Advice for First Timer

Having been brought up on a diet of American Blues music and Bob Dylan (that gives away our ages!) we (husband and me) are planning to come see Highway 61 for ourselves and looking for as much advice as possible. We want to explore by car for about 2 weeks Mississippi and possibly Tenessee. We want good music, beautiful countryside - rivers, lakes and mountains, bit of history and friendly locals. I want to sit on a rocking chair in a front porch like they do in the movies! Would rather avoid big cities and like the idea of staying in B%26amp;Bs. We would like to stay in one place for at least 3 days at a time and don%26#39;t want to drive more than about half a dsy each transfer. Oh, and I would like a horse to ride occaisionally. Where do we start? Where do we go? We could fly to Atlanta but that seems miles away from where we want to go. Please tell me my romantic notion of the south is not wrong! Can%26#39;t wait for all your ideas!

Advice for First Timer

Dobbin,

I may have said some of this over on your post about Memphis, but for info on this area you asking,

look at

www.visitthedelta.com

It is a really good site that gives details about each town along US 61 (from Memphis southward to NOLA) and features of each.

Once you know more about which places you want to visit, you could then decide %26amp; price your airport.

Yes, ATL IS very far....8 hrs from the MS Delta, about 7.5 from Memphis. The closest airports to this area are Memphis and Jackson, MS, but Jackson (JAN) will not be an international flight. If you wnat to visit the TN mountains, you could also try pricing the airport in Nashville (BNA). About a 3 hr drive from Memphis, 4.5 from the Delta area, and about 3 hrs from the TN Mountains.

have a good trip.

Miller

Advice for First Timer

Miller, thanks for your advice. I think we have made some decisions - at last! We plan to fly to Memphis and head down Highway 61 towards Clarksdale and then go south about as far as Natchez before heading back north on Natchez Trace Parkway turning for Memphis after Tupelo. Does that make sense for a two week tour? Don%26#39;t really know where we will stay on way but like the idea of B%26amp;Bs. Can we find them on the way or should we book for May? I have found lots on the Mississippi Travel Guide website

I am still nervous about driving directly from Memphis Airport. Is it crazy with 10 lanes? Please bear in mind that our roads in Scotland tend to be one side of the raod going one way and the other going the other way! I find it quite alarming on the 2 lane motorway to Edinburgh! Help?

Starkville/Columbus

We will be going to the UK/Miss. State football game in Starkville this weekend. It%26#39;s been years since I%26#39;ve been to the area. Any suggestions for restaurants/bars, etc. We are a crew of late 40 somethings. Is the ';Cotton District'; in Starkville anything to get excited about?

Slot question

What%26#39;s the best slot machine for...fun bonus rounds? Where? I%26#39;ll be at the Beau for my first trip to Biloxi, but it probably won%26#39;t be my last.

So tell me which ones you like for the bonus, please.

Slot question

I have a few favorites...

Lucky Meerkats

Wizard of Oz

Super Jackpot Party...although very frustrating at times

Crazy Gems Tiles or something like that...it%26#39;s a cascading reels machine...great bonus

Tabasco

Lobster Mania

Monopoly

Men in Black

There are others but can%26#39;t think of them all

Slot question

Byrd: Just got back from Biloxi . Was only at the Beau for an hour or so, but overall had a great time playing penny slots for the better part of 68 hours. LOL

Enjoyable bonuses a) Monopoly Big Money Train

B) Road Trip

c) Moolah

d) Where%26#39;s the Gold

e) The Great Wall

f) Ducks in a Row

g) Totally Puzzled

h) Live Lobsters Dancing

Nightly

just back - trip report

Wow. Wife and I drove to Tunica for our first trip there on Friday morning and just returned (Sun. late afternoon). It was a whirlwind tour but we managed to do all of the casinos for a few hours each. We stayed at a non-gaming hotel because it was half the price on weekends. We weren%26#39;t sure what to expect from the Best Western Tunica Resorts property, but we were very pleasantly surprised. Our room was clean, the free morning breakfast was adequate to get our morning started and the people working there could not have been friendlier. Overall it was a place we would recommend and stay at again.

Started off Friday early afternoon at Bally%26#39;s. It was OK but one of our least favorite. The place was not very active at all. Granted, it was a Friday at one in the afternoon, but they really needed some bodies in there playing. And the whole Barn/Farm motif was kind of goofy. Also, the drinks were really bad = powdered, cheapy margarita mix and scotch that could have choked a mule. Good news is that wife won a good bit playing five dollar black jack. Down side is that it paid 6/5, but she had fun and came out ahead.

From Bally%26#39;s we drove less than a mile to a casino cluster incuding the Sheraton, the Horseshoe and the Gold Strike. Sheraton was OK, but underwhelming- sort of your plain label variety casino. Made a few bucks there and headed to the Horseshoe right next door. This place was hoppin%26#39; and turned out to be our favorite. Actually looked like it could have been a Vegas property. It was packed and everyone was sort of rowdy and having fun. Casino decor reminded me sort of Golden Nugget in DT Vegas - not modern, but classy. The two best things about this place were that wife won big here at BJ, playing the ten dollar shoe game with the three card poker side bet, which paid 9/1. She got it several times, though she only played the side bet ($5) every third or fourth hand, as it is commonly known as a ';sucker bet';. The other great thing was how accommodating they were here. After only an hour or so at the tables our first trip there, they comped us two Friday night seafood buffets. The buffet is normally 25 a person and was fantastic. Very classy for a buffet and the variety and food prep were excellent. Loved the Horseshoe so much, went back Sat. night for four hours and won some more. Excellent drink service and good stuff.

From HS, we wandered next door to the Gold Strike, an MGM property. The hotel part looked very classy. The casino was large and busy, but with the low ceiling and no flash, it was just OK. Won a little here, but didn%26#39;t stay more than an hour or two. The shops and restaurants in the Gold Strike looked a lot nicer than at other casino properties, but since we didn%26#39;t stay there, we spent very little time in them.

Finally, to wind up the first day, we headed over to the brand new, stand-alone Harrah%26#39;s property. It was all by itself away from the other casinos but not terribly far away. You could see the lights from afar, as this is the largest and glitziest of all the Tunica properties. It was spectacular inside and out. Inside it was ultra mod, sort of like a combination of the Palms and Planet Hollywood. Big fancy (expensive) bar in te center of the main casino floor and colored lighted artsy columns throughout the casino. Very flashy. Bad news was most table games were fifteen and up. Found one ten dollar table and made a few bucks before finally retiring back to the Best Western. Whew, what a day. My gal played at five casinos and won a bit at all of them.

Sat. morning, we decided to go to the other cluster of casinos which were about four miles straight down the street from our hotel. This cluster has Hollywood casino and Resorts Casino (the old Harrah%26#39;s) on one side of the street and Sam%26#39;s Town Casino complex on the other side. We started by using the two for one ACG (American Casino Guide) coupon for the Hollywood%26#39;s Epic buffet. We used it for lunch and it saved us nine bucks. The buffet was not a large one and we were a bit skeptical, but for nine bucks for two, we tried it. It was not fancy, but all of the food was well prepared and we were more than happy with it. Then went into the Casino proper at Hollywood. It is very cool, if you like Elvis and movie memorabalia. They actually had the original Bat Mobile from Batman, a car in Elvis%26#39; movie Spinout and the scale model of the Titanic used in the movie right on the casino floor, along with other things like some of Tom Hank%26#39;s props from Forrest Gump and George C. Scott%26#39;s uniform from Patton. We loved this part of the casino. HOWEVER, two downers at Hollywood. First, Casino is very smoky. They really had poor ventilation. Second, this was the first of six casinos where my wife lost. Boo.

Wandered next door to Resorts. Felt sorry for these folks, as the place is super plain Jane and it was nearly empty on a Saturday afternoon. Also, wife%26#39;s losing streak continued here, so we got out of there pretty fast. Drove across the street to Sam%26#39;s Town, which was really hoppin%26#39;. Lots of casino play on this large floor and we loved that this was the only property that had five dollar, six deck, HAND SHUFFLED, shoe games. Spent about three hours here and did nicely.

Went home early evening just to relax for an hour before heading out Sat. night to the Horseshoe, where we closed out our trip to Tunica. Stayed there four or five hours. Band was fun, black jack was great, wife made a killing on twenty bucks and all was good. God, I love this place.

Final notes = our first trip to Tunica was fun and profitable, BUT, if you have never been, realize two things about Tunica. It is in the boonies. I mean, right next door to all of the Casinos are large cottonfields and farm land. There is NOTHING to do in this town, except gamble. All restaurants, bar a few chain fast food joints are casino restaurants. Also, know that you really do need a car, as the properties can be anywhere from next door to each other or as much as five miles away. Will we go back??? Maybe, as a cheap substitute for a Vegas fix, but never for more than two days at a time. Tunica is what it is= farmland with casinos. We have no regrets and we now know what to expect if we go again.

just back - trip report

Thanks for the Tr will keep that in mind I am going 1st time in 2 weeks. I have heard good and bad. Sound like your wife did OK how about you? I have never heard about Resorts I guess that%26#39;s why.

LIG

just back - trip report

I enjoyed reading your TR. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for posting! I%26#39;m planning our first roadtrip for a week in November. So it%26#39;s fair to say Tunica is in the sticks, boondocks. . . : )

Also planning for golf and day trips to Memphis and/or Clarksdale. Definitely hitting the Horseshoe!

Hey glad you had a good time, and we pretty much have the same opinions! I actually liked Harrah%26#39;s the best this last trip, and Mr. Ducky said he played at a $5 Pai Gow there but thinks the BJ was $10 (we were there on a Mon/Tues trip this time)

I am glad to see the hotel turned out to be ok for you, and I am sure your report will be helpful to others :)

The Tunica/Memphis area is always fun for us but agree that a couple days is plenty.

make up brushes

Trace State Park

Can anyone tell me anything about Trace State Park outside of Tupelo? My husband loves fishing and I love hiking but I can%26#39;t find much about this campground online.

Trace State Park

Have you tried this website

…reserveamerica.com/ms/…

AJAX in .net

Blckjack in Tunica

I am planning on visting Tunica for the first time in November. Can someone please advise best places to play blackjack. I am no high roller just looking for some $10 or maybe even $5 tables (if any). I am staying at Harrah%26#39;s Grand but will play anywhere, doesn%26#39;t matter to me. I am sure almost all the casinos will have some $10 tables just looking for best atmosphere and drink service.

Thanks

Blckjack in Tunica

Horseshoe was lots of fun and we did the best there. See our trip report titled ';just back trip report';. We also liked Sam%26#39;s town and Gold Strike. We did not like Hollywood, Bally%26#39;s or Resorts at all. Have fun and good luck.

Blckjack in Tunica

The Gold Strike is a fun casino...plenty of $5 bj tables, especially during the week.

lunch spot between Memphis and Nola

Any suggestions for a lite lunch between Memphis and New Orleans? We leave the Memphis area around 9AM with hopes of arriving in New Orleans between 3-4. Any idea how long this trip takes...will be on rt.55.

Thanks

lunch spot between Memphis and Nola

If you take I-55, the trip is about 6-6.5 hours without stops.

If you take the ';scenic route'; (US 61) it is closer to 8.

55-stop in Jackson.

61-stop in Vicksburg. There, I would go to Walnut Hills. Slightly ';overpriced';, but a great Southern Hospitality experience, and outstanding food.

(it is in an historic home, and you are seated at a round table (about 12/per table) with Lazy Susans and good, southern comfort food.) Vicksburg is about 4 hours from Memphis. Looking at a road map, you could have the best of both ~ you can split the drive between 55 %26amp; 61, with the stretch of I-20 between Vicksburg %26amp; Jackson getting you off or back on I-55.

Read more about US 61 %26amp; restaurants on

www.visitthedelta.com

Have a good trip,

Miller

lunch spot between Memphis and Nola

Thanks so much for the info. It%26#39;s helpful to know how long a trip can take (approx) and will check out some restaurants in jackson.

Since I have family in the area, I do not eat out in jackson very often, but I do know a great place downtown, very convenient to I-55, and is very characteristic of the area:

www.jesdablues.com

GREAT food, good music. They may not be open for lunch everyday, but I do know that they have been open for lunch on some days in the past. it is definitely worth a look if you wnat something unique.

Have a good trip.

Miller

If you are coming on I-55, after you pass Canton (you will see the enormous Nissan Plant), there is a new shopping center. It%26#39;s called Renaissance at Colony Park, there are several good restaurants there (I think the exit says Agency Rd, not 100% certain but you can%26#39;t miss it).

A couple of miles south, still on I-55, you can take the exit for County Line Rd. There are lots of different chains there (olive garden, red Lobster, applebees).

You will see others along the interstate as you go by.