 mi / 120 km)
From the 30's on through the 50's Clarksdale was a major blues town. John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner, Little Junior Parker and Sam Cooke were born here. Robert Nighthawk, Bukka White, "Gatemouth" Moore, Eddie Boyd, Son House, and Charley Patton all once lived in the area. Clarksdale became the center of the blues world by virtue of its location smack in the middle of the Delta and Delta blues still come from this source.

Here you'll find the old train depot and the Delta Blues Museum. Also see the junction of Highways 61 and 49 where the Robert Johnson made his infamous pact with the Devil! As you leave Clarksdale and drive down legendary Highway 61, you will realize that you are in the true "Birthplace of the Blues" and some the world's richest farmland as well. Out of these fields came the original blues singers who performed in local honky tonks and juke joints. The best of these brought their talents to Beale Street in Memphis.

A must stop is the Sunflower River Trading Company for some of the South's most unusual items for sale. Next stop at the Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc, which is a 6-day-a-week store that features a full selection of blues CDs, videos, DVDs, books and collectibles as well as an affordable mix of Southern self-taught, folk and outsider art. "It's kind of like shopping in a juke joint." Overnight Clarksdale.

DAY 2 - Clarksdale to Cleveland to Greenville (75 mi / 120 km)
Continue south on Highway 61 to Merigold, Mississippi and to McCarty's, a shop selling locally made pottery and handcrafted jewelry. In Cleveland see one of the city's oldest surviving buildings, the Cleveland Depot Library. Purchased from the C and G Railroad and beautifully renovated, this historic depot contains interesting local railroad history. There is also some great shopping in downtown Cleveland in the historic Crosstie Shopping District. Continue on to Boyle and a great place to stop for lunch or a snack, the Sweet Olive Restaurant. Just before you get to Greenville, don't forget to stop in Leland and visit the Jim Henson Exhibit, the birthplace of Kermit the Frog and The Muppets.

Arrive in Greenville and check-in. Greenville is the Delta's largest city and is well known for its shipping and towboat industry. Downtown Greenville has been revitalized and now boasts the completed Walnut Street Entertainment District. Home to the annual Mississippi Delta Blues Festival, Greenville is called the "Heart and Soul of the Delta". Stop at the Washington County Welcome Center, a replica of a Mississippi River paddle wheeler. Consider dinner at the authentic down-home Doe's Eat Place, then groove on in to one of Greenville's authentic "juke joints" for some live, Mississippi blues music. Overnight Greenville.

DAY 3 - Greenville to Greenwood, Canton and Jackson (160 mi / 258 km)
First stop in Greenwood and visit the Cottonlandia Museum. Here you can review the history of Leflore County and the Mississippi Delta with a special look at cotton. The museum houses an eclectic collection of items that weave a fascinating story of the Delta area's past. Cottonlandia is like no other museum you've ever visited. It features everything from a Mastodon skeleton excavated in the Greenwood area to oriental dance costumes. Displays range from relics of the Poverty Point Era to fine multi-colored pottery. There is also an impressive Indian bead collection. The Malmaison Room is filled with treasures and photographs from the home of Greenwood Leflore, the last chief of the Choctaw Indiani. Relics from the Star of the West can be found in here in Cottonlandia. This boat was intentionally sunk by the Confederates to block the passage of Union ships in the Tallahatchie River.

Next you will arrive in Canton, a town known for its wonderful arts and crafts. Visit the Allison Wells School of Arts and Crafts. Founded in 1879, this thriving art colony is located downtown on the historic courthouse square. You can observe or participate in classes, which include basketry, quilting, painting, woodcarving and other media. With its turn of the century town square, Canton is a backdrop that visitors and moviemakers continue to discover. The films "A Time to Kill" and "My Dog Skip" were both filmed on location in Canton's historic business district.

Final stop for today is Jackson; an urban playground filled with museums, galleries, historic sites, great shopping and fine dining. Jackson is a beautifully laid out city - clean, colorful, and carefully groomed as a country garden. Overnight Jackson.

DAY 4 - Jackson
Begin the day with a well marked "One Mile Downtown Walk," which passes the lush Capitol grounds, the stately Governor's Mansion, the blindingly white antebellum City Hall with its four columns and municipal gardens, the Mississippi Museum of Art, the planetarium, the Old State Capitol, and the Mississippi Arts Pavilion. Along this walk there are several good restaurants, coffee shops, and delicatessens, plus public parks and sidewalk vendors offering cold drinks and hot boiled peanuts. A plate lunch at The Mayflower Café or The Elite is a must.

If you desire, you can tour the Governor's Mansion, a Greek revival home built in 1833 and one of only two continuously occupied antebellum governor's mansions still in use. The Mansion stands as a beautifully restored architectural masterpiece, the embodiment of Mississippi's history, culture, and perseverance. Next visit the Old Capitol State Historical Museum, built in 1840 as Mississippi's first State House. Exhibits here tell the story of Mississippi from its early beginnings.

Explore a re-creation of small town Mississippi, as it would have existed in 1920. The Agricultural and Forestry Museum / National Agricultural Aviation Museum features a working farm, mill and general store and also includes a fleet of vintage crop dusters. Overnight Jackson.

DAY 5 - Jackson to Vicksburg (45 mi / 73 km)
In Vicksburg visit the hallowed Biedenharn Candy Company. This restored 1890 building is where Coca-Cola® was first bottled anywhere in the world. The museum contains a reproduction of the bottling works, Coca-Cola® memorabilia, a 1900 soda fountain, and a restored 1890 candy store.

Built by slave labor in 1858, the Old Courthouse Museum is the most historic building in Vicksburg. Standing on one of the highest hills in the city, it dominates the Vicksburg skyline and Vicksburg history. The exhibits have an irresistible "grandma's attic" quality that no history book or movie can match.

Stop by the River City Blues Museum and see a collection of items include fascinating 1920-1940 guitars, Stella Guitar with peariloid decorations (one of four in the world), 1927 Riverboat Banjo Style F, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top guitar, many originally recorded records, Skip James "Hard Times on the Killin Floor" (one of two in the world), Charley Patton "Pony Blues", Willie Brown "Future Blues", videos documenting Blues history and musicians, framed photographs with written hisotries, and much more!! Overnight Vicksburg

DAY 6 - Vicksburg to Natchez (70 mi / 114 km)
Before leaving Vicksburg, be sure to see the life-sized exhibits and artifacts from the Siege of Vicksburg at the Vicksburg National Military Park. The famous siege is vividly described and recreated.

Next, it's off to the famous river town of Natchez, a city with a distinctively New Orleans flavor. This is a place play. Enjoy a riverboat casino and eat French food, barbecued shrimp or a plate of fried catfish. Tonight, wander down to Natchez Under-the-Hill, a spot that combines historic buildings with some astoundingly good bars and restaurants. Overnight Natchez.

DAY 7 - Natchez
Tour Dunleith Plantation, one of the beautiful antebellum homes and explore this famous city. Overnight Natchez.

DAY 8 - Natchez to The Gulf Coast (200 mi / 322 km)
Your destination is the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast. Here you will enjoy costal touring Mississippi style. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is a rich blend of natural wonders, eccentric artists like "the mad potter of Biloxi," delicious food, sparkling casinos, and a rugged maritime culture that once earned it the title of "Seafood Capital of the World." The Mississippi Coast begins at the marshes and shipyards of Pascagoula on the east and stretches 50 miles to the sandy beaches of Old Town Bay St. Louis on the west. Overnight Gulfport or Biloxi.

DAY 9- The Mississippi Gulf Coast
Weather permitting, don't miss the Biloxi Shrimping Trip! The pride and heritage of Biloxi comes alive aboard this unique and interesting cruise that exposes our guests to the spectacular world of sea life caught on a real shrimping expedition. Upon leaving the harbor, the shrimping net is set out with full details of how and what makes the net spread and operate correctly. The net will catch any and all sea creatures in its path along with the shrimp. The catch includes Blue Crab, Flounder, Stingray, Oysterfish, Squid, Pufferfish and numerous other species of local marine life. The entire catch will be identified and presented for your inspection by the Captain.

In Biloxi be sure to visit Beauvoir, the retirement estate of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Beauvoir encompasses 500 acres and is dominated by an imposing Louisiana raised cottage-style residence. Unscathed by the Civil War, the property is where Jefferson Davis wrote his memoirs. Davis' wife Varina sold the central portion of the estate to the Mississippi Division of the United Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1902 for use as a memorial to Jefferson Davis and a Confederate veterans home. The veterans home operated on site from 1903 until 1957, caring for a total of approximately 2,000 soldiers and widows.

Next, tour the John C. Stennis Space Center. This is NASA's lead center for rocket propulsion systems testing for the Space Shuttle and the future generation space vehicles. The center tests and flight certifies Space Shuttle main engines. Overnight Gulfport or Biloxi.

DAY 10 - The Gulf Coast to Meridian (160 mi / 258 km)
Motor north to the lovely town of Meridian, known as the Eastern gateway to Mississippi. It features a rejuvenated downtown with the restoration of historic buildings into distinctive shops, restaurants, trees and flowers. A stroll through downtown Meridian is a very pleasant experience.

Drive to the Highland Park Complex and tour the Jimmie Rodgers Museum. Known as "The Father of Country Music," Jimmie Rodgers was born and reared in the Meridian area. This museum displays the original guitar of "The Singing Brakeman" and other memorabilia of his life and career, as well as railroad equipment from the steam engine era.

In the same park is the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel. In operation since 1909, it is the world's only two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie carousel. The Carousel is open daily June through August and weekends from September to May. Rides are only 50¢. Overnight Meridian.

DAY 11 - Meridian to Columbus to Tupelo (140 mi / 225 km)
Continuing north you will stop in the lovely town of Columbus at the Columbus Welcome Center and Tennessee Williams' Birthplace. Built around 1870, the Victorian birthplace and first home of playwright Tennessee Williams now offers a friendly welcome along with information about the historic town of Columbus and the surrounding area. You can get a brochure for a self-guided walking tour of the beautiful antebellum homes (home admissions extra.)

In Tupelo, visit Elvis Presley's birthplace. This modest two-room house where the King of Rock 'n' Roll was born has been restored and is part of the Elvis Presley Center. The Center includes the Elvis Presley Museum, Memorial Chapel and Elvis Presley Park. The museum has one of the most unique private collections of Elvis memorabilia in the world.

New opened is the Tupelo Automobile Museum. It features more than 100 painstakingly restored cars dating from 1886 to 1994. Visitors to the 75,000- square-foot showroom get a tour through auto history, from the sublime to the bizarre. There's a 1928 Franklin that features a windshield in the back for passengers. And a 1955 Messerschmitt, whose cockpit chassis resembles the Nazi fighter plane that is its namesake. Another standout out is the 1948 Tucker, with its distinctive middle headlight and a sign in front that reads "51 made, none sold." The ill-fated Edsel can be seen, as can a 1948 Jaguar convertible with headlights as big as dinner plates, a car similar to one Clark Gable owned.

Overnight Tupelo.

DAY 12 - Tupelo to Corinth (50 mi / 80 km)
When you arrive in Corinth you are in one of the South's small town treasures. Corinth is one of America's most historically significant towns. Visit downtown stores and shops steeped in history and be sure to stop in at Borroum's Drug Store. The old soda fountain is still very much in the center of things and is kept in perfect operation. Borroum's has all your soda fountain favorites: malted milks, ice cream sodas, cherry phosphates and old-fashioned cokes. Here you can experience true Americana of the 1940's and 1950's.

Corinth is steeped in Civil War history and you can see plenty of it when you tour the Curlee House and Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center. This antebellum home, built in 1857, is a National Historic landmark and is also a Mississippi landmark. The impressive Greek revival home features ornate plasterwork, period antiques and one of its sitting rooms is said to be one of the most elegant in Mississippi. At the Curlee House you will understand the gracious splendor of the Deep South.

Tour the Northeast Mississippi Museum where the Corinth area history and Civil War Heritage come alive. You will see impressive displays of Civil War artifacts, a model of the famous Tishomingo Hotel at the railroad intersection, numerous historical pictures and Chickasaw Indian artifacts. Overnight Corinth.

Day 13 - Corinth to Memphis (95 mi / 153 km)
Depart for Home

Contact Us:

Postal Mail:
Sweet Magnolia Tours
P.O. Box 753548
Memphis, TN 38175

Telephone:
1-901-525-2842

Toll Free:
1-866-320-5295

FAX:
1-901-525-2901

E-mail:
memphis@sweetmagnoliatours.com