What should we not miss in a 3 day drive from New Orleans to Atlanta?

November 21, 2007 9:15 PM

What should we not miss in a 3 day drive from New Orleans to Atlanta?

Looking for interesting cultural, historical, musical or culinary experiences. Would prefer the non-touristy stops. We know the places to hit in New Orleans and Atlanta - how about the places in between? The small towns off the beaten path... the weird... the cooky... the naturally beautiful...

posted by jur777 to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

What route are you going? If you're going through Alabama on I-59, check out:

Dreamland Barbecue in Tuscaloosa

http://www.dreamlandbbq.com/default.aspx?id=46


Lou's Pub in Birmingham

http://tinyurl.com/yo9ura

If you're going a different way, say how and I'll tell you some other things. Been living 'round those parts my whole life ...
posted by mccxxiii at 9:44 PM on November 21, 2007

With 3 days to drive from New Orleans to Atlanta, you shouldn't miss New York City. <3>Vulcan Park though, especially if you're interested in giant metal butts or incredible views.
posted by knowles at 10:34 PM on November 21, 2007

If you do go through Birmingham, AL, Vulcan Park offers good views of the city (and is near to Interstates), and, uh, other things. Depending on your routes, you could go through Columbus, GA, and see Warm Springs, GA. A bit to the north of there is Callaway Gardens, which has one of the largest butterfly conservatories in the world (fairly amazing to be in the presence of 10,000 brightly colored butterflies flitting about in a large glass building). If you're doing the drive on the "southern" route via I-10 to I-75, you could stop in Pensacola for a look at the Naval Aviation Museum, take your picture at the highest point in Florida (elevation 345 feet above sea level), or, stop for gumbo (oysters are out of season) around Apalachicola Bay. If you have any interest in Civil War history, once you're in Georgia, headed north on I-75, stop at Andersonville. The Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon is interesting to popular music lovers.
posted by paulsc at 10:37 PM on November 21, 2007

d'oh! Vulcan Park is the link. stupid greater than three screwed it all up.
posted by knowles at 10:38 PM on November 21, 2007

Also check out previous threads on this question - by clicking on your own tags in the top right corner.
here's one
here's another
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:56 PM on November 21, 2007

Lambert's "Home of Throwed Rolls" in Foley, AL was voted the most gluttonous restaurant on Food Network.

Graceland Too in Yellow Springs, MS is an Elvis fan's shrine to The King.
posted by Frank Grimes at 5:32 AM on November 22, 2007

The Voting Rights Museum in Selma, AL is well worth a stop. If you like checkers, the International Checkers Hall of Fame is just outside Hattiesburg, MS in Petal -- I was sorry not to be able to get to this. Seconding Vulcan's giant metal butt.
posted by escabeche at 5:57 AM on November 22, 2007

Graceland Too is pretty amazing. It's actually in Holly Springs. It could be worked into a trip between NOLA and ATL, but it wouldn't be a direct trip. Once in Holly Springs, Hwy 78 will take you into Birmingham where you can pick up I-20 to Atlanta. But there's not much I know of that's interesting on that drive.

If instead you hug the coast for the first part of your trip, I would make similar recommendations to the ones I made here.
posted by solotoro at 9:03 AM on November 22, 2007

The largest Hindu temple in the country - the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - is actually located just outside of Atlanta, in Lilburn: thirty acres of Italian marble and Turkish sandstone, all hand-carved. We had a hard time finding the address, but if you wander into Lilburn and ask anyone, they'll point you straight there.
posted by laughinglikemad at 12:37 PM on November 22, 2007

Lot's of good suggestions. I like paulsc's the best.

Lambert's "Home of Throwed Rolls" in Foley, AL was voted the most gluttonous restaurant on Food Network.

It's also touristy as hell (just so you know since you wanted non-touristy suggestions).
posted by justgary at 12:01 AM on November 23, 2007