Sometimes the best adventures are off the beaten path. Certainly you can look in any travel guide for the top sightseeing spots, but we have dug a little deeper to find the hidden gems that maybe aren't so obvious. Check out our handful of Regional Road trips throughout the different parts of the US. Maybe you'll discover something new right in your own back yard!
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Whether you have a penchant for urban architectural wonders and lighthouses
or rural country fairs and wildlife sanctuaries, the Southern Region has something
for everyone.
Alabama
Whether you’ve a house full of kids or you’re just a kid at heart, you’ll find the Estuarium at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) to be an exciting exhibit. Located on the eastern tip of Dauphin Island, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, the DISL is surrounded by Mobile Bay, Mississippi Sound and the waters of the Gulf, making it perfectly situated for a wide range of marine science activity. Through beautiful visual exhibits and engaging interactive exhibits the facility is a showcase of the plants, animals, and other natural resources found in the Estuary and its surrounding marine habitats.
Other island attractions include The Little Red School House, Historic Fort
Gaines, and the Audubon Bird Sanctuary.
Links:
www.disl.org
www.gulfinfo.com
Florida
Do you have a penchant for architecture? The three architectural styles predominant in Miami Beach—Art Deco, Mediterranean Revival, and MiMo (Miami Modernism)—taken together create a unique Open Air Museum of 20th Century Architecture.
You can scout Art Deco by simply walking along Collins and Washington avenues, or join the pros at the Art Deco District Welcome Center. The center conducts 90-minute guided and audio self-guided walking tours.
The Spanish Monastery (16711 W Dixie Hwy), built in 1141 in Segovia, Spain, is the oldest building in the Western Hemisphere. And it is an amazing example of what money can do. Publisher William Randolph Hearst wanted a Spanish monastery, so he bought the Cloisters of the Monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux and had it shipped from Spain and reassembled one piece of stone at a time.
Links:
www.mdpl.org
www.spanishmonastery.com
Georgia
An apple a day…you know the rest! But did you know that Gilmer County, in the Appalachian Mountain Range about ninety minutes north of Atlanta, is “Georgia's Apple Capital?” Dozens of orchards dot the mountainsides producing more than 300,000 bushels of Granny Smiths, Red and Golden Delicious, Yates, Jonathans, Stayman Winesaps, Rome Beauties, Fujis, and Mutsus.
Ellijay's Georgia Apple Festival in mid-October, has enticed visitors for nearly four decades with its parades, apple pie–eating and apple-cooking contests, arts and crafts vendors, antique car show, and so much more.
Other area attractions include: Chieftain's Trail, a tour of local Native American sites; and Fort Mountain’s prehistoric rock formations.
Links:
www.gilmerchamber.com
www.georgiaapplefestival.org
Kentucky
Talk about off the beaten path! The Curtis Gates Lloyd Wildlife Management Area, located in northern Grant County just southeast of Crittenden, would not even exist if the very eccentric Mr. Lloyd had not written a lengthy Last Will and Testament that thoroughly detailed the future management plan for his 365-acre farm. The farm is now part of a 1,179-acre wildlife management area.
Be sure to have a camera ready for this shot! Lloyd erected a granite monument to himself. One side reads: “Curtis G. Lloyd born 1859—died 60 or more years afterwards. The exact number of years, months and days that he lived nobody knows and nobody cares.” The other side reads: “Curtis G. Lloyd—Monument erected in 1922 by himself for himself during his life to gratify his own vanity. What fools these mortals be!”
Links:
www.cybertruffle.org.uk/people/0014917.htm
Mississippi
Antebellum mansions are a large part of Old South history. These 19th century architectural masterpieces offer 21st century visitors glimpses of gracious Southern lifestyles. The Natchez National Historical Park includes the magnificent antebellum estate of John McMurran, the downtown home of African-American barber and diarist William Johnson, and the Rosalie Mansion.
Make time, too, for a trip along the Natchez Trace Scenic Parkway. The byway is rich with cultural history and primitive wilderness.
Links:
www.nps.gov/natc
www.byways.org/explore/byways/2285/itinerary/4027
North Carolina
Ah, the allure of the lighthouse! And few places have as many lighthouses as the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Take a driving tour from north to south along coastal North Carolina and you’ll have a choice of several lighthouses to visit. The list includes: Currituck Beach Light Station, Bodie Island Light Station, Cape Hatteras Light Station, Ocracoke Lighthouse, Cape Lookout Lighthouse, Bald Head Lighthouse, Oak Island Lighthouse, and two reproduction Sound Lighthouses—the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and the Roanoke River Lighthouse.
Links:
www.outer-banks.com
www.carolinalights.com
www.outer-banks.com/lighthouse-society
South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, America’s Riviera, truly offers something for everyone. For family fun there’s Wild Water & Wheels; Family Kingdom Amusement Park, home to South Carolina's largest Ferris wheel; the Battleship North Carolina an up-close look at the Pacific Theatre during World War II; and T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station—The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, which in addition to being dedicated to promoting global conservation is also home to some of the world’s most famous animal actors, stars of stage and screen!
Links:
www.mbchamber.com
www.wild-water.com
www.tigerfriends.com
Tennessee
The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, located south of Vonore on Route 360, is owned and operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The museum is dedicated to Sequoyah, a 19th century uneducated, crippled Cherokee half-breed who triumphed over insurmountable odds to bring the gift of literacy to his people.
Captivated by the “whiteman's” ability write and read, Sequoyah developing a complex “language” consisting of 86 symbols, each representing a unique sound of Cherokee speech. The Cherokee Nation tribal elders adopted his alphabet, now called a syllabary, which led to thousands of Cherokees learning to read and write within a few years.
Arkansas
History buffs will relish visiting these historic sites. Fort Smith, nestled in the heart of the Arkansas Ozark Mountains, combines the history of the wild Old West with the gracious charm of the antebellum Old South.
In Rohwer, on Highway 1 off US 65, is a Japanese-American relocation camp used during World War II to intern Americans of Japanese descent following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Links:
www.fortsmith.org
www.fortsmithchamber.com
www.janm.org/projects/clasc/chronology.htm
Louisiana
New Roads is “French Creole Country.” The city hosts the oldest Mardi Gras celebration outside New Orleans and offers visitors outstanding examples of 19th century Creole and Victorian plantations and architecture.
Attractions include Satterfield's Riverwalk, Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse, the Gen. John Archer LeJeune Monument, Alma Plantation Sugar Mill, Conquest Plantation, Wickliffe Planatation, Julien Poydras Monument and Museum, as well as scenic views and boating on False River.
Links:
www.pcchamber.org
www.satterfields.com
Virginia
Looking to do something frightfully different? How about a Ghost and Graveyard tour? (If you dare!) The nighttime, lantern-lighted Ghost & Graveyard tour in Alexandria is led by 18th century costumed guides. You’ll haunt the streets of historic Old Town listening to ghost stories, legends and folklore. You learn about unsolved mysteries, tales of romance and angry ghosts looking for revenge. Each tour is a one-hour, six-block walk. The tour ends in a graveyard where your guide will depart, leaving you among the spirits!
Links:
www.alexcolonialtours.com
West Virginia
On Memorial Day weekend, grab a front row seat to see the athletic prowess of lumberjacks at the Webster County Wood-chopping Festival in Webster Springs. Choppers hail from as far away as Australia and New Zealand for a chance to claim the Southern World title. In addition to the wood-chopping contest are exciting events such as the Sports Weekend Tournaments, Car and Truck Shows, Motorcycle Show, West Virginia State Firemen's Rodeo Championship, the Grand Feature Parade, Arts and Crafts Shows, and the West Virginia State Turkey Calling Championship, plus live music concerts. The festival concludes on Sunday with a fireworks display.
Links:
www.woodchoppingfestival.com
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