Thanksgiving Road Trip 2015 : Part 1 Vicksburg, MS

Over 2,300 miles and 40 hours of driving - we were headed for the open road...again! Around Thanksgiving we try to fit in some fun along with seeing our precious families, and this year we opted for Savannah, Georgia.  Our route:

 Dallas - Vicksburg, MS - Savannah, GA - Marietta, GA - Decatur, TN - Texarkana, TX - Home 

We left Dallas mid afternoon and arrived late at our Airbnb in Vicksburg, MS.  The houses in Vickburg and specifically this one have such a neat history to them.  This home was built in the early 1900's. We stayed in the garage basement, and it was perfectly cozy for our one night stay.  We had wonderful hosts and everything was just right for a quick in and out. 

The next morning we explored the National Military Park with its amazing views and unbelievable historical monuments. 

  

The U.S.S Cairo Gunboat is also inside of the park and you can actually walk onboard of this ironclad vessel. 

The most iconic and notable monument in the park is the Illinois Monument.  The entire structure is made entirely out of Georgia granite and marble. There are 47 steps leading up to the dome, one for each day of the Siege of Vicksburg. 

  

We took one final pic for the morning and said our fair well to Vicksburg. It was a quick morning of exploring but we had another leg the trip ahead of us.  

A recommendation and a travel tip while road-tripping.  Download the Road Tripper App or visit their website at http://roadtrippers.com.  The website will not only help you create your road trip route, but you can plug in all of the stops you want to make along the way.  The app also has a feature that will give you a radius around your route highlighting any local historical landmarks, or site-seeing attractions. 

We had a little extra time passing through Alabama and we saw that there was a historic plantation home a little ways off of the beaten path, and we thought - WHY NOT?! That's the beauty of a road trip. 

The Gaineswood Plantation Home is in Demopolis, GA and is a National Historical Landmark.  We only wanted our visit to last half an hour since that's all we had to spare, but our sweet host decided to give us the "extended" tour of the house.  If you go on the weekend or in the middle of the week, you will most likely get a private tour of the house. 

  

After the tour we sprinted to the car and headed for Savannah.  We arrived at our Airbnb in Savannah just in time to put our stuff down and go grab a bite to eat at a local pub before the city completely shut down for the night. 

Our Airbnb was SO cozy and I loved the mix of old and new inside this Savannah Style 1880's apartment townhome. 

Part 2 of our trip continues with our exploration of Historic Savannah Georgia....