Southern american vacations offer some of the greatest hidden treasures. These spots are sure to enhance your vacation with great sights and history.
Man's need to periodically retreat is longstanding, as evidenced in the brochures from travel agencies that clutter office desks and automobile glove boxes. Hawaii, Cancun, a Caribbean cruise¡Kall the old standards. We need to get away from it all, refuel and take time for ourselves and our families. I'm a firm believer that there is nothing hedonistic about the need for a break from life's demands and obligations; it is as essential to our long term wellbeing as a good diet. But since relaxing is always at the top of the list on everyone's vacation essentials, consider something a little different, something a little less jammed with other tourists and college students on Spring Break. Consider the rewards of a visit to the historic, melodious South.
Very few regions have ever been more wrongly typecast than that of the South. From the days of the Civil War on, the South has been sadly shadowed by preconceived notions of a lack of culture and art. Even Mitchell's epic, Gone With the Wind, did little to erase the dismal picture so often painted of territory below the Mason-Dixon line. But for those who have taken a southern adventure, it quickly becomes apparent that these labels couldn't be further from the truth. The South is unlike any other area, steeped in wonderful customs and culture, with miles and miles of magnificent landscapes and southern hospitality.
To revisit your history lessons, Washington, Georgia is home to over 100 antebellum and Victorian homes. Log cabins and Federal Plantations from the 1700's are just part of the charm and beauty that has been preserved over a century. Events such as Mule Day, in October, at the Callaway Plantation will take you back in time with true authenticity. For history buffs, sites from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars are sure to please.
For the Bed and Breakfast lovers, here are a few more marvelous Southern retreats:
* Southern Heritage Bed and Breakfast, Boydton, Virginia - built in 1880 and sits in the heart of Virginia's Lake Country.
* 1851 Inn On the Avenue, New Orleans, Lousiana - built in 1851 and located on historic St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans' beautiful Garden District.
* Owl's Nest Inn at Engadine, Ashville, North Carolina - built in 1885 and completely restored to maintain its rich Victorian character, this inn is convenient to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
* The Victoria, Anniston, Alabama - circa 1888, this inn is the perfect southern getaway, surrounded in southern charm and elegance and convenient to Logan Martin Lake, museums and shopping.
If you're looking for outdoors relaxation with camping, fishing and nature's scenery at her best, the south will be hard to beat. Here are a few choice spots to hide from the hustle and bustle:
* Cheaha State Park, Delta, Alabama - Located atop Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in the State, this 2,799 acre mountain top retreat exhibits breathtaking scenery year-round. Lodging includes a beautiful hotel, cabins, chalets, and a campground for RV's.
* Stone Mountain State Park, Atlanta, Georgia - Located only 16 miles east of downtown Atlanta and home to the world's largest relief carving on the world's largest mass of exposed granite. Lodging includes a 92-room inn, and family campgrounds for tents and RV's.
* Carter Caves State Resort Park, Olive Hill, Kentucky - Located 30 miles east of Ashland, this resort sports a fieldstone lodge with 28 rooms, cabins and cottages. With more than 20 caverns to explore, sign up for a cavern tour or go hiking or canoeing through the rustic scenery.
The South can also accommodate those visitors that are looking for something a little less rural. Mud Island River Park in Tennessee offers the river walk and scheduled concerts. The south is home to riverboat gambling, gulf beaches, rave golf courses and so much more. The pace may feel a little slower, the days may seem a little longer and everything may seem a little less urgent in the heartland of the south. Sounds like all the perfect elements for a vacation to kick back, reenergize and learn to properly say, "y'all come back!"
