Day 1

Fly to Memphis and check into a downtown hotel, like the Peabody or Talbot Heirs. Dine at E. P. Delta Kitchen and stroll down to Beale Street in the evening.

Day 2

Take the Beale Street Walking Tour in the morning, stopping at the W. C. Handy Home and Museum. Take your picture with the Elvis statue, and go treasure-hunting at A. Schwab. Eat lunch at the Little Tea Shop downtown, and then head over to Mud Island for the afternoon. Explore the Mississippi River Museum and the River Walk. Eat dinner in Harbor Town on Mud Island.

Day 3

Go to the National Civil Rights Museum in the morning, eat lunch along South Main, and then go to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in the afternoon. Head to the Cozy Corner for a barbecue dinner.

Day 4

Make it Elvis Day. Start early at Graceland to avoid the crowds and then visit Sun Studio, where Elvis recorded his first hit. Eat a burger at Dyers on Beale Street in memory of the King.

Day 5

Start out at Elmwood Cemetery with the audio tour, and then drive east. Visit the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and lounge in Overton Park. Tour The Dixon and eat dinner in Cooper-Young.

Day 6

Leave Memphis, driving northeast along Highway 70. Stop in Mason to pick up some of Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken for the road. Visit the Alex Haley House Museum in Henning, and the push on to Reelfoot Lake. Check into the Airpark Inn.

Day 7

Explore Reelfoot Lake State Park. Take a boat cruise or hike along the lakeshore. Eat fried catfish at Boyette’s.

Day 8

Drive east to Land Between the Lakes. Visit The Homeplace to see frontier life re-created, and watch a celestial show at the Golden Pond Visitor Center and Planetarium. Overnight at the Riverfront Plantation Inn in Dover.

Day 9

Drive south to Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park to tour the Tennessee River Folklife Center. Press south to Savannah for your overnight.

Day 10

Walk around historic Savannah and then tour the Shiloh National Military Park. Take the audio tour or hike to the Shiloh Indian Mounds. Overnight at the hotel at Pickwick Landing State Resort Park, and eat dinner at the Broken Spoke.

Day 11

Go to Pinson Mounds State Archaeo-logical Park to stretch your legs and tour mysterious Indian mounds. Eat lunch in Jackson at Dixie Castle, and then take the interstate back to Memphis.

© Susanna Henighan Potter from Moon Tennessee, 5th Edition