Activities in The South
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A
Creole Queen
Runs a two-hour dinner-and-jazz cruise (adult/3-5yr/6-12yr $64/10/30, without dinner $40/free/15), featuring a live Dixieland jazz combo, boarding nightly at 7pm and departing at 8pm. Three-hour cruises to Mardi Gras World board at 1:30pm daily (adult/child/senior $36/21/30). For all cruises, passengers board at the Canal St Wharf.
reviewed
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Annie Miller’s Son’s Swamp Tours
Eight miles west of town, Annie Miller’s Son’s Swamp Tours is run by the son of a local story-telling legend. He, like his mom before him, has been feeding chicken drumsticks to the alligators for so long that the swamp critters rise from the muck to take a bite when they hear the motor.
reviewed
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Project Home Again
Run by Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio. Works to repopulate Gentilly, one of the city’s most historically mixed middle-class neighborhoods, by building new homes exclusively for Gentilly homeowners who lost their houses; these homeowners can trade in their old deeds for a Project Home Again building.
reviewed
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B
Photography Course
This is one of the city's premier printing labs, and it offers workshops (usually three full days in length) in shooting and printing, some taught by well-known photographers. One of the more interesting courses offered here explores the Storyville milieu and antiquated techniques of EJ Bellocq.
reviewed
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Kitty Hawk Kites
Has locations all over the Banks offering beginners' kiteboarding lessons (three hours $200) and hang-gliding lessons at Jockey's Ridge State Park (from $89). It also rents kayaks, sailboats, bikes and in-line skates and has a variety of tours and courses.
reviewed
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Wetland Tours
Captain Wendy Billiot’s eco-oriented Wetland Tours cruise across a swampland lake near the coast (four-person minimum). She also hires out for angling charters, specializing in teaching women and children to fish (four hours $500). Twelve miles southwest of town.
reviewed
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Nantahala Outdoor Center
The huge and highly recommended Nantahala Outdoor Center, specializes in wet and wild rafting trips down the Nantahala, French Broad, Pigeon and Ocoee Rivers, and rents out bikes, kayaks and more. It even has its own lodge and restaurant.
reviewed
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C
Electric Ladyland
New Orleans is an old port filled with bars, drunks and pirates, right? Then a tattoo is just about the coolest souvenir you can get here. Electric Ladyland is clean, brightly lit and does great-quality ink; customized designs can easily be arranged.
reviewed
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Ponchartrain Vineyards
Other local libations can be found on Hwy 1082, where you'll encounter Louisiana's finest wines at Ponchartrain Vineyards. It's a pleasant surprise that tends to diverge from the syrupy sweet wines usually produced down South.
reviewed
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Cajun Man’s Swamp Cruise
Looking for something more lively? Black Guidry entertains passengers with an accordion while piloting them through a scenic slice of Bayou Black on Cajun Man’s Swamp Cruise. The launch is 10 miles west of downtown.
reviewed
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D
John James Audubon Riverboat
This company runs daily short trips between the Aquarium of the Americas and Audubon Park and Zoo. The boat moves slowly and the journey takes one hour. Combination tickets for the two attractions and the boat ride are available.
reviewed
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Wiederkehr Wine Cellars
Wiederkehr Wine Cellars, one of the most notable vinery for tasting, which has an attached restaurant where the servers were described by one tourist as 'depressed grandmothers stuffed into lederhosen.'
reviewed
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Wild Bill's
Wild Bill's in Yellville in Ponca arrange canoes or rafting trips (from $40 per person), tubes ($5), hiking tours, fishing trips and horseback rides. For weekend trips, reserve in advance.
reviewed
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Buffalo Outdoor Center
Buffalo Outdoor Center in Ponca arrange canoes or rafting trips (from $40 per person), tubes ($5), hiking tours, fishing trips and horseback rides. For weekend trips, reserve in advance.
reviewed
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E
Wine Institute of New Orleans (WINO)
The 'institute' runs classes on wine tasting, food pairing and the like, aimed at both amateur enthusiasts and folks looking to get professionally employed in the wine and spirit industry. It's also a wine bar and shop with 120 wines on tap for tasting.
reviewed
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F
Music Course
Free music courses are offered nearly every day in the afternoon, usually delving into New Orleans' rich music history and traditions. Local musicians are on hand to illustrate the point.
reviewed
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Oak Mountain State Park
Twelve miles south of town, off I-65 exit 246, Oak Mountain State Park is Alabama's largest state park, where you can hike, camp, boat or chill out on the lakeside beach.
reviewed
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Buckstaff Bathhouse
Note that spa service Hot Springs style is not usually a 'foofy' experience. No-nonsense Southern men and women whip you through the baths, treatments, and massages, just as in the 1930s.
reviewed
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G
Audubon Park Golf Course
Only a streetcar ride from downtown, this 18-hole golf course is open to the public. It's one of the city's more popular courses, and tee times need to be reserved up to a week ahead.
reviewed
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Thoroughbred Center
Most farms are closed to the public, but you can see working racehorses up close here, with tours of the stables, practice tracks and paddocks.
reviewed
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H
Skate Escape
Rents out bicycles (from $6 per hour) and in-line skates ($6 per hour). It also has tandems ($12 per hour) and mountain bikes ($25 for three hours).
reviewed
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Back Country Outfitters
Back Country Outfitters offers guided 4WD tours over the dunes and through the maritime forest to see the unique wild mustang ponies that roam the Outer Banks.
reviewed
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Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education
The modern Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education has an interesting film on area history, info on local hiking trails, and duck-decoy carving classes.
reviewed
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Nags Head Diving
Nags Head Diving has NAUI-certified instructors who run everything from basic classes to guided dives of the shipwrecks of the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
reviewed
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I
City Park Tennis Center
In all 36 lighted courts are available to the public here, with hard and soft courts and locker rooms, racquet rental, a pro shop and lessons from USPTA pros.
reviewed