Starting Nashville,Tenn.We have about 2 weeks and want to grasp the
spirit of the region, landscape and people. We want to be in
NewOrleans and Savannah and easily give up Florida.We like the unusual
and the intersting and avoid fancy restaurants.Due to some ailment
hiking is limited to easy and short. What would be our best route? AND
- any other relevant or interesting information will be appreciated.
What will be the weather?Are there links to personal itineraries or
travel journals or recommended guidebooks?

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Request for Question Clarification by websearcher-ga on 04 Feb 2003 14:23 PST

Hi alik:

Thanks for the interesting question. In order to help you better,
would you please answer the following questions?

1. When are you going? (The weather depends on the time of year.)

2. Are you planning on driving around your route? Or do you have
another preferred mode of transportation in mind?

3. What's your budget like? 

4. Are there any particluar areas of "the unusual and the interesting"
that you are particularly fond of?

5. Will your trip also be ending at Nashville?

Thanks. 

websearcher-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by websearcher-ga on 04 Feb 2003 14:38 PST

Hi alik:

Please ignore Question 1. If I had read your title, I would have seen
you were going in June.... :-)

websearcher-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by websearcher-ga on 04 Feb 2003 14:39 PST

Oh boy, question 2 is also detailed in your title.... I must have been
sleeping. Forgive my ignorance.

websearcher-ga

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Clarification of Question by alik-ga on 04 Feb 2003 14:44 PST

1. Coming June
2. Mostly driving, but will consider other modes in between
3. Around $100-150 a day, car rental exluded
4. Nature and culture:- museums, theater, folk shows, local events,etc. included

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Clarification of Question by alik-ga on 04 Feb 2003 14:46 PST

It is OK
It is almost 1 am HERE

Hello and thank you for your question.  Let's get in the car and go!

I'm not sure if your 2 weeks includes the time you'll want to spend in
Nashville itself.  Certainly you'll want at least a couple of days
there for Nashville's own attractions:
"Sure, you can attend the Grand Ole Opry [and] the Country Music Hall
of Fame. However, the state capital of Tennessee also has plenty of
museums and other attractions .... Among the city's most enriching
cultural attractions are the Van Vechten Art Gallery at Fisk
University, the impressive new Frist Center for the Visual Arts, and
Cheekwood Botanical Gardens...."
Frommer's Nashville Attractions
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/nashville/0019010029.html

It's 300 miles due East from Nashville, TN to Asheville, NC.  You go
through Knoxville on the way which would be a good place to stop for
the night--it's a college town, with a nice warehouse district of
bars, coffeehouses, etc.)

Asheville is worth at least a couple of days.  You definitely should
see the Thomas Wolfe Memorial-Asheville, North Carolina, Historic
Site.  Have you read Look Homeward, Angel?
"[O]ver two hundred characters were based on living people, mostly
citizens of Asheville. This included the Wolfe family themselves.
Their personal flaws, conflicts, and failures were presented clearly
for the world to see."
http://www.wolfememorial.com/life.htm

You'll also want to see the Biltmore Mansion
Welcome to the Biltmore Estate
www.biltmore.com

From Asheville, you join up with the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park.  The main route through the park is Newfound Gap Road (US-441). 
Here's a chance for you to choose a section to stop for a short, easy
section of the Appalachian Trail.
Road Trip USA--Across North Carolina
http://www.roadtripusa.com/appalachian_trail/north_carolina.html

US-441 connects with the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway
http://www.nps.gov/blri/
Take a look at this terrific map:
http://www.nps.gov/blri/ppmaps/blrimap%2Epdf

From the bottom of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherokee, NC, it's only
another 160 miles to Atlanta, Ga.  Too many things in Atlanta for me
to list--I'd say it's a 4-day stop.
CitySpin Atlanta
http://www.cityspin.com/atlanta/sights/edits/_name.htm

Now it's time to head East again, for the "Old South" section of the
tour. From Atlanta to Summerville is about 300 miles.  It's a bit of a
detour, but Augusta, GA is on the way.  When you get to Summerville,
I'd suggest you follow the 4-day tour through Summerville, Charleston,
Edisto Island, Beaufort and Hilton Head Island that's laid out in
National Geographic's "Destinations"
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/destinations/Charleston/The_Old_South.html

Or if Hilton Head isn't to your taste, try Jekyll Island, GA instead.
www.jekyllisland.com

Now we're in the home stretch--I don't know how long you can linger at
Hilton Head/Jekyll Island, but when you're ready to leave it's only
about 40 miles to Savannah, GA.  It's another 4-night stay for me, but
now we're getting short of time too.
Savannah
http://www.savannah-online.com/

Now you've got a choice for the run from Savannah to New Orleans.
If you really mean to avoid Florida, then you'll want to skip
Jacksonville, Tallahassee and the Florida Gulf Coast.  So you can
stick with the deep South and run inland through Macon to Montgomery
to Mobile instead.  Personally when I get to Mobile I'm always too
focused on New Orleans to stop for long, but it is an up-and-coming
resort (in the Florida style, though).
Mobile
Welcome to the Mobile Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

Let's end in New Orleans.
NOLA.com: Everything New Orleans
http://www.nola.com/
New Orleans information including New Orleans maps, New Orleans ... 
http://www.neworleanscvb.com/
--and lots more--

Time to address your request for weather info, and links to personal
itineraries or travel journals or recommended guidebooks.

The weather is going to be warm and humid (except when you're at
altitude at the start of our trip) with a good chance of rain.
Atlanta Weather
http://www.cityrating.com/cityweather.asp?city=Atlanta
Savannah Weather
http://www.cityrating.com/cityweather.asp?city=Savannah
New Orleans Weather
http://www.yatcom.com/neworl/weather/spring.html

For trip reports and reviews, my favorite resource is TripAdvisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/
For example, under New Orleans you'll find 10 guidebooks, 56 articles
and 337 user reviews.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60864-New_Orleans_Louisiana-Vacations.html


For more Guidebooks, here are some winners:
The Insiders' Guide North Carolina's Central Coast and New Bern
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762723440/qid=1044404954/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-3347532-1734557
The Charleston, Savannah & Coastal Islands Book: A Complete Guide 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1581570244/qid=1044404785/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/102-3347532-1734557?v=glance&s=books
The Best Little Map of Charleston, S.C. 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/078341921X/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/102-3347532-1734557?v=glance&s=books
Let's Go Map Guide New Orleans 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312272464/qid=1044404916/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-3347532-1734557

Enjoy!

If you find any of the above to be unclear, feel free to request
clarification.  I would appreciate it if you would hold off on rating
my answer until I have an opportunity to reply.

Sincerely,
Google Answers Researcher
richard-ga

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Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 04 Feb 2003 16:40 PST

oops, I dropped a link.

"Welcome to the Mobile Area Convention & Visitors Bureau" is at
http://www.mobile.org/

-R

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Request for Answer Clarification by alik-ga on 05 Feb 2003 05:12 PST

Thanks, very good! 
One question, though, about the weather: do you think it will be
tolerable enough or would it be a real handicap?

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Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 05 Feb 2003 06:21 PST

Hello again:

Weather is always variable, but the links I've given you indicate an
average June rainfall of about 6 inches for the month.  At worst that
means that it may be raining as you visit _this_ scenic point or
_that_ garden.  You can count on it being warm, so I don't think
you'll have serious discomfort.

It's about the same climate as Bermuda--and unlike Bermuda this is not
a beach-centered vacation.  I think you'll be fine.

-R