United States Destinations

Rollin’ on the river from New Orleans to Memphis

By Ruby Haines-Patterson

Photo by Ruby Haines-Patterson

Sunning alligators lazily watched our swamp boat as we motored up a bayou in a Louisiana swamp. Turtles peered at us from the swamp edge and poisonous snakes hung around Spanish moss-covered Cypress trees.

Talk about isolated. Even the nearest WalMart is 46 miles away. Our tour guide, a fifth generation area resident, told how his family and brothers still fish and hunt alligators for their skin and meat.

This was among the plentiful and varied adventures my husband and I enjoyed as part of our recent Mississippi River cruise aboard the American Queen steam boat.

One of the world’s longest rivers, the Mississippi, and the American Queen, the largest paddlewheel steamboat ever built, are meant for each other.

The Mississippi drains 31 states and two Canadian provinces. Whereas some rivers around the world serve as a boundary between countries, as we were to learn, the Mississippi unites the United States.

Our fun filled adventure began in New Orleans. We strolled down Bourbon Street at night and Jackson Square in the daytime. We feasted at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Café, Mulate’s Cajun Restaurant and Cajun Cabin while we rocked to the music.

The River Walk, museums, antique shops, markets, and hurricane movie at IMAX, offered their own unique flavour. What a great start to our six-day Mississippi adventure.

After four days in New Orleans, it was time to board the American Queen. Two southern belles in long hoop dresses directed us up the spiral staircase that leads the way into the boat. Enter the Gentlemen’s Card Room on one side or the Ladies’ Parlour, a Victorian-style drawing room. The Mark Twain Gallery was a library with a coffee pot. It was a step back in time complete with antique furnishings and southern hospitality.

Bob Sunda’s American Queen Quartet entertained us nightly, along with Lauri Jones, Glenn Springs and Phil Westbrook. There were first-class Broadway type shows with dancing afterwards.

Each time the American Queen sailed from the shore we were serenaded with a concert on the calliope, a steam organ that belches out steam as it plays very loudly. The calliope was located at the stern (back) of the boat on Deck 5 at the Calliope Bar.

Our stateroom was lovely with antique furnishings and door opening directly onto the Promenade Deck. In contrast to ocean cruises, there is always something to see, night and day, along the river.

We were well fed. The cuisine was a delicious choice of either buffet or à la carte. There were also hot dogs at the Calliope Bar and hors-d’ouevres in the engine room bar from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., plus coffee and cookies were always available in the Mark Twain Gallery.

An excursion to the Oak Alley Plantation allowed us to explore the lifestyle of wealthy 19th century sugar planters. The plantation gets it name from the quarter-mile avenue of live oaks, 14 on each side, that mark its entrance.

The plantation has benefitted from a fund set up for cultural and historical preservation for future generations. The mansion and furnishings have been extensively restored. Scenes from the movie Interview With The Vampire were filmed here.

A highlight of our journey was the stop in Natchez, Mississippi, the oldest settlement on the river. Before the American Civil War Natchez had more millionaires per capita than any other city in America. The War Between the States changed their way of life.

When we arrived, Natchez was celebrating its 75th annual spring pilgrimage, during which the way life was before the war is depicted. Included was a May Pole dance with the youngsters, a skit of the wedding of Jefferson Davis, a picnic at a large mansion, a dance, a riverboat arriving, a soiree at Jefferson Military College, a fox hunt, and the Confederate Farewell Ball.

The display of the antebellum way of life, beautiful long gowns, elegant dancing and hospitality provided a very entertaining evening.

Vicksburg National Military Park contains monuments erected by the various states to honour their soldiers who fell during the Civil War. Near the cemetery is the Cairo Museum, which displays artifacts from the USS Cairo, a U.S. ironclad warship that was sunk during the war, and the partially-reconstructed ship itself.

When we were not on excursions, there was always something interesting to do on board. Lectures given daily informed us about important historical places we would visit the next day and included stories about Mark Twain and famous riverboat captains. In particular, we were told how tricky and dangerous the Mississippi River could be and the problems of avoiding the shifting sands and other barges and boats.

The Mississippi is a very busy commercial route and we noticed there were very few motorboats or pleasure craft on the river.

The cheapest way to ship cargo is by barge – a single barge carries enough cargo to fill 48 truck trailers. Using a unique system of cables they hitch up these barges to be pushed as a single unit up and down the river. There is no limit to the number of tows on the river – one of the largest we saw had 42 barges – the record so far is 81. At 9 a.m. it was time for the morning walk around the Observation Deck. Seven laps equal one mile. In the afternoons there was bingo.

Although the American Queen carries 440 passengers, it does not have a casino. Gambling is illegal on land in Mississippi. There were some riverboats converted to casinos and anchored on the edges of the river where we could try our luck.

The cruise finished in Memphis where we disembarked, rented a car and drove three hours to Nashville.

Our hotel, Guesthouse International Inn and Suites located at 2420 Music Valley Drive, was conveniently located near the Gaylord Opryland. A free shuttle is offered to the Radisson Hotel at Opryland, a mall with gardens, rivers, convention centre and another large mall next door. We attended the Grand Ole Opry show.

Nearby Johnny A’s Restaurant provides good food, a live band and dancing. Nashville Nightlife Theatre has a buffet and a great show with well-known performers.

A Nashville city tour included Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Ryman Auditorium (where The Grand Ole Opry started), State Capital, Centennial Park with the Parthenon. Nashville’s Parthenon is the only full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens and features a 42-foot statue of Athena and an art gallery. The tour ended with a stop at Legends Corner on Honky Tank Row, live music and beverages.

Our three-week holiday was a musical adventure, and sharing it with friends made it even better. To experience the wide range of music in New Orleans, then listen to a historical decades-long history of music on the steamboat and enjoy the wide range of country western music in Nashville – well it couldn’t be done without the Mississippi River. The lyrics of Ol’ Man River mean something special to us now.