Delta and Beyond

Day 1 Memphis

Nitta Yuma, Rolling Fork, Vicksburg

This morning you will follow the Mississippi Blues Trail down Highway 61 through the heart of the Delta Blues Country. Traveling by towns like Walls, MS, home and final resting place of Memphis Minnie, and Tunica, home of famous Bluesmen Son House and James Cotton, before arriving at the “Crossroads” of Hwy 61 & Hwy 49 at Clarksdale where we will stop for lunch at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club, visit the Delta Blues Museum and see where playwright Tennessee Williams spend his childhood. After lunch we will travel deeper into the Delta heading for Nitta Yuma to visit the Vick Plantation.

The Vick Plantation is a more than appropriate introduction to our lower Mississippi, “Delta & Beyond” adventure. The Vick Plantation was a huge tract of land following the Mississippi River all the way to what is now the city of Vicksburg, where you will stay this evening.

Upon arrival in Nitta Yuma, you will meet descendants of the Vick/Phelps family, who still own this historic land. They have graciously agreed to show us the remaining plantation structures and tell the story of Henry Vick who died in a duel the day before his marriage to Helen Johnson,” The Bride of Annandale.” Following this most unique tour you will continue on to Mont Helena, home of Helen Johnson, in Rolling Fork where you will enjoy a tour and delicious catered dinner.

Overnight in Vicksburg (1 hr from Rolling Fork.)

Day 2 Vicksburg

Natchez

Vicksburg, known as “The Gibraltar of the Confederacy” was the turning point in the Civil War.

Confederates were surrounded with few supplies and finally forced to surrender the city to Union General U.S. Grant on July 4th, 1863. “It has only been in recent years that the “Fourth of July” has been celebrated with any amount of pride and joy.”

The morning we will tour the Vicksburg National Military Park dedicated to the memory of the valiant soldiers who served and sacrificed for their belief in the Confederacy. Within the park you will find a Union ironclad gunboat, the largest National Military Cemetery for the Union dead, City Cemetery where 5,000 confederates repose, and the Vicksburg Battlefield Museum. The museum features the film “Vanishing Glory” which tells about life during the siege, as well as, a diorama depicting the Siege of Vicksburg.

During the remainder of the morning we will tour the Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum where coke was first bottled in 1894 and Vicksburg’s most historic building the Old Court House constructed in 1858 and surviving the Civil War, it is now the home to over 15,000 artifacts dating from pre-Columbian times to present day.

Lunch at Walnut Hills Restaurant in Vicksburg. Walnut Hills is a family affair - a family of good cooks assisted by a personable and capable service staff - no professional staff, no graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, just good old-fashioned Southern home-cooked victuals served family style on revolving round tables. After enjoying delicious lunch you will travel on the Port Gibson to Vicksburg.

Check in at Monmouth Plantation Mansion B & B. The painstaking restoration of Monmouth from Southern plantation to luxury inn represents the majesty of an age that has passed. A registered National Landmark once owned by General John Quitman, the antebellum mansion and grounds create a quiet, genteel atmosphere sought after by John and Eliza Quitman to the tiniest detail. From the color palettes chosen for each suite to the garden flowers growing in colorful abundance—all reflect the once-upon-a-time splendor of Monmouth’s still-unfolding history.

The patina of time and quiet refinement cast a soft radiance over Monmouth, not unlike the stunning Waterford Crystal gasoliers that bathe the mansion’s restaurant each evening in a golden glow. In every nook and corner, in each of our 30 luxury suites and rooms, one finds stunning, priceless antiques and furnishings, setting a stately stage for your stay.

Our evening’s entertainment will begin with a tour and Classical Concert Social at Stone House. Mint juleps and wine will be available for purchase, while you relax to the music of Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Brahms and other great masters played on the 1903 Steinway grand piano. After the concert a house tour will be led by the home’s owner. Dinner this evening will be at King’s Tavern, one of the oldest buildings in Natchez built in the 1700’s as an inn and tavern.

Day 3

Natchez

9:00 am – Frogmore Cotton Plantation - This tour takes visitors on a journey of the South through song. Seated in a rare 1800’s plantation church with original pews, visitors listen to outstanding vocalists and superior historical narration that relates the trials and triumphs of life on a plantation. The singing and narrations continue through the furnished cabins in the quarters. After refreshments in the plantation store, a step-on-guide accompanies your group to the State of Louisiana Delta Music Museum. Enroute to Ferriday, your group listens to specially recorded blues, ragtime and jazz while your guide highlights the artists and changes in style for each genre. After arrival to the music museum, you are greeted by the director who gives you a guided tour while relating intimate stories about Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, Aaron Neville, Conway Twitty, Percy Sledge and other Delta musicians featured in the museum.

Lunch break and free time for shopping and exploring Downtown Natchez

Rosalie Mansion & Gardens Tour

In 1716 the French built a fort on the bluffs of Natchez. It was named Rosalie in honor of the Duchess of Ponchartrain. In 1820 Peter Little, a native of Pennsylvania, purchased a portion of that land on which to build his home. He decided to keep the name Rosalie in honor of the fort and its settlers. Peter and his wife, Eliza moved in the home when construction was completed in 1823. Even though they never had children of their own, the sound of children filled their home for many years. Back in 1816 Eliza helped found the Natchez Children’s Home; many of those orphaned children found a loving home at Rosalie. In 1857 Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wilson acquired the house. They, also, had no children of their own and welcomed orphaned children into their home. One of the children, Fannie McMurtry, married Capt. Stephen Rumble in the parlors of Rosalie on August 2, 1866. Rosalie became their home for the rest of their lives. All 6 of their children were born at Rosalie. In 1938 Miss Annie, daughter of Stephen and Fannie McMurtry, sold Rosalie to the Mississippi State Society DAR.

Longwood Mansion Tour

Longwood (ca. 1861)

This six-story 30,000 square foot mansion was designed by Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia for wealthy planter Haller Nutt and his wife, Julia Williams Nutt, and epitomizes the rise and fall of the South. As it was nearing completion, the Civil War began and the workmen dropped their tools and went home. Haller died in 1864 and his wife Julia continued to live in the finished first floor that today contains many original family furnishings. The upper five stories are an architectural wonder - a magnificent work in progress where time just stopped and stayed. This grandest octagonal house in America is a National Historic Landmark.

This evening you celebrate our journey into the antebellum south elegant evening featuring a

(5) Course Candlelight Dinner arranged at Monmouth Mansion.

Day 4 Natchez

Flora - Belzoni - Memphis

Full breakfast at Monmouth Mansion.

Check out and depart on the Natchez Trace Parkway for home.

At mid-morning we will make a stop in Flora to visit the Petrified Forest-Take, an unforgettable journey back in time…36 million years to an ancient log jam deposited river halfway across our young continent. The Mississippi Petrified Forest is a place of beauty and fascination. See the world differently…take a relaxing walking tour through the Mississippi Petrified Forest on a shady paved trail among the ancient trees. You’ll enjoy the many points of interest along the self-guided 6 block nature trail. At the end of the nature trail you’ll enter a research science museum where you can browse among an outstanding collection of fossils, petrified wood and minerals from around the world. Be sure to visit our gift shop where you can purchase a piece of petrified wood to remember your journey through time.

Belzoni – Catfish Capitol of the South – riding through town you will view the “Catfish on Parade” sculptures, stop to tour the Catfish Museum and enjoy a home cooked lunch at the local’s favorite Varsity Restaurant.

Depart for Memphis

Price per Person based on a group minimum of 30 passengers by April 1st. If the minimum requirement is not met, the tour will be cancelled and a full refund will be made by Sweet Magnolia Tours.

Double Occupancy $877.00 per person

Single Occupancy $1248

Deposit/Payment/Cancellation

• A $100.00 per person deposit is required to guarantee your reservation. This is refundable until Feb. 15, 2011.
• Balance of payment is due April 1, 2011.
• Please end payment of Sweet Magnolia Tours, P. O. Box 753548, Memphis, TN 38173.
• Question: call Kathleen at 901-369-9838.