DAY 1 -  FRIDAY  -  MARCH 8, 2024

Travel Day to Sikeston, MO

Good Morning! Your D&D Custom Travel tour director will be on board to greet everyone as we depart on our 9-day motor-coach adventure to MEMPHIS, NEW ORLEANS and NASHVILLE. Our travels take us across Illinois and through the rolling hills of Missouri, to our first overnight stay in Sikeston, MO. (Kick-back Reception Included)

 

DAY 2 – SATURDAY - MARCH 9, 2024

Goin’ to Memphis! Home of Rock & Roll!

It’s a short drive to Memphis today where a local guide will play and sing selections from the city’s rich musical heritage, along with generous amounts of comedy and interaction. Lunch will be at your leisure on Beale Street and then we make our way to Elvis Presley’s Graceland for a tour of the King of Rock-n-Roll's estate. Your tour will include the mansion at Graceland with access to Elvis’ original business office, his enormous collection of gold records and awards, and the Meditation Garden, where Elvis and members of his family have been laid to rest. You can also see Elvis’ collection of ornate jumpsuits and capes, the automobile museum, and his collection of airplanes. Overnight will be at The Guest House at Graceland where you will enjoy Southern hospitality, royal treatment and luxurious amenities that would make the King of Rock 'n' Roll himself proud. Maybe at 9 p.m. you’ll enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the PBJ Sandwich Bar. The remainder of the evening is at your leisure. (Breakfast Included)

 

DAY 3 – SUNDAY - MARCH 10, 2024

Goin' to New Orleans – Birthplace of Jazz!

Following breakfast, we board the motorcoach and head for New Orleans, but before we arrive, we have a special treat. A stop will be made at Insta-Gator Ranch, home to more than 2,000 alligators. Their fun, and educational program allows you to view gators of various ages and sizes swimming in clear water from protected walkways. You can touch 'em, hold 'em, even feed 'em!!! From here we cross Lake Pontchartrain, arriving in The Big Easy early evening where we’ll check into the Drury Inn Hotel in downtown New Orleans for our three-night stay where you’ll have time to relax, unpack and enjoy the hotel’s kick-back reception.  The remainder of the evening is at your leisure. (Breakfast, Kick-back Reception Included)  

 

DAY 4 – MONDAY – MARCH 11, 2024

New Orleans

This morning after breakfast we will meet our local guide for a tour of The Big Easy, including the French Quarter, the Garden District, Lakefront and the above ground cemetery. Lunch will be included at The New Orleans School of Cooking located in a renovated molasses warehouse built in the early 1800s in the heart of the French Quarter. Here they teach the basics of Louisiana Cooking in a way you’ll never forget. Fun is a primary ingredient in their kitchen! Their Cajun/Creole experts teach New Orleans specialties such as Gumbo, Jambalaya and Pralines, seasoning them with history, trivia and tall tales! Mid-afternoon finds us boarding the Steamboat Natchez for a 2-hour narrated Jazz Harbor Cruise. The remainder of the day and evening are free for you to explore on your own. (Breakfast, Lunch and Kick-back Reception Included)

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DAY 5 – TUESDAY – MARCH 12, 2024

Plantation Country  

After our breakfast we set our sights for Plantation Country! Plantations in Louisiana are one of the most sought-after attractions throughout the state.  Today we will explore two of Louisiana’s most famous and historic plantation homes along the Great Mississippi River Road and learn about their stories, secrets, and occasionally…spirits. First, we’ll tour Houmas House Estate and Gardens, the Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road! You’ll experience what life on a sugarcane plantation in the 1800’s was like. The mansion has been restored to the antebellum era, reflecting the opulence and wealth this sugarcane farm boasted in the 1880’s.  The guided mansion tour walks through the 250-year history, showing the architectural evolution of this manor house and how it became a grand estate.  Rare and period artwork and artifacts are displayed and used to explain plantation life. Houmas House is most associated with the Bette Davis movie Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964).  The gardens are expansive and the most exquisite in all of Plantation Country. Next, we move on to Laura: A Creole Plantation.  This 200-year-old sugar plantation and the authentic 1840s slave cabins, are where the ancient west-African tales of Compair Lapin, better known in English as "Br'er Rabbit," were recorded. We return to New Orleans for our last evening in the city, Tonight, we’ll dine at Mulates, “The Original Cajun Restaurant." (Breakfast, Lunch,  Kick-back Reception and Dinner Included)

 

DAY 6 – WEDNESDAY – MARCH 13, 2024

New Orleans to Mobile, AL

Following breakfast we head to Mardi Gras World, the largest float designing and building facility in the world.  Here more than 80 percent of the floats that journey down New Orleans’ streets during the Carnival season are designed and built. Learn about the history of the event and walk through the float den where artists have been working on floats for Mardi Gras since 1947. Next, you’ll have free time to explore the WWII Museum on your own or spend the remainder of your time in the French Quarter for lunch and exploring before we leave New Orleans and head to Mobile, AL for our overnight stay. The Café du Monde awaits you should you care to try some café au lait and beignets this afternoon. (Breakfast and Kick-Back Reception Included)

 

DAY 7 – THURSDAY – MARCH 14, 2024

Bellingrath Gardens

We’ll depart this morning after breakfast and set our sights for the lovely Bellingrath Gardens and Home.  Walter Bellingrath was one of the first Coca-Cola bottlers in the south and with his wealth built the estate garden and home. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and this 800-acre estate has been called the Garden Spot of the South.  After our visit we will continue to our overnight destination in Madison, AL. (Breakfast Included)

 

DAY 8 – FRIDAY – MARCH 15, 2024

Goin’ to NASHVILLE – CAPITAL OF COUNTY MUSIC

Following breakfast we travel a short distance to Huntsville, Al, to visit the US Space and Rocket Center, the most comprehensive U.S. manned spaceflight hardware museum in the world. Its large rocket and space hardware collection is valued in the tens of millions of dollars. From America’s first satellite, Explorer I, to next generation space vehicles like Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, the museum showcases the past, present and future of human spaceflight. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center serves as the Official NASA Visitor Center for Marshall Space Flight Center and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. This evening we’ll attend Nashville’s #1 Dinner and Show! At Nashville Night Life Dinner Theater, you’ll experience a celebration of Country Music from both past and present. You’ll hear songs from many of the great artists in country music history along with today’s hottest superstars. Enjoy the music of everyone from Hank Williams Sr. and Patsy Cline to the superstars of today like Sara Evans and Toby Keith! (Breakfast & Dinner Included)

 

DAY 9 – SATURDAY – MARCH 16, 2024

HOME

Today after breakfast we’ll depart Nashville with wonderful memories of your “Little Bit Country," “Little Bit Rock & Roll” and “All that Jazz” Tour to Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans. ("Lay-say le bon tom roo-lay") just means "let the good times roll." You will to arrive home early this evening.  (Breakfast Included)

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