have you done the Miss River boat?
sumo
Loc: Houston suburb
My wife and I are getting along in years (79)….. gonna be stopping soon, and been all over the USA except the NE…also lived in a motor home full time for 4 years and moved about every 4 days all over the west…. was in the military for 40 years, saw a lot there.
My point is… where to go for a few weeks….I've been thinking about an 8 day trip on a paddlewheel boat up or back down the Mississippi River…
Has anyone done that? and was it worth it?
I would prefer driving, so from where I live (Houston) the Alabama gulf coast is a days drive, as is far West Texas….many points in-between
just got back from a gulf cruise , gotta believe an interwater way or river cruise would be more scenic
sumo wrote:
My wife and I are getting along in years (79)….. gonna be stopping soon, and been all over the USA except the NE…also lived in a motor home full time for 4 years and moved about every 4 days all over the west…. was in the military for 40 years, saw a lot there.
My point is… where to go for a few weeks….I've been thinking about an 8 day trip on a paddlewheel boat up or back down the Mississippi River…
Has anyone done that? and was it worth it?
I would prefer driving, so from where I live (Houston) the Alabama gulf coast is a days drive, as is far West Texas….many points in-between
My wife and I are getting along in years (79)….. g... (
show quote)
If it were me. I would lose the Mississippi thing and fly into Boston. Rent a car and do New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont in the fall. That would be a really nice trip. Then you can say, I have seen it all.
sumo
Loc: Houston suburb
Thx. I have thought doing something like that. But always thinking fly into NY. However I think now Boston would be better starting location
Rich2236
Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire
traderjohn wrote:
If it were me. I would lose the Mississippi thing and fly into Boston. Rent a car and do New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont in the fall. That would be a really nice trip. Then you can say, I have seen it all.
In one respect I do agree with you traderjohn. But why scrap one for the other, when you can do both? We moved from California to New Hampshire two years ago and so far have been traveling to Vermont, Maine, Mass, Rhode Island, New York and City, both summer and winter. I am almost 83 and still going strong (well mostly, lol) I love to drive so we take day and overnight trips. I will keep going as long as I can, which will be a good few years into the future, and taking pictures all along the way.
Rich...
sumo wrote:
I've been thinking about an 8 day trip on a paddlewheel boat up or back down the Mississippi River
That's been on our to-do list for years. But at this point, I wouldn't want to do it along.
We’ve done several European river and Mediterranean cruises but, like you, have considered a Mississippi cruise. So, has anyone actually done such a cruise so we can get some constructive advice?
Re: flying into Boston. We go in and out of Prov airport. No traffic, no delays, etc. A little more behind the wheel, but,avoid "Boston" is good!!
Len
I have done all three types of cruises, ocean river in Europe and river in US. All can be good experiences depending on the cruise ship you boo. I have done a short cruise on the Mississippi. I stopped in several cities. The sightseeing is fine. The best part of the cruise is the intimacy of a small river cruise boat compared to the large ocean boats. You will get to have good rapport with your fellow cruisers and will probably make new friends.
The most northerly city on the Mississippi is St Paul, Minnesota. From there you could rent a car or SUV for a trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior. There you will find many of photo opportunities. And if you go so far as Grand Marais and up the Gunflint road, you can dine at a place just within a mile or so of Canadian waters. Grand Marias holds a Fisherman’s Picnic over the first weekend of August. Gives a welcome respite from the August heat.
My wife and I have done three river cruises with American Queen cruise line. Our favorite was the upper Mississippi from St. Paul to St. Louis. Very scenic. The service, food and amenities were excellent. The web site Cruise Critic (
https://www.cruisecritic.com/) provides accurate information and reviews.
I agree with Trader John on New England. One of the most interesting trips/photo experience I had was finding and photographing all of the Covered Bridges I could find. If you do that, be certain to take close-ups and insides. See if you can find the longest covered bridge, too.
Given traffic issues to and from Logan Airport (Boston) I would prefer Manchester, New Hampshire a small but well run airport in southern NH. NH, VT and Maine are the best for beautiful scenes with historic (17th and 18th century) buildings. Boston would be best for visiting many famous historic sites but driving with the ultra aggressive dense traffic there is not fun. I thought Philadelphia area and New Jersey drivers were aggressive until I had to drive in Boston.
Sumo, Yes, my wife and I did the Memphis to New Orleans cruise last year with American Cruise Line. It was great! The ship was very comfortable and the food, excursions, lectures and activities were also great. They also run cruises in the Northeast as well as on the Columbia River. We highly recommend it. And we, too, are in our late 70's.
Scotty
My wife and I did the New Orleans to Memphis American Queen trip 3 years ago, and absolutely loved it.
BUT, I would suggest always going down river if there is a choice. You see all the same things but have much longer stopovers at each town.
Cheers
Tony
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.