South & Southeast Travel Stories

Alabama Travel Stories

One Fish, Two Fish…OMG SO MANY FISH: It happens once or twice a summer in Mobile Bay: Jubilee, a quick, naturally-occurring moment when all the fish appear, ready to be scooped up. Stop what you’re doing, grab a net, and go. Rick Bragg, Southern Living

Cycling for Civil Rights: Cyclists from around the country join the Montgomery Bicycle Club for a two-wheeled recreation of the Selma to Montgomery March. Sara MacNeil, Montgomery Advertiser

Road Trip: A road trip through Alabama’s troubled past and the future that’s still under construction. Kevin West, Travel + Leisure

Africatown: Founded by freed slaves, their descendants have long hoped to save the community of Africatown from encroaching industrialization. Now that a piece of their history is found, their chances may improve. Joel K. Bourne Jr., National Geographic

Not a Hollywood Green Book Story: A “die-hard Brooklyn girl” from a family that runs several B&Bs, Glynn Pogue travels the new U.S. Civil Rights Trail with her father. Glynn Pogue, National Geographic

Birmingham: “Everyone likes something sweet, so that person is always popular.” Dorlester Miles won this year’s James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Jeremy Hobson, WBUR

Arkansas Travel Stories

Multiple Ozarks: We’re still not exactly sure what an Ozark is, but this trail that joins the Missouri Ozarks with the Arkansas Ozarks sure makes us want to take a long walk to find out. Amelia LaMeir, Ozark County Times

Northwest Arkansas Food: Food, power, and place in Northwest Arkansas. Olivia Paschal, Scalawag

Long-Distance BBQ: What to do when you’re craving Arkansas barbecue, but you’re in Sri Lanka. Max McFarlin, Arkansas Life

Georgia Travel Stories

Sub-Par Sandwiches: This story has everything we want from a golf story: a mystery, a weird obsession, lots of sandwiches, and — most importantly — absolutely no golf talk. Luke Fater, Atlas Obscura

We’re Hungry Now: Bookmarking for the future…Take a culinary road trip through the Lowcountry of coastal South Carolina and Georgia and sample the unique offerings of Gullah-Geechee cuisine. Michael W. Twitty, Travel + Leisure

Orange is the New Peach: Georgia winters are getting warmer: bad news for peaches, but good for citrus — and the farming communities are changing with the times. James Murdock, Bitter Southerner

Peach is the Old Peach: The Georgia peach may be vanishing, but its mythology is alive and well. William Thomas Okie, The Conversation

Road to Tama-Re: An ex-con, his homegrown religion, and the Georgia town where it all went down. Asher Elbein, Oxford American

Musical Georgia: Marion Brown’s “Afternoon of a Georgia Faun” attempted to capture the sounds of nature from his childhood. A look back at the 50-year-old jazz experiment. Jon Ross, Bitter Southerner

Sweet Sapelo: On the Georgia coast, one farmer is keeping the tradition of hand-made cane syrup alive. Kim Severson, New York Times

Everybody Hurts…and Eats: The Georgia diner where you can still get the squash casserole that inspired R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People. Rossi Anastopoulo, Garden & Gun (Also, the R.E.M. episode of the new Netflix series Song Exploder, based on the podcast of the same name, is a fascinating watch: clip here)

The Story Behind the Smoked Meat: A deep dive into the history of the enslaved Africans and freedmen who were Savannah’s original barbecue experts. Nneka M. Okona, Southern Foodways Alliance

Let’s Get Supernatural: Searching for “spooklights” in the will-o’-the-wisp capital of America. Shaun Raviv, Atlas Obscura

The South as a Second Language: How do you explain the contradictions of Georgia’s Stone Mountain and its Confederate Memorial Carving to a van full of students from around the world? Peter Dye, Bitter Southerner

Mystery History: Before 1619, there was 1526. What happened to the first enslaved Africans in the (future) United States? Gillian Brockell, Washington Post

Science! Who else is itching to go see the U.S. National Tick Collection, the largest continuously curated collection of ticks in the world? Anyone? Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian

Kentucky Travel Stories

Buttermilk Graffiti: Edward Lee is the son of Korean immigrants, a master of Southern cooking, an advocate for US road trips…and, oh yes, someone you might know from Top Chef, Mind of a Chef, Fermented, Smoke and Pickles, 610 Magnolia, or his James Beard Award-winning book, Buttermilk Graffiti. We talked with him about American diversity, fried chicken, and, of course, cake vs. pie. Read this Statesider interview

Noah of Kentucky: A visit to the Ark Experience. There are dinosaurs and a very good buffet. Just like in the book? Martha Park, Bitter Southerner

Galloping Libraries: The bookmobile, only on horseback. Let’s face it: librarians are badass. Librarians have been badass for a long, long time. Eliza McGraw, Smithsonian

Food Tour: Goetta. Burgoo. Benedictine dressing. Hot browns. Transparent pie. A short list of some of the foods you’ll find on a tour of Kentucky foods offered by the state parks. Patti Nickell, Lincoln Journal Star

Louisiana Travel Stories

Chasing Mardi Gras Indians: On St. Joseph’s Day, Jill Robinson races around New Orleans for more than a passing glimpse of the flamboyant Mardi Gras Indians. Catch up on this Statesider Original

Swampcation: A photo tour of the hardest to reach corners of the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest remaining river swamp in the US. Rory Doyle, Southerly

The Forgotten Internment Camp: During World War II, the US government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps, most of them in the interior West. But there were also camps in the South, where a reckoning with this history is now underway. Jason Christian, Bitter Southerner

Breakfast Gumbo: It’s not what you think. No bacon, no “breakfast” ingredients that don’t belong. This Mardi Gras tradition parades out the classic New Orleans gumbo, just at an unlikely time of day. Bryan Ford, Saveur

No City Parties Like the Big Easy: For more than 30 years, the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in East New Orleans has hosted a massive Tet party, with a parade and fireworks. This year’s is cancelled because of COVID, but you can relive last year’s festivities through photos. Shawn Fink, Nola.com

Mardi Gras, Geek Edition: Calling all Wookiees (and friends of Wookiees): the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus wants you to join its parade. In fact, geeks of all stripes and species are welcome in Mardi Gras season’s nerdiest krewe. Melissa Block, NPR

Texpat Tamales: To visit the first capital of Texas, you have to go to Louisiana. The other reason you have to go there: tamales. Wes Ferguson, Texas Monthly

Hurricane Parties: As storms become more and more powerful, is the hurricane party still a good idea? (Was it ever?) Hannah C. Griggs, Eater

NOLA is Drowning: Louisiana has lost 60 islands in 100 years, and more. Fish and birds suffer and the mainland gets hit harder with each passing year. Michael Patrick Welsh, Vice

Southern Italian: A New Yorker finally finds red sauce heaven…in New Orleans. Brett Martin, Bon Appetit

Louisiana: Troy Landry is a fifth generation resident of Cajun country, an alligator hunter, and a reality TV phenomenon. Sue Strachan, My New Orleans

New Orleans à la Homer Simpson: Yes, this is an amazing real-life recreation of a scene from The Simpsons, but check out the level of real-life detail in the original cartoon. Katrin von Niederhäusern, YouTube

Speaking of New Orleans and Homer Simpson… Rent “Homer’s Hideout” on Airbnb. Just one thing: It’s a pothole. Laura Bliss, CityLab

Sausage Fest: Follow along with two chefs on a quest for Louisiana’s best boudin sausages. There is a lot of sausage—you’ve been warned. Richie Nakano, ChefsFeed

New Orleans in Photos: Much of how we picture this city has to do with when — what time of day — we imagine it to be. Tim Culvahouse looks at Virginia Hanusik’s photos of NOLA and sees what’s missing. Places Journal

Mississippi Travel Stories

Lake Hico: In 1968, Jackson, Mississippi closed Lake Hico and later the park around it to avoid integrating them. The park is back, and the lake might be next. Aliyah Veal, Mississippi Free Press

Mississippi in Yiddish: Warsaw playwright Mikhl Vaykhert found his most popular story in Mississippi. Alyssa Quint, Tablet

On the River: Is the Mississippi River a wild paradise or a dismal ruin? Exploring the past and present of the people of the river. Boyce Upholt, Oxford American

Preserving Inequality: The gas station next to the Bryant General Store on Money Road is gorgeously renovated, while the site commemorating Emmett Till’s murder is decaying, swallowed by kudzu and time. That’s not right. Dave Tell, Places Journal

A Fish Story: Why aren’t the fish biting? A fishing tale takes a mysterious turn and becomes a day two friends will never shake from their memories. What a story. M.O. Walsh, Bitter Southerner

Backroads Dining: On the two-lane highways of the Mississippi Delta, gas stations are serving up some great Southern cooking, including fried apple pies, fried Moon Pies, and multiple things that are neither fried nor pie. Kate Medley, The Bitter Southerner

North Carolina Travel Stories

All Caved in, Babe: Behind the folk song “Swannanoa Tunnel,” lies an untold story of racism and greed in the hills near Asheville, North Carolina. Kevin Kehrberg & Jeffrey A. Keith, Bitter Southerner

The Magical Mystery Poop Tour: Visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains alerted to rolling balls of poop. It’s a grand journey for…some…thing. Mark Price, Charlotte Observer

Livermush: We love it when we learn a new American word (well, new to us, at least). On the Livermush Superhighway. Mark Wilson, Bitter Southerner

Shipwreck Reefs: As tropical fish are pushed north by climate change, North Carolina’s shipwrecks are serving as a refuge. Jason Daley, Smithsonian

South Carolina Travel Stories

Charleston’s Choice: Years of selling a specific vision of Charleston’s Southern charm white-washed the city’s complex history. It’s time for a new, more honest look. Tariro Mzezewa and Kim Severson, New York Times

Gullah Heritage: Gullah artists are reclaiming their language and heritage on the national stage. Maura Hogan, The Post and Courier

Mystery History: Before 1619, there was 1526. What happened to the first enslaved Africans in the (future) United States? Gillian Brockell, Washington Post

Will Travel for Grits: If you hurry, you can still make the World Grits Festival (April 12-14 in St. George), home of the world famous Rolling in the Grits Contest (where, as we understand it, you roll in grits).

Geechee 101: Look ya, get off your boonkey and learn some Charleston “slang” from Geechee 101 a video from Geechee Experience. (‘Geechee 101’ video goes viral, helps keep language alive. Brodie Hart, ABC News)

Tennessee Travel Stories

The Amazing (Ridiculous, Briar-Patch-Traversing, Almost-Impossible-to-Finish, 100-mile) Race: The unlikely story of East Tennessee’s Barkley Marathons and the mysterious, mischievous, cigarette-smoking man behind it. Sara Estes, Bitter Southerner

How to Write a Country Music Song: Andrew Evans faces up to his country music skepticism when he travels to Nashville’s Music Row. He sits down with renowned song writer Billy Montana and ends up singing a different tune: his own. Read this Statesider Original

Hot Tip: Around Knoxville, folks like their sandwiches with soft bread warmed up by a Fresh-O-Matic steamer. Where did this tradition come from? Chelsey Mae Johnson, Bitter Southerner

Nashville: DeFord Bailey changed the sound of country music, but until recently hardly anyone knew his name. Deanna Bianco, Narratively

Dolly Parton’s America. Why is Dolly Parton the only thing America can seem to agree on? When Jad Abumrad of Radiolab fame announced he was doing a nine-episode podcast series exploring America through the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, there was an audible yelp of joy around Statesider HQ. Dolly Parton’s America, WNYC Studios

Tennessee Tailgating: Nashville’s Kurdish community has fallen in love with Tennessee Titans football — and parking lot tailgating. Priya Krishna, New York Times

Music: These gorgeous photos capture the spirit of the people who make old time American country music and the places where that music gets made. Kenneth Dickerman & Rachel Boillot, Washington Post

The Magical Mystery Poop Tour: Visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains alerted to rolling balls of poop. It’s a grand journey for…some…thing. Mark Price, Charlotte Observer

Mystery About Mysteries: How do you spot a liar? Why is the word’s largest true crime convention mostly attended by women? Annabel Fenwick Elliott, The Telegraph

Sparks & Rec: These long-exposure photos of fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are freaking incredible. Calvin Matthies, Knox News

Dollywood: Dollywood goes all-in on spectacle (of course it does) in a massive new addition to the theme park, inspired by Dolly’s own childhood, including a tree with 650 illuminated butterflies. Perri Ormont Blumberg, Southern Living

Nashville Hot Chicken: As former Nashville mayor Bill Purcell puts it, at Prince’s, anything hotter than hot “ain’t chattin’ food.” The family business that put Nashville hot chicken on the map. Paige Williams, The New Yorker

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