8-hour vacations (Sell your city)

[brewcity77]

So the fiancee and I are getting married in Savannah, Georgia later this year. We are going down there twice, once to do pre-planning in September, then for the wedding just after Thanksgiving. While Milwaukee-Savannah could be a one-day drive, especially with two of us, we plan to stretch the drives out and have some mini-vacations along the way. Probably drive for 6-8 hours, then stop at different travel destinations along the way for mini-vacations. Right now, here are some of the cities we are considering:

• Nashville: Probably the only guaranteed destination, she's locked into visiting there
  
• Cincinnati: Rated well by some touristy sites
  
• Indianapolis: One of the larger cities, seems worth a look
  
• Chattanooga: For the Choo-Choo, and whatever else might be there
  
• Atlanta: One of the major cities along the way
  
• St. Louis: Not horribly out of the way, but not sure if it's worth staying west that long
  
• Louisville: Is there anything worthwhile there other than the basketball team? (same for Lexington)

.
Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts or must-see spots along that general area. Pretty much any cities in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, or Georgia are in the running, with Missouri, Alabama, Southern Illinois, and maybe West Virginia (though I have seen Wrong Turn and the Whites, so I'm leery ) not too far out of the way to consider. Any suggestions of places that we should or shouldn't hit, or other cities I may have forgotten?

[GGGG]

I have been to every one of these places, and St. Louis IMO is the most interesting of the bunch with all of the stuff by the arch.  I live in Indiana and Indianapolis is by and large a pretty dull place unless you are at a convention of some sort. 

[Ari Gold]

Nashville is a pretty great city. Didn't get a chance to truly explore the nightlife when I was there, but what I saw was awesome. think of every bar as Red Rock.

Louisville you could tour the Louisville slugger plant. I remember that pretty fondly

Never been to Atlanta but have been to the surrounding area. A lot of historical places to visit (stone mountain and other civil war sites).

[Blackhat]

Did a trip a couple summers ago through Tennessee to visit civil war battlefields.  Tenn. actually has the second most battlefield sites during the Civil War behind Virginia.   Chattanooga is a fun one or two day stop.   They have a modern arts district for good dining and atmosphere.   You could bike through the civil war parks.   Great Pancake place called Aretha Frankenstein's, get there early though. 

[Benny B]

I have been to every one of these places, and St. Louis IMO is the most interesting of the bunch with all of the stuff by the arch.  I live in Indiana and Indianapolis is by and large a pretty dull place unless you are at a convention of some sort. 

Agreed... lived in Indy for three years; not a lot of tourist activities that are appealing to late 20- and 30-somethings; unless you want to see the place where the NCAA makes all of its f'd up decisions.

Personally, I'd stay away from Atlanta -- it will take you 6-8 hours just to get in/out of the city. There are some casinos just outside of Louisville if that's your thing... nothing spectacular, but something to do if you're there.  Lynchburg, TN or Bourbon County, KY seem to be popular destinations... probably not so much that time of year, though.  Glad to hear you're locked in on Nashville... I would say that's the best interim destination on your list strictly based upon the variety of things to do/see.

Honestly... if you gave me a list of every possible place between Milwaukee and Savannah and complete discretion as to how I could allocate my time, I'd find the fastest route to Savannah and spend it all there.  I've been there three times - twice for conventions, once with my wife (fiancee at the time) - and there's still days' worth of stuff I haven't done and still want to do.  We're aiming to go back to Savannah soon... possibly next spring.

Suggestions for Savannah:
-Have a "Call a Cab" at Wet Willie's
-Haunted Pub Crawl -- don't remember which one, but the one that starts at the British bar with the red phone booth out front.  The guy who gives the tour has a Boston accent so thick you'll think he's fro, Australia.
-Go see the square where Forrest sat.  The bench isn't there, but you have to say you at least tried.
-If you like southern food and can get into Lady & Sons, it's worth the wait.  But if you're not into southern food, it's not worth the hype.
-Olde Pink House is very good regardless of your tastes in food... pricy, though highly recommended.
-"Midnight/Garden" stuff around if you're into that (my wife is, I'm not)... you can't get to the statue, but plenty of other places to go/see.
-St. John's Cathedral... even if you're not Catholic, the architecture is stunning.
-Art galleries everywhere.

[mugrad2006]

Even if you're not a camper/outdoorsy type, I'd try driving through the Great Smoky Mountains (i.e. through Gatlinburg) just for the scenery.  If you are the camping type, stay for a day and do some hiking/driving around. 

Also, it might add a couple hours to your total trip but Savannah isn't that far from Charleston, which is one of my favorite cities in the whole US.  Take a tour, eat some fantastic seafood on the shoreline, and visit the forts.  Makes for a great day or two.

[Spotcheck Billy]

to bad you probably aren't going by motorcycle, near Knoxville you could ride the Tail of the Dragon http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

[JD]

I was extremely young, but i'm not sure if the Mammouth caves are nearby, i thought they were in Kentucky..

Very neat!

[brewcity77]

Thanks for all the feedback...right now, here's my thought process:

On the way down the first time, drive 6.5 hours to St. Louis and have an afternoon and evening for the Arch and surrounding area. Next day, drive 5 hours to Nashville, hit up BB King's, take in some music, food, and sights. Is Opryland worth the time? I read somewhere it's little more than a series of strip malls now. After that, it's about 8 hours to Savannah, which is easy to do in a day.

Coming back the first time, we'll have my future brother-in-law along, so I'm trying to think of a way to go somewhere he won't be a third wheel. Planning on only doing one stop that time, maybe Cincinnati. Probably drive the 11 hours to Louisville, stay the night, then do some cave stuff in the morning before leaving after lunch (7 hours to MKE).

Third trip is up in the air right now. I think I'd like to do some smaller towns on the way down, maybe Nashville, Indiana and Damascus, Virginia. On the way back up, I think Louisville would be nice, there's an underground cavern tour you can drive that has holiday lights and music.

But of course, it's all still up in the air, so any more suggestions are much appreciated.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

My geographic location is not much help to you Brew.  I have been on plenty of road trips from Conn. but Tennesse/Kentucky/Southern Ohio & Indiana has never been an area I've headed towards.  I'm usually headed north towards Canada or south towards Myrtle Beach, SC (or shorter to Washington, DC).  I drove out to Milwaukee for the 20-yr last summer, and our overnight stops (1 to 3 days) in between were in Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh & Hershey, PA.  This years road trip is to Orlando and our overnight stops (1 to 3 days) in between include Daytona Beach, Charlottesville, VA & Savannah, GA.  Thanks to Benny B I have a couple places to check out now and plenty of great ideas for "concept photos".  My wife will be happy with all the art galleries.

[warriorchick]

Thanks for all the feedback...right now, here's my thought process:

 Is Opryland worth the time? I read somewhere it's little more than a series of strip malls now.
But of course, it's all still up in the air, so any more suggestions are much appreciated.

If you are talking about Opryland the theme park, it no longer exists. Awhile back they decided in December that they weren't going to open up the following Spring.  This was before the Internet was big, and all the travel guides for that year were already printed up, so for an entire summer, families were driving up to it like it was WallyWorld.

I don't know if tickets to the Grand Old Opry are still mega-tough to get, but if you can score some, it's something you wouldn't want to miss, even if you are not much of a country music fan.  It's a slice of American cultural history at its greatest.

Also, they hold events at the Old Ryman auditorium (that's the Grand Old Opry house you see in all of the old movies).  Around the corner is Lower Broad, a cool bar scene.  Much improved from when I was a kid and the only reason I guy went down there was either go to Tootsie's or pick up a hooker.

[reinko]

Hit up the Makers Mark Distillery and tour in Loretto, KY.

[Ari Gold]

Hit up the Makers Mark Distillery and tour in Loretto, KY.

Lynchburg has JD, but its a dry county. heard the tour is phenomenal.
Northern Georgia also has a number of gold mine tours.

[nyg]

If you are talking about Opryland the theme park, it no longer exists. Awhile back they decided in December that they weren't going to open up the following Spring.  This was before the Internet was big, and all the travel guides for that year were already printed up, so for an entire summer, families were driving up to it like it was WallyWorld.

I don't know if tickets to the Grand Old Opry are still mega-tough to get, but if you can score some, it's something you wouldn't want to miss, even if you are not much of a country music fan.  It's a slice of American cultural history at its greatest.

Also, they hold events at the Old Ryman auditorium (that's the Grand Old Opry house you see in all of the old movies).  Around the corner is Lower Broad, a cool bar scene.  Much improved from when I was a kid and the only reason I guy went down there was either go to Tootsie's or pick up a hooker.

Went to Nashville to give a speech about six months ago.  Hate country music.  Stayed at a Hilton and walked down to the Bar/Restaurant street, can't remember the street but its the main drag.  It was dark and when I came to the street it was unreal.  Neon signs for like 25 bars, all with music going on in each.  Like a mini country music Las Vegas.  Found one place to eat, had ribs which were awesome and then went bar hopping listening to these wanna be bands, all of which were very talented.  Heard stories from each bartender on which country music stars made their living and got their big breaks in these bars.  Just was an unexpected treat and nice experience.  

[awilhelmscream]

First off congrats on getting married!

Now to the business end.  I grew up 2 hrs north of Nashville, 3 hrs to the west of Louisville, and 3.5 hrs south of St. Louis and have spent extensive amounts of time in those 3 places.

Nashville - Hands down my favorite of the 3.  If you're staying the night you can hit up the bars on Broadway which is the Nashville version of Water St minus all of the underagers.  If your wife wants to get in some shopping Opry Mills is there and I think they just reopened it a few months ago.  Great food in the area as well.

Louisville - Second favorite.  4th st live for boozing.  Open court yard and you just bounce from bar to bar.  There's a casino on the Indiana side of the river there that's decent.  Also a very underrated food town.  You could look into hitting up the bourbon trail while you're there as well.  Makers Mark, Blantons, and the Wild Turkey distilleries are in the area but if you really like bourbon you need to drive out toward Lexington and visit the Old Rip Van Winkle distillery.  Get the Pappy 20yr bottle and thank me later.

St. Louis - I personally think it's a crap hole.  There is a cool area of town that is a little like the east side of Milwaukee in feel (I forget the name of the area but IIRC it's near the Pageant) that has a few micro brews, decent restaurants, some small locally owned shops, and some concert venues.  The stuff around the arch is ok but super touristy.  Fun fact about St Louis is you can walk around with an open container as long as there is a sporting event taking place in the city which is almost 365 days a year.

[wardle2wade]

Congrats, Brew...

Best piece of advice I can give you is USE TRIPADVISOR when researching where to stay. 

I assume you already do, but I travel for a living and it still shocks me how many people don't use it and are then surprised when they get a bad hotel.  A Hilton could be the nicest place in a town and be a run-down dump in another... just depends on the city. 

My rule of thumbs are at least 4 stars on TA and never a place which has a report of bedbugs.  Since you are doing this as a vacation, do a reality check on the hotel's location too.  Sometimes business hotels are highly rated on TA, but are not in an ideal honeymooner location.

Best of luck!

[wardle2wade]

First off congrats on getting married!

Now to the business end.  I grew up 2 hrs north of Nashville, 3 hrs to the west of Louisville, and 3.5 hrs south of St. Louis and have spent extensive amounts of time in those 3 places.

Nashville - Hands down my favorite of the 3.  If you're staying the night you can hit up the bars on Broadway which is the Nashville version of Water St minus all of the underagers.  If your wife wants to get in some shopping Opry Mills is there and I think they just reopened it a few months ago.  Great food in the area as well.

Louisville - Second favorite.  4th st live for boozing.  Open court yard and you just bounce from bar to bar.  There's a casino on the Indiana side of the river there that's decent.  Also a very underrated food town.  You could look into hitting up the bourbon trail while you're there as well.  Makers Mark, Blantons, and the Wild Turkey distilleries are in the area but if you really like bourbon you need to drive out toward Lexington and visit the Old Rip Van Winkle distillery.  Get the Pappy 20yr bottle and thank me later.

St. Louis - I personally think it's a crap hole.  There is a cool area of town that is a little like the east side of Milwaukee in feel (I forget the name of the area but IIRC it's near the Pageant) that has a few micro brews, decent restaurants, some small locally owned shops, and some concert venues.  The stuff around the arch is ok but super touristy.  Fun fact about St Louis is you can walk around with an open container as long as there is a sporting event taking place in the city which is almost 365 days a year.

And I completely agree with the above for my rankings.

[brewcity77]

I was extremely young, but i'm not sure if the Mammouth caves are nearby, i thought they were in Kentucky..

Very neat!

I definitely want to hit some of the KY caves. Also went to Mammoth Caves as a kid but was probably 3 and don't remember them at all. They are on my list, though Louisville has some caves that you tour on zip-lines and are lit up at Christmas (on the way back will be early December).

Regardless, we will be driving down twice, and I want to squeeze at least 6 destinations out of this trip, so any ideas people have would be on the table. I think St. Louis and Nashville are the two mortal locks. Looked up Grand Ole Opry tickets and they generally run about $34 apiece if we don't go for floor seats, so I think I'll probably try to get in there.

I'm hoping AAA will help keep my hotel rates down somewhat. Seems like it'd be easy to spend way too much on hotels, but will be using TA and AAA to find places that suit our needs best.

[BrewCity83]

Haven't been to Nashville but I spent quite a few weekends in Louisville and I got engaged there.  There's lots of fun to be had there in a weekend between the fun bar scene, Churchill Downs, the distilleries and the Louisville Slugger factory.

Memphis wouldn't be a bad stop if you want to see Graceland.  That's totally a worthwhile trip in my opinion.  And the bars on Beale Street (and the BBQ) can keep you busy at night.

[warriorchick]

Went to Nashville to give a speech about six months ago.  Hate country music.  Stayed at a Hilton and walked down to the Bar/Restaurant street, can't remember the street but its the main drag.  It was dark and when I came to the street it was unreal.  Neon signs for like 25 bars, all with music going on in each.  Like a mini country music Las Vegas.  Found one place to eat, had ribs which were awesome and then went bar hopping listening to these wanna be bands, all of which were very talented.  Heard stories from each bartender on which country music stars made their living and got their big breaks in these bars.  Just was an unexpected treat and nice experience.  

Slightly off topic, but one of the really cool things about living in Nashville is you are always running into country stars, and they are almost always super friendly.  My mom will never forget the day Minnie Pearl came up to her in the grocery store to tell her what a beautiful family she had (she had all of us rugrats in tow as she shopped).  A few years back, my sister was behind Wynonna Judd at the checkout line at Kroger. She was buying a cake and candles.  When my sister got home, she flipped on Entertainment Tonight just in time to hear Mary Hart say, "Celebrating a birthday today...Naomi Judd!"

Then there was Dan Hill, who lived next door to my brother in a very modest starter-home neighborhood. His wife worked as a receptionist on Music Row.  They later divorced.  Dan never got to be famous, but his ex-wife, Faith, sure did.

[tower912]

http://creationmuseum.org/

Can't go wrong there. 

[ZiggysFryBoy]

any road trip is worthless without a stop at a strip club.  preferably one in each city.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Brew,
Someone mentioned bed bugs.  I always check these two sites before deciding on a hotel:
www.bedbugreports.com
www.bedbugregistry.com

Also, I forgot about Asheville, NC.  You can do everything in a 1-day stop or less.  I used to visit a couple times a year as my company had it's warehosue there.  I never minded going there for the mountain air and seeing a Southern version of Vermont.  Check out the Biltmore Estate (the Vanderbilt mansion) and pick up some of their wine.  Downtown is easily walkable with lots of open-to-sidewalk bars & restaurants.  Also, I recently saw it listed as a Top Ten place to visit for beer lovers.  (Milwaukee was #1 on the list.)

[JWags85]

Id drop Cincy from the consideration set.  Especially compared to some of the other places you are looking to stop.  Going to school just outside the city for 4-5 years, its fairly underwhelming.  I actually can't think of any touristy stuff off the top of my head that makes me go "Oh yea, you should definitely see that."

[BrewCity83]

I spent a week in Cincy last month for one of my kids' athletic events and I can confirm that outside of Reds baseball, there's not that much to do there relative to the other cities you're looking at.  Although if you like amusement parks, King's Island is supposed to be pretty awesome and is just north of Cincy.