Our Tour Through the South

Living in the United States comes with its fair share of discord (to say the least), but one of the most beautiful things about our country is its diversity. Given that we’re New Yorkers, visiting the South was like visiting a whole new country. Politics aside, think about the difference in lifestyles between New Yorkers, Californians, New Englanders, Texans - we live such different lives, all within the same giant country! That’s why we loved exploring the South. At one point, we found ourselves caught in a thunderstorm, eating BBQ in a shack, surrounded by a bog that had “don’t feed the gators” signs all around. It was a moment that struck us, because it completely juxtaposed anything we’ve yet to experience in NYC.

We spent three weeks in the South and touched base in 5 separate states: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. There’s so much to see (and eat!) in the South, and we did all that we could in our time there:

Georgia

We started our ‘Tour of the South’ in Georgia for my brother’s beautiful wedding. Since this blog is basically a travel journal at this point, I’m going to include a few pics:

Atlanta surprised us - being New Yorkers, we weren’t expecting to truly feel at home in the South. But Atlanta’s crowds, diversity and plethora of things to do were so familiar to us, so we settled in quickly. Given that there was so much to do, I wrote separate blogpost specifically for Atlanta: you can read it here!

Alabama

Alabama was our next destination after leaving Georgia. We spent all of our time in Montgomery; once again, the South surprised us. We weren’t expecting to actually recommend this city, but here we are - recommending it! Simply for the history alone, Montgomery is worth experiencing and even taking children to so that they can really get a grasp on the dark history of the United States. The town square where they held slave markets is preserved, and the Confederate Capitol Building still stands. But some of America’s strongest people came out of Montgomery, too. You can visit Martin Luther King Jr’s church, and stand at the bus stop where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. And amidst this living history, today’s fight is evident throughout Montgomery’s streets: Black Lives Matter signs and murals of the Black Americans who lost their lives at the hands of a violent system that is meant to “protect and serve” adds gravity and magnitude to your visit.

There’s Southern Charm evident throughout the city as well. We found it at the Cahawba House! Boasting ‘‘Bama Bona-Fide Southern Cuisine’ at their door, this brunch place had all of the Southern specials you could possibly want: biscuits and gravy and fried green tomatoes being two of our faves. They also had fried beignets; get yourself an order of those to top of your (already heavy) breakfast.

One of our favorite Alabama experiences was spontaneous; we had resumed our road trip and were about to leave the state when we saw signs on the side of the road advertising “pickled peaches, boiled peanuts and frozen lemonade.” That assortment of snacks intrigued us enough that we stopped, and we ended up at the most adorable family-run roadside market called Sweet South Market. It was very picturesque, and their frozen lemonade was a welcomed treat. (We bypassed the pickled peaches, though.)

Florida

We had heard great things about Destin, Florida before arriving - and its turquoise beaches did not disappoint! Our time spent diving for sand dollars amidst the rolling waves made for one of our very favorite beach experiences in the ‘mainland’ United States. The rest of the town, however, was a bit of a disappointment. We spent a lot of money for mediocre food, and the ‘beach town’ culture of America’s East Coast is never one of my favorite scenes. (I’m just not a Boardwalk gal!)

However, we did have two absolutely delicious foodie experiences:

We weren’t expecting to get our favorite meal at an Irish Pub, but McGuire’s was excellent! We filled up on appetizers - specifically their Bavarian Pretzel, which was larger than our faces! Daniel had enough of an appetite left, though, to eat his $50 pepper steak, and he says it’s one of the best steaks he’s had in his life. I got a $12 shepherds pie, though, and was still pleased.

Another Broken Egg was perhaps my favorite brunch place we ate at throughout all 3 weeks (which is saying something, because we had a lot of great brunches.) I got their biscuits and gravy, and supplemented with their ‘city grits’ (aka grits, with bacon and chives on top. Fancy grits for us fancy city folk, if you will). This was the trip I learned that I really do love biscuits and gravy! We split an order of their French toast with the table (there were 3 of us) and we’re glad we did that, because it was delicious and overwhelmingly sweet, there was no way any of us were going to eat an entire order.

We stayed at an awesome Airbnb, a condo rental at El Matador on Okaloosa Island; there are plenty of Airbnbs available at this vacation home spot, complete with amenities like a pool, jacuzzi and sauna. And the best part about our time in Destin was that we were able to meet up with our BFF Nicole! Queue a barrage of cute best friend pics:

Mississippi

Our time in Mississippi was really just a drive-through. We soared through the beautiful green and swampy state during a thunderstorm, which just seemed to add to the experience. At one point we were driving on a long, straight highway and all we could see around us was just swamp and fog. I’m not sure if this was the typical Mississippi experience - and I’m sure there’s more to see during a longer stay - but the view on that drive alone seemed quintessential Mississippi to me.

We stopped for dinner at The Shed, which was some of the best BBQ we’ve ever had. This was the experience I mentioned earlier: eating BBQ in a (purposefully) dilapidated shed, thunderstorm raging around us, alligators lurking nearby - this dinner was certainly a core memory.

Louisiana

Before spending a week in New Orleans, we stayed overnight at Baton Rouge. And yes, we did this simply because of a specific meal we wanted. Some people travel to see concerts, some people try and get a picture in front of every Capitol Building in the country - we travel to specific locations for food! While we were in Austin, Texas a few years ago we fell in love with Torchy’s Tacos - specifically their queso. When we woke up in Baton Rouge the morning before we were slated to get into New Orleans, it’s because we were going straight to Torchy’s.

They have so many memorable tacos on their menu, including the ‘trailer park’ (fried chicken, green chiles, pico de gallo and cheddar cheese), and the ‘brushfire’ (Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapeños with diablo sauce.) They even have the ‘Democrat’ and the ‘Republican’ tacos! Daniel and I got a few to split, and - true to form - we both liked the Democrat taco more. (Barbacoa, avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, onions and a lime wedge; who could say no to that?!)

Enough about tacos, though. After a brief drive around Louisiana State University so that we could say we saw more of Baton Rouge than just a taco restaurant from Austin, we began our drive to New Orleans!

Now our week in New Orleans deserves a blog of its own as well. This magical, spooky, sloppy, swampy city is like no other. You can read all about our favorite sights - including ghost tours, voodoo shops, vampire speakeasies, and so much more - here!

Traveling is the best way to connect with people who live different lives from you - it’s the best ways to open your mind and expand your empathy. Americans, that goes for traveling within our own country, too; especially in a day and age with so much division. Get out of your town - explore your country and explore your world. Getting to know people of different creeds and cultures is how we expand empathy and heal division.