A road trip from New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Emerald Coast of Florida, is an excellent way to combine travel and culture. Can you believe it takes three hours to go from New Orleans to Gulf Shores in Alabama? You can visit three different states in that time frame. One time I was hoping to take a long weekend vacation and see a few other states. I immediately committed when I learned that this path led along the water. It's still comfortable to travel this route throughout the winter. This vacation doesn't need much planning, yet it still manages to cram a lot into a short amount of time.
The Big Easy As A Cultural Center For Books In New Orleans
The city that has influenced so many authors, including Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner, might be where your journey begins. Take a walk beneath the French Quarter balcony where Stanley as well as Stella met to experience the thrill of A Streetcar Named Desire. You may find the plaque commemorating Williams' depiction of New York as "the ultimate frontier of bohemia" at 722 Toulouse Street, the location where he wrote The Angel in the Alcove. The former home of Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner is currently home to Faulkner House Books, and may be accessed through Pirate's Alley, a pedestrian-only street located behind St. Louis Cathedral. Visit this little bookshop and pick up a copy of "A Policeman's Tale," Faulkner's very first novel, which he penned in the apartment above the shop.
There are literary festivals in Tennessee honoring both Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner; Williams' festival is held in the spring, and Faulkner's in the fall. Frances Parkinson Keyes also called New Orleans, Louisiana, home. Visit the Beauregard-Keyes House and Garden Museum to see the boxwood hedge-lined fountain that prompted Parkinson Keyes to write Dinner at Antoine's. Learn more about why Keyes immortalized the 1840-founded Antoine's Restaurant during a meal there.
North Shore Literary Landscape
Take the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the world's second-longest bridge over water, to the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain and Walker Percy. Mandeville, just over the Causeway, is a great place to stretch your legs after a long car ride because of the lakeside boardwalk lined with oak trees, swings, and gazebos. Keep going north on US-190 for another 20 minutes to reach Covington, Louisiana, where a historical marker honoring Percy is located in Boston Commons.
And if you like the scent of old books, you should visit the Friends of the St. Tammany Library Sale monthly at Haddon Hall on South Jahncke Avenue. St. Joseph's Abbey, in close-by Abita, Louisiana, is where Percy was laid to rest. Tours may be arranged with the local Benedictine community, whose members also produce and sell soap and honey. They also have wooden coffins for sale. However, they are more of an Edgar Allan Poe-themed trinket to take on the road trip from New Orleans to florida.
Alabama: To Read A Mockingbird
Travel three hours inland to Monroeville, Alabama, to honor the lives of Truman Capote (Breakfast at Tiffany's, In Cold Blood) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird). Mel's Dairy Dream, at 216 South Alabama Avenue, is great for cooling off. Famous for its milkshakes, this diner is adjacent to the site of Lee's boyhood home; he dedicated a chapter to it in his novel Set a Watchman. Get a shake at Ol' Curiosities & Book Shoppe, then go on one of the literary excursions that begin at the courthouse.
Mobile, Alabama: Gump, Gators, Gunships
When you're ready to see the city where Forrest Gump was written, Mobile, Alabama, get on AL-59 and then I-65 south to visit the hometown of author Winston Groom. This is the author's first book in 20 years, and unlike Forrest Gump, it focuses solely on actual events. The USS Alabama Battleship State Park in Mobile Bay as well as Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, as well as the Winning of Wwii provide an insider's perspective of the conflicts. While on your way out of Mobile, stop at the Gator Alley Boardwalk inside the nearby town of Daphne, Alabama. You may see fish as well as reptiles, including that of the area's most renowned residents—alligators, from Daphne's half-mile boardwalk, which is located 10 miles (16 km) east of Mobile. Please do not feed them, as instructed by the signage.
Books On The Florida Beach
Following the beautiful Highway 30A to the east, you'll arrive at Seaside, Florida, the site of an annual writers' conference in May. Independent bookshop Sundog Books may be found in the town's pastel-colored neighborhood, selling literary classics and local history. After you've shopped till you drop, head out to the Emerald Coast's powdery quartz beach and azure seas via a large pavilion. Spend some time reading in Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, where you may see sandpipers and relax on the dunes.
Conclusion
This year, New Orleans' tricentennial, the city is seeing a record number of visitors. There's always lots to do, but New Orleanians occasionally wish to get away and see another city. Luckily, there are many fantastic getaway options within a reasonable driving distance. Try any day excursions from New Orleans if you feel like a brief vacation.
