summer in the south

hey! .. i am turning 21 and so this is my summer of true freedom and there is no other way that i would love to celebrate that than going on a road trip. i am finding it hard to find someone who is willing to go with me. between school summer breaks and finding the right person (no one that you argue with) and so on it has not worked out for me but that is okay i am alright with going by myself. i hope to learn more about myself through this trip. i live in illinois and want to travel south/southeast. being here all my life i have frequented to miss, mizz, kentucky, indiana, ohio. i am looking to go south into the deep south and end up in south carolina possibly. there is not a certain time frame that i am going by. obviously i want to do in a smart amount of time. i am the type of person who loves to meet new and interesting people and is willing to do anything at least once. i want to experince some new things. great pictures is one thing that i am not willing to give up but even more importantly i want even better memories. making new friends and opening myself up is something that i intend to do, within safe boundaries of course. if anyone has any ideas for me that would be really helpful. certiain places i should see or places i should stop? ... thanks!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

I had not been to the deep South in many, many years, other than the occasional mad dash down the coast to Florida. Not the same thing at all! I finally rectified this with a couple of trips over the last few years. The one that was most like what it sounds like you have in mind was described here and here. A year or two prior to that trip, my wife, my sister and I had spent a week in Charleston, SC. If you go, by all means see one or more of the old restored plantations along the Ashley River Road, take one of the many horse drawn carriage rides through the heart of the old city, and if you're there at the right time of year (roughly late spring) take one of the walking tours of the old homes or gardens and just strike up conversations with the docents and the people you meet. All in all, I think you've got exactly the right attitude to make this a great, enjoyable, and memorable trip.

AZBuck

Buck -

thank you for your kind words! i sure hope this will be as memorable as i hope it to be. i will definitely take into consideration your suggestions. i am open to all! .. btw i read your posts about your own trip recently and i must say you have a way of getting across a message that is not only soothing, but it actually puts me there. you have great abilities for story telling! .. i hope one day to have my own writings on the trips and the amazing things and people i meet along the way. i am not sure if you have heard of this place or been there ... Oak Alley Plantation i consider this to be perfect in all sense of the word. to me, this is where i feel like i belong. for as long as i can remember i have been mesermerized by the tall sweeping oaks and their way of saying "this is life, enjoy it." before i get carried away, thank you again for the suggestions. please let me know if you have any more.

one more thing, would you suggest heading into florida or just hitting the edge? .. i have never been to florida and being that it is the tourist spot for everyone i am not sure if i want to head that direction. would i be missing anything? .. o and i would like to hit some of the "touristy" destinations just because i always think it is interesting and plus this is where the world congregates, no matter if you are from iowa or new york city.

thanks again!

Of course, technically, Florida is a southern state. But much of it now has the feel of any other urbanized, bustling section of America. There are places that still exude the languid ambience that has come to mean the Old South, and many of the ones I've found tend to be in the Panhandle region. If you want to see this part of Florida as part of your trip to (re)discover the South, head for the area around Tallahassee, down to the Gulf Coast and east to the Okefenokee Swamp.

As for 'touristy' spots to hit, the major ones in this general neck of the woods are Graceland (of course); Stone Mountain, Georgia; and some of the major Civil War Battlefields such as Vicksburg and Shiloh. (Just be careful about saying that "we" won!)

AZBuck