ON TOUR: The Mississippi and Viking

To be read in conjunction with JUNE CRUISING: Viking US river trip 

TNU's Editor-in-Chief chose New Orleans for his own holiday. And it is not the capital of Louisiana.  That honour falls to Baton Rouge.

New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718, and then named for King Louis XIV, the Sun King. It is a vibrant cosmopolitan city not yet quite discovered by the British en-masse, a great pity, but available nonstop by British Airways from Heathrow.  It has a very modern airport (request accessibility if needed), just 20 minutes from Downtown, with a passport control operated by just two Federal agents, that for a 300-passenger aircraft, the majority from overseas.  Not a good introduction but things were about to get far better.  From the taxi driver to the hotel reception. You will be made very welcome in a really friendly and safe city.  It is commonly known as NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana) or Big Easy.  

Often mentioned during our trip is Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005.  It caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion.  The city has been largely rebuilt but the event is not forgotten!

Our three-night hotel stay was the classic Hotel Monteleone right in the centre of the French Quarter, only a few steps from Canal Street, a very modern thoroughfare, and in the other direction the riverside with its paddle steamers and also a port for large cruise liners.  Here were the iconic Creole town houses and their wrought iron balconies; Royal Street, lined with antique shops and art galleries; and nearby Jackson Square.  The area is now a National Historic Landmark.

Arriving late WEDNESDAY night it was going to be a hectic few days.

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THURSDAY morning and up early.  

Our visit coincided with the New Orleans Jazz Festival.  The late night revellers had just gone to bed.  Artists such as Peral Jam, Dave Matthews Band and Luke Combs meant nothing to us but one evening on the ship the entertainment was provided by Wendell Brunious, who has led the famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band since 1978.

Longue Vue House and Gardens was first on the day’s itinerary.  We spent several hours touring the property on the outskirts of the city and six miles from the hotel.  

We were fast discovering that Uber is quick and cheap.  Long Vue was the home of Edith (died 1980) and Edgar (died 1959) Stern and is a memorial to their legacy of philanthropy and civic engagement and also the works of the distinguished landscape designer Ellen Biddle Shipman.  The Stern family are still associated with the property.

Back to town and a (cheap) lunch at Café Beignet, on Canal Street and close by the hotel.  Opposite the Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse caught our eye for the evening meal, inexpensive providing you stick to the bar menu.  Then on to the Museum of Southern Jewish Experience which explores how refugees came from Europe in the 18th century and built communities all along the Mississippi.  With the exception of New Orleans and Memphis they have mainly all vanished.  
https://longuevue.com

FRIDAY

This was a busy day highlighted by a very knowledgeable Israeli American guide, Roni Bossin, who pointed out the site of a shop where Louis Armstrong’s mentor Karnoffsky purchased for him his first cornet.  The cost?  Five dollars!  Later, as an adult, Armstrong wore a Star of David until the end of his life, given to him by his Jewish manager, Joe Glaser, in memory of this family who had raised him.  He also spoke some Yiddish.

Lunch at Miss River, Four Seasons, and a lot less expensive than its equivalent near Hyde Park corner.  Back along Canal Street by tram.  No dollars handy but the conductor did not mind, typical welcoming NOLA. 

Our evening was on the Steamboat Natchez for a jazz dinner cruise, and highly recommended.  For the first time on our trip it rained whilst on board and instead of walking back to the hotel it was the inevitable Uber.

SATURDAY morning was spent at the National WWII Museum.

Opened on 6 June 2000, the D-Day Anniversary, the often-immersive display tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world.  For us a short film of Bob Hope touring the troops was the highlight but we only scratched the surface that needs at least a day to do it justice.

The galleries take you through the entire timeline of the war and lead visitors to the Liberation Pavilion, exploring the end of World War II, the Holocaust, the postwar years, and how the war continues to impact our lives today.

My knowledge WWII is reasonable but I was not aware of the Aleutian Islands campaign, a chain of islands extending from Alaska into the North Pacific. It began with Japanese forces occupying the islands of Attu and Kiska in June 1942, following air strikes on Dutch Harbor. This marked one of the few instances of Japanese forces occupying American territory during the war.  It is not the same as the Imperial War Museum in London, but just as appealing.

And then on to the ship for lunch.  

SUNDAY morning we were supposed to be steaming up the Mississippi but that did not materialise, our landing at Darrow cancelled with the pier under water due to flooding. 

At a reasonable hour, the ever-resourceful ship’s team brought Viking-branded coaches to the landing stage and it was off to the planned Houmas House Estate and Gardens, actually by the river but protected by massive levees.

With our personal limited walking we were chauffeured on an electric buggy from the entrance through the wonderful 38-acre gardens to the house where we were met by the present owner Kevin Kelly, and his dog.  The mansion tour includes his actual bedroom.  Within the building three on-site restaurants offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The classic exterior has not changed since it was completed in 1840.

Back to the boat still moored at New Orleans, finally casting off 18:30 for our journey to Memphis.
https://houmashouse.com/history

MONDAY on the river and a full programme for those who did not want to sit out in the sun or visit the extensive library.  

Each day Cruise Director Travis Turnbough gave a talk on the forthcoming activities.  He has been working on the river for 15 years.  Captain Cory Burke also briefed us on the river, joining the ship in November 2021 during its build.  He has been at Edison Chouest, the vessel’s builder and owner for 13 years.  His CV includes deep-sea operations.  

The Mississippi is complex, sometimes fast flowing, prone to flooding its banks, and in the 18th and early 19th century starting to become the commercial heart of America.

From its origin in Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota it flows for 2,348 miles until just south of New Orleans.  We were to cover just 500 miles north to Memphis. No locks on our stage but 29 north of Memphis.

TUESDAY saw us moored at Natchez.  It looked prosperous enough, but we were told that the population had declined in recent years by half to 30,000.

Natchez has one of the highest concentrations of historic Southern estates in the country.  More than 200 perfectly preserved homes line its avenues. It is the oldest city on the Mississippi, established in 1716 by French colonists and named for the Natchez tribe who once called it home.  With its ideal location, the city became a crossroads among Native American and European cultures.  Famously, Natchez was the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace, the overland route to Nashville that allowed traders to bypass the strong upriver currents. Today, it evokes small-town America.   

Our Natchez visit was for the whole day, the morning spent with a bus tour stopping at the Magnolia Hall an opulent Greek Revival-style mansion complete with costumed guide. We paused at the “Proud to Take A Stand” monument.  Built in 2019, this memorial is dedicated to the Natchez citizens who were wrongfully incarcerated during the Civil Rights Movement.  

WEDNESDAY and perhaps the highlight of the Viking river town programme, Vicksburg.

We visited the Civil War battle site of what Abraham Lincoln called “the key to the South.” And it indeed proved to be the site of the conflict’s most pivotal battle, with the Confederates finally surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant.  

The battlefield covers three square miles of rolling countryside with ditches and hillocks, now a pretty and cultivated park but 160 years ago the scene of gruesome carnage.  Today paved roads allow the buses easy access to salient points, but in many ways the 47-day battle of Vicksburg was a prelude to the trenches of WWI, in this case Americans v Americans.  Dotted around the site are memorials by individual States to men lost in the battle.  The Union army took in approximately 77,000 troops, while the Confederate army defending the city around 33,000.  Some 10,142 Union and 9,091 Confederate troops were killed and wounded.  

THURSDAY and Greenville.

Greenville is Mississippi’s largest river port, set atop the highest point along the Mississippi between Vicksburg and Memphis. Its rural setting belies a diverse artistic heritage.

The Muppets creator Jim Henson was born here.   

Another memorable day, the morning spent at a spirited performance by Steve Azar and his band, dining southern style, and then on the coach to B.B. King’s hometown of Indianola and a very well laid out museum with its collection of memorabilia and interactive exhibits.

We paid our respects at the granite tablet that marks the final resting place of this ‘blues’ master.

FRIDAY Scenic Sailing: Lower Mississippi.

Our last day on board and a full programme.  

The 380 holidaymakers were to be split the next day, some going home directly from the ship whilst others staying tother until Nashville.  

A day’s entertainment included a talk by Tim Smith, historian and fine singer, on the greatest steamboat race in history, the Natchez v The Robert E. Lee, won by the boat named after the Confederate General, 1,154 miles covered in 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes.  Heather Jones discussed “Southern Literature”.   The evening entertainment was provided by Memphis Jones, “Rolling on the River”.  Top Class.

This final stage of our journey epitomized the previous seven days, the Mississippi sometimes a relatively narrow river and but occasionally the far bank difficult to see.  And plenty of river traffic barges are often lashed together into massive 30-40 units pushed by towboats. These tows can stretch over 1,200 feet long and carry over 50,000 tons – the equivalent of 2,000 trucks! No wonder barge transportation is the backbone of freight logistics for bulk commodities throughout the heartland of America.

Teeming with a wide variety of birdlife and a breathtaking array of picturesque landscapes – including deep-green forests, lush wetlands and a patchwork of fertile farmlands – the Lower Mississippi abounds with natural beauty.  Sadly, we had to get off the next day.  Passengers for the return trip do not have what we all called “a sea day”.  Very relaxing and their loss.

SATURDAY.  We docked at Memphis saying goodbye to newly made friends some of whom were going home, other continuing with us to Nashville.  And cheerio to the ship's crew, collecting a local team who would look after us until we departed from Nashville.

Elvis Presley died 1977 age 42, the greatest rock star of them all.  The age group of the Viking passengers represented Elvis fans at his peak.  He never came to the UK, a stopover at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on an American service plane being his single appearance on British soil.

Graceland is a typical Southern mansion, nothing too pretentious and with the typical pillared entrance. It is not that large.  Our visit was limited to ground floor and basement.  We visited Elvis’s TV room; the famous Jungle Room; the Trophy Building; the Meditation Garden, where he and his immediate family are buried. We saw his collection of cars including a pair of Rolls-Royce, and an MGA.  His wardrobe was simply amazing, and parked in the garden was his private four-engined Convair 880 “Lisa Marie” and "Hound Dog II," a Lockheed JetStar.  Elvis astute manager, known as Colonel Parker (they fell out but continued with a commercial relationship) did not seem to gain a mention anywhere on the tour.

A 200-mile Viking coach trip was next to Nashville with a lunch stop at the Blue City Café and a typical fried chicken lunch on Beal Street in the heart of Memphis.  Plenty of live music to savour, but much more was to come with the capital of country music which was our final destination.

SUNDAY and the Omni Hotel Nashville, a huge convention property adjoining the Country Music Hall of Fame.  

A self-guided tour through its three floors of artifacts, listening stations, video theatres and touch-screen interactive consoles showcased the genre’s storied history.  Not far away is Union Station, closed in 1979 but now resurrected as a hotel and historical landmark.  

This our final day was busy and with an afternoon visit to the Ryman Auditorium, “The Mother Church of Country Music” opened originally in 1892, and has a fascinating history.  Rebuilt several times it was the home of the Grand Ole Opry, originally (and still) a radio show dating from 1925 but also a stage show.  Our tour saw stage preparations for the night’s Paul Simon concert.  There were some tickets available at $275.  Past performers have included Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Taylor Swift, Loretta Lyn and Ringo Starr, plus former President Richard Nixon, a respected pianist. That appearance marked a high point for Nixon amid the Watergate scandal. That August, he resigned from office.

The evening was spent at the new (built 1972-74) Grand Ole Opry, somewhat out of town and still attracting the top entertainers.

MONDAY and an evening nonstop flight from the massive local airport to Heathrow.

We spent the day strolling around this most musical of cities.

Imagine the junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street in London with its diagonal pedestrian crossing controlled by a traffic light system.  They have it at Nashville at the meeting of Broadway and Rossa Parks Boulevard but here the buildings are far from silent, every property overlooking the interchange, a musical haven with up to four floors, each with its own band and singer.

The river's influence on American music is immeasurable, giving birth to genres like blues, jazz, and gospel.

Does one take a voyage on the Mississippi River to learn about US history and cultures or its vibrant music scene?  Or both.  And would we go again.  Yes.

www.rivercruising.co.uk/blog/rivers/whats-the-best-river-cruise-on-the-mississippi

www.visitneworleans.com

https://visitnatchez.org

www.visitvicksburg.com

www.visitgreenvillesc.com

https://wearememphis.com

www.visitmusiccity.com

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