Laura
Nashville, Tennessee
Traveling from Nashville to Houston next week and I'm taking the southern route through AL to LA and wanted interesting things to stop and see on our trip. It's just me and a 4 year old. So kid things would be awesome as well. We are definitely driving through New Orleans even though I know it's out of the way slightly.
Take the Natchez Trace Parkway all the way to Natchez MS from just outside Nashville. Google it. It's a historic old highway managed by the National Park Service now.
I would drive to Biloxi from Nashvilleand stay there. The beach and hotels are beautiful. Beau Rivage Resort & Casino has a nice Arcade Room for kids. The Hard Rock Cafe Nashville has great displays and good ice cream. It is off I 10 and an hour from New Orleans. You can navigate to Café du Monde the next day and take a carriage ride through the French Quarter
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before New Orleans - near Slidell - Dr. (a PhD) Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tour - about 2 hrs on boat - if time allows - a great tour; in NOLA the Louisiana Children's Museum is in biz district easily accessible; a ride on the streetcar might be enjoyable; a carriage ride in the French Quarter(board at Jackson Sq.); the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium(Canal St) is great for kids & adults - also true of the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (Canal St at the River); the zoo is "uptown" in Audubon Park and it is a delightful zoo; great food choices from A to Z
2 hrs W of NOLA - immed before Lafayette - Breaux Bridge - crayfish capital - the food is good; & Lafayette area is a great place to taste boudin (a spicy mixture of pork & rice)
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