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GRAND CIRCLE TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDE

Let Freedom Ring: A Civil Rights Journey 2022 Learn how to personalize your experience on this vacation

Grand Circle Travel ® Worldwide Discovery at an Extraordinary Value 1 Grand Circle Travel ® 347 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210

Dear Traveler,

At last, the world is opening up again for curious travel lovers like you and me. Soon, you’ll once again be discovering the places you’ve dreamed of. In the meantime, the enclosed Grand Circle Travel Planning Guide should help you keep those dreams vividly alive.

Before you start dreaming, please let me reassure you that your health and safety is our number one priority. As such, we’re requiring that all Grand Circle travelers, Program Directors, and coach drivers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to departure. Our new, updated health and safety protocols are described inside.

The journey you’ve expressed interest in, Let Freedom Ring: A Civil Rights Journey vacation, will be an excellent way to resume your discoveries. It takes you into the true heart of Mississippi and Alabama, thanks to our groups of 38 travelers (with an average of 30). Plus, our American Program Director will reveal their country’s secret treasures as only an insider can. You can also rely on the seasoned team at our regional office in Boston, who are ready to help 24/7 in case any unexpected circumstances arise.

Throughout your explorations, you’ll meet local people and gain an intimate understanding of the regional culture. Visit the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, and learn how a portion of your travel dollars go toward helping them reveal and dismantle institutional racism in America today. Plus, a portion of our proceeds goes toward the charitable efforts of Grand Circle Foundation: inside you’ll also see how your travel dollar helps make the world a better place.

We understand that no two people are the same. That’s why more than 80% of our travelers take advantage of the freedom to personalize their experience. Consider joining us on the pre-trip extension to Memphis, Tennessee, post-trip extension to New Orleans, Louisiana, or both of these extensions.

I hope you find this Grand Circle Travel Planning Guide helpful. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact one of our Travel Counselors at 1-800-221-2610.

Warm regards,

Harriet R. Lewis Vice Chairman Overseas Adventure Travel

P.S. For further peace of mind, please know that we are EXTENDING our Risk-Free Booking Policy through 12/31/21. Learn more at www.gct.com/riskfree-booking.

2 WHAT’S INSIDE

TRIP SUMMARY

It’s Included ...... 4

Departure Dates and Prices ...... 5

Freedom to Personalize Your Experience ...... 6

DETAILED DAY-TO-DAY ITINERARY ...... 7

ESSENTIAL TRAVEL INFORMATION ...... 22

Travel Documents & Entry Requirements ...... N/A

Rigors, Vaccines & General Health ...... 24

Money Matters: Local Currency & Tipping Guidelines ...... 27

Air, Optional Tours & Staying in Touch ...... 29

Packing: What to Bring & Luggage Limits ...... 32

Climate & Average Temperatures ...... 36

About Your Destinations: Culture, Etiquette & More ...... 38

Demographics & History ...... 42

Resources: Suggested Reading & Movies ...... 44

Health & Safety Measures – Vaccines Required ...... 47

MAP ...... 51

3 New! Let Freedom Ring: A Civil Rights Journey Mississippi: Jackson | Alabama: Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile

Countries: 1 | Cities: 4

Martin Luther King, Montgomery, Alabama, 1964

IT’S INCLUDED 11 days from $3195 Including international airfare • Choose to purchase Grand Circle’s airfare, and your airport transfers, from 3 U.S. cities government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges are included. Or, make Travel from only $291 per day your own air arrangements • Accommodations for 10 nights in comfortable rooms with private baths • 20 meals: 10 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 6 dinners 11 days from $2595 Tour only • 15 included features: 12 guided tours and 3 exclusive Discovery Series events: Examining Jim Crow conversation • Chaplain Browder conversation • Travel from only $236 per day Equal Justice Institute conversation Single Supplement: FREE • Exclusive services of a local Grand Circle Program Director (assigned to no more than 38 travelers) • Gratuities on your main trip for local guides and motorcoach drivers MAXIMIZE YOUR DISCOVERIES & VALUE • Personal headset on all included and optional tours • Private motorcoach land travel OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS • Baggage handling for 1 piece of luggage per person, including tips Memphis, Tennessee • 5% Frequent Traveler Credit toward your next trip 3 nights pre-trip from $1295 • A portion of the proceeds from this trip will be donated to the Equal Justice New Orleans, Louisiana Initiative, an Alabama non-profit which combats racial injustice 3 nights post-trip from $1395 To get a richer view of the Included Features on this trip, watch our Trip Itinerary video at www.gct.com/cvm2022

Let Freedom Ring: A Civil Rights Journey 4 LET FREEDOM RING: A CIVIL RISK-FREE BOOKING POLICY: RESERVE WITH CONFIDENCE—NOW THROUGH 12/31/21 RIGHTS JOURNEY We will waive any change fees if you transfer to another departure date for any reason—up until 24 hours prior to departure. 2022 DATES & PRICES See details at www.gct.com/riskfree-booking.

DEPART FROM: MARCH-MAY; SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER Atlanta, Chicago $3195

Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Orlando, $3295 Philadelphia, Tampa

Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Newark, Phoenix, $3395 Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC Additional departure cities are available. Upgrade to Business Class may be available for the international portion of your flight. Call for details.

MARCH-MAY; SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER

Land tour only $2595

CVM2022

Prices are per person. Airfare prices include government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges. All prices and availability are effective as of the date of this publication, and are subject to change without notice. Standard Terms & Conditions apply, please visit our website: www.gct.com/tc. Every effort has been made to produce this information accurately. We reserve the right to correct errors.

For specific departure dates, current availability, and detailed pricing, visit www.gct.com/cvm2022pricing

SAVE UP TO 10% WITH OUR FREE SINGLE SUPPLEMENTS SHARE YOUR LOVE OF TRAVEL GOOD BUY PLAN on your main trip and extensions. New travelers you refer will instantly The earlier you reserve your departure We don’t charge you more for your save $100, and you’ll earn increasing and pay in full, the more you’ll save—up own room. rewards—up to a FREE trip! to 10%—plus, you’ll lock in your price. Each departure has limited solo space For details, visit www.gct.com/va For details, visit www.gct.com/gbd available—call today.

Publication Date: 4/6/21 1-800-221-2610 • www.gct.com/cvm2022 5 Freedom to Personalize Your Experience Your Choice, Your Trip, Your Way

Extending the length of your stay in a destination can improve your overall travel experience—and allow you to seek out even more eye-opening cultural interactions. Your local Program Director will help to ensure you’re getting the personalized experiences you’re looking for. In fact, 85% of our travelers are personalizing their experience in more than 85 countries.

Call us at 1-800-221-2610 to discuss personalizing your vacation today or visit us online at www.gct.com/personalize-cvm2022.

Maximize Your Time & Value: 55% of our travelers Back-to-Back Trips: 90% of our travelers who choose to take a pre- or post-trip extension combined two vacations rated it excellent See more of the region and maximize your value by taking One of the most common vacations travelers combine with advantage of your already-included airfare. On this this one is Southwest National Parks: Arches, Zion, Bryce & vacation, you can choose between Memphis, Tennessee̵Öłù the Grand Canyon. If you’re already on the road, why not see New Orleans, Louisiana. more of the region and avoid another flight? Plus, you’ll save $250 per person when you reserve two trips right after “Break Away” Options: 30% of our travelers choose one another. to arrive early or stay late in their destination Before or after your main tour or trip extension, “break Air Options: More than 50% of our travelers away” anywhere you’d like to go to do more exploring customize their flights entirely on your own. We make every effort to provide you with non-stop flights and acceptable connection times to and from your Please note: Our Travel Counselors can help you plan your airfare if you’d like to “break away,” however since this option destination. You also have several other ways you can is completely on your own, you will need to plan your own personalize your air itinerary, including choosing your accommodations, meals, tours, and transfers. departure city and airline, upgrading your seat, and more.

French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

Let Freedom Ring:

Let Freedom Ring: A Civil Rights Journey 2022 11-Day Land Tour

EXTEND YOUR TRIP PRE-TRIP Memphis, Tennessee POST-TRIP New Orleans, Louisiana

Your Day-to-Day Itinerary

7 GRAND CIRCLE TRAVEL

Grand Circle Travel, founded in 1958 to serve the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), is the leader in international travel and discovery for Americans over age 50. Grand Circle vacations have been recommended by The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, The Los Angeles Times, Travel + Leisure, The Wall Street Journal, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, and others. But our most impressive reviews come from our travelers. More than two million people have traveled with us, and the overwhelming majority say they’d gladly do so again.

LAND TOUR

During your Grand Circle vacation, you’ll have reliable assistance available at all times from an on-site local Grand Circle Travel Program Director throughout your trip. He or she is fluent in English and can give you an inside perspective on your destinations. You will also be supported along the way by local tour guides, who lead you expertly through particular sites and cities.

Many Program Directors are graduates of professional education programs for travel guides. In addition, they receive specialized training directly from Grand Circle, based on what we’ve learned from past travelers about how to make the trip most enjoyable. Your Program Director offers both a deep knowledge of the region and a commitment to make this a very pleasant, informative, and rewarding travel experience for you.

He or she will provide sightseeing trips, handle all travel details, reserve optional tours you choose to take, oversee your Discovery Series events, and provide any other assistance you may need.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

8 INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE

» Choose to purchase Grand Circle’s airfare, » Gratuities on your main trip for local guides and your airport transfers, government and motorcoach drivers taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges » Personal headset on all included and are included. Or, make your own air optional tours arrangements » Private motorcoach land travel » Accommodations for 10 nights in » Baggage handling for 1 piece of luggage per comfortable rooms with private baths person, including tips » 20 meals: 10 breakfasts, 4 lunches, » 5% Frequent Traveler Credit toward and 6 dinners your next trip » 15 included features: 12 guided tours » A portion of the proceeds from this trip will and 3 exclusive Discovery Series events: be donated to the Equal Justice Initiative, Examining Jim Crow conversation • an Alabama non-profit which combats Chaplain Browder conversation • Equal racial injustice Justice Institute conversation » Exclusive services of a local Grand Circle Program Director (assigned to no more than 38 travelers)

WHAT THIS TRIP IS LIKE

GROUP SIZE TERRAIN & TRANSPORTATION » A maximum of 38 travelers, led by a local » Uneven surfaces, including unpaved trails, Grand Circle Program Director steep inclines, steps, and rocky terrain » Travel by 55-seat motorcoach PACING » 4 locations in 11 days CLIMATE » Daytime temperatures range from 60-87°F PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS during touring season » Walk 1 mile unassisted and participate » Nighttime temperatures can fall to 37-65°F in 3-4 hours of physical activities daily, including uneven walking surfaces such as unpaved paths, steep hills, stairs, and stones » We reserve the right for Program Directors to restrict participation, or in some circumstances send travelers home, if their limitations impact the group’s experience

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

9 Let Freedom Ring: A Civil Rights Journey

YOUR DETAILED ITINERARY

BEGIN YOUR TRIP WITH AN OPTIONAL PRE-TRIP EXTENSION 3 nights in Memphis, Tennessee

Day 1 Arrive Memphis, Tennessee Day 3 Memphis • Stax Museum of American Soul Music • Slave Haven Day 2 Memphis city tour • Lorraine Underground Railroad Museum Motel Museum Day 4 Depart Memphis • Delta Blues Museum • Money & Sumner, Mississippi • Jackson, Mississippi • Join main trip

Day 1 Arrive Jackson, Mississippi Morning: Jackson is a meaningful place to begin your journey given its Civil War • Destination: Jackson history, its role in the civil rights struggle, • Accommodations: Westin Jackson or similar and recent developments in the effort towards Afternoon: Travel to Jackson today, and settle reconciliation. For many Freedom Riders into your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, in 1961, who were protesting the illegal you might enjoy an orientation walk with your segregation of interstate buses, Jackson local Program Director. Dinner is on your own was “the end of the line” where many were this evening, and your Program Director will be arrested. happy to offer suggestions. The city was originally a trading post of the Dinner/Evening: Continue making independent Choctaw Nation, set on the historic Natchez discoveries this evening, with dinner on your Trace trade route. After waves of European own. Ask your Program Director for restaurant settlement it was chosen as the new state recommendations. capital and named for General Andrew “Stonewall” Jackson. During the Civil War Day 2 Jackson • Mississippi Civil Jackson was an important manufacturing and Rights Museum railroad center for the Confederacy; it was completely burned by Union troops under • Destination: Jackson General William Tecumseh Sherman. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Accommodations: Westin Jackson or similar As a result, the city today has very few antebellum buildings, but two that still Breakfast: At the hotel. stand are the Governor’s Mansion and the State Capitol. During Reconstruction Jackson

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

10 was a center of activity for the Redshirts, Dinner: Enjoy an included Welcome Dinner at a a paramilitary organization intent on local restaurant. suppressing black voting rights. In 1890, Evening: You have the freedom to spend the Mississippi passed a new state constitution rest of your evening as you wish—ask your that disenfranchised black voters, and Program Director for recommendations. made segregation the law. Ten other former Confederate states followed Mississippi’s lead, ushering in the Jim Crow era. Day 3 Jackson • Examining Jim Crow conversation • Jackson city tour If you wonder what life was like during those • Destination: Jackson days, look no further than the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty, a • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Jackson native whose home and garden in the • Accommodations: Westin Jackson or similar Belhaven section of town is a National Historic Breakfast: At the hotel. Landmark. Another literary chronicler of life in Jackson was Richard Wright, who lived here in Morning: Join an exclusive Discovery Series the 1920s and described his horrific experiences conversation about the impact of Jim Crow in the novel Black Boy. laws on life in the South, and the various responses to it, including the rise of the Ku A tragic moment of the civil rights era occurred Klux Klan and the White Citizens Council; and here when Medgar Evers was gunned down in the formation of the National Association for his driveway by Byron de la Beckwith, acting the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) on behalf of the Ku Klux Klan. Evers was a truly and the Southern Christian Leadership promising leader. A World War II veteran, he’d Council (SCLC). fought in the Battle of Normandy before coming home to fight the even longer battle for equal Lunch: Included at a local restaurant. rights. After graduating from college he became Afternoon: Join a local guide for in included the NAACP’s first field secretary for Mississippi, tour of Jackson, for an in-depth look at the doing key investigative work particularly in the city’s historic locales. The balance of the day areas of voting rights and school integration. is free for relaxing, reflecting, or exploring on Lunch: Included at a local restaurant. your own. Perhaps you’ll see why Jackson is called the “City with Soul” by walking along the Afternoon: Learn more about the struggle for Mississippi Blues Trail, or taking in some music equality in Mississippi during a visit to the or soul food at one of the many venues in the Mississippi State Civil Rights Museum. Opened trendy Fondren section. in 2017, it is the first such museum to be sponsored by a U.S. state, and stands adjacent Dinner/Evening: Continue making independent to the Museum of Mississippi History. Its eight discoveries this evening, with dinner on your galleries detail the struggle for freedom that own. Ask your Program Director for restaurant began with the slave trade and continues to recommendations. this day.

Following your museum visit, you’ll have a few hours free for independent exploration.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

11 Day 4 Jackson • Birmingham, Alabama Morning: Today you will learn more about Birmingham’s history on an included city • Destination: Birmingham tour. You’ll visit Kelly Ingram Park, which was • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner chosen as a gathering point by SCLC activists • Accommodations: Hampton Inn & Suites in their 1960s campaign to end segregation in Downtown Tutweiler or similar Birmingham. These protests caught national Breakfast: At the hotel. attention as images of men, women, and children taking the brunt of high-powered Morning: Travel across the state border hoses and police dog attacks were broadcast to Birmingham. In the 1950s and 1960s, on televisions around the world, resulting in Birmingham was a center of civil rights President Kennedy’s decision to send in the U.S. activism, but it was also an important center for military to enforce integration. Now, the park mining, iron, and steel production. This meant is a peaceful locale where you can contemplate that the many local Klan members who worked the moving statues that depict some of the key in those industries had easy access to explosive figures in Birmingham’s civil rights struggle. materials—which they used to deadly effect. So many bombs were exploded at black homes that You’ll also visit the site of one of the most the town became known as “Bombingham.” infamous bombings in 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church, in which some 22 people were Birmingham today is a city renewed, known injured and four little girls were killed. This for its cosmopolitan culture, innovative act of domestic terrorism spawned riots and culinary scene, and a progressive culture that national outrage. acknowledges its scarred past, and is dedicated to examining and learning from it. Lunch: On your own—ask your Program Director for local restaurant recommendations. Lunch: During your drive, you’ll stop en route for an included lunch at a local restaurant. Afternoon: Rejoin your group to visit the Civil Rights Institute, an interpretive museum where Afternoon: Arrive at your Birmingham hotel you will explore the role of Birmingham within late in the afternoon and settle in. You’ll have a the larger context of the civil rights movement. few hours to rest before dinner. After your tour, you’ll have a few hours to relax Dinner: Included at your hotel. or explore on your own before dinner.

Evening: You have the freedom to spend the Dinner: Included at a local restaurant. rest of your evening as you wish—ask your Program Director for recommendations. Evening: You have the freedom to spend the rest of your evening as you wish—ask your Day 5 Birmingham city tour • Civil Program Director for recommendations. Rights Institute • Destination: Birmingham • Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner • Accommodations: Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Tutweiler or similar

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

12 Day 6 Birmingham • Selma • Montgomery Afternoon: Board your motorcoach and ride to Montgomery, arriving at your hotel late this • Destination: Montgomery afternoon. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner • Accommodations: Doubletree by Hilton Dinner: Included at a local restaurant. Montgomery or similar Evening: You have the freedom to reflect Breakfast: At the hotel. on today’s discoveries or spend the rest of your evening as you wish—ask your Program Morning: Today you’ll travel to Montgomery, Director for recommendations. stopping en route to explore one of the most pivotal battlegrounds of the civil rights struggle: Selma. Day 7 Montgomery • Legacy Museum • Rosa Parks Museum • Chaplain Browder In 1963, Selma’s black community leaders conversation joined with the Student Nonviolent • Destination: Montgomery Coordinating Committee to organize around voting rights. The reaction of white Selma was • Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner swift and harsh, ranging from legal injunctions • Accommodations: Doubletree by Hilton to beatings to outright murder. All eyes were Montgomery or similar on Selma in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Breakfast: At the hotel. Jr., Dr. Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis, and a host of others arrived on the invitation of “the Morning: Join a local guide for a walk along Courageous Eight,” a group of Selma residents the waterfront of the Alabama River, and learn who defied the injunction against three or more more about Montgomery’s history during a Negroes from meeting. conversation with a local expert—including its role during the Civil War and the antebellum A series of marches were attempted and met era, in which it hosted the First White House with extreme violence, as well as widespread of the Confederacy, the residence of Jefferson media coverage that showed the horror of Davis until 1861. “Bloody Selma.” The protesters eventually marched from Selma to the capitol in Afterward, you’ll visit the Legacy Museum, Montgomery, 54 miles away. More than 25,000 whose interactive displays and stirring artwork people participated, including many celebrities depict the history of American slavery. It stands and white supporters. With a Selma “foot in a former warehouse where you can walk soldier” from those times as your guide, you among the pens where human beings were will visit historic locations such as the Lowndes housed along with livestock. Interpretive Center; and the Edmund Pettus Lunch: On your own—ask your Program Bridge, where crowds were brutally suppressed. Director for local restaurant recommendations. Lunch: Included at a local restaurant. You’ll be Afternoon: Delve into the legacy of both a local joined by your Selma guide, who has been active and national icon, Rosa Parks, hailed as the in the civil rights movement since she was a mother of the modern day American civil rights young girl. Take advantage of this opportunity movement. A lifelong community activist, Rosa to hear stories, ask questions, and learn more Parks ignited the passions of a generation of about this tumultuous period firsthand from activists and transformed America when she someone who grew up during its fiercest days.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

13 challenged the racist status quo in 1955 for the Following your tour, you’ll have some free simple act of refusing to give up her seat to a time to seek out your own discoveries in this white man on a Montgomery city bus. When significant city of the Civil Rights movement. the bus driver threatened her with arrest, she You might choose to visit the Dexter Parsonage, responded simply, “you may do that.” the humble little house where Dr. Martin Luther Her defiance launched a citywide bus boycott King, Jr. and his family lived during his tenure that gained national attention, and was led by as a local pastor between 1954 and 1960. During Dr. King. You’ll visit the Rosa Parks Museum, the civil rights movement, the house was which stands directly behind the very bus stop repeatedly bombed by hate groups; fortunately, where Parks took her heroic stand and offers an nobody was physically harmed. The house interactive, multi-media presentation. today is a museum and tribute to Dr. King’s legacy, featuring furniture that he used during Following your tour, you’ll gather with your his residence here, as well as exhibits that detail fellow travelers before dinner for an exclusive his early life, and the works of the other twelve Discovery Series conversation with chaplain pastors who lived here. Curtis Browder, who will offer a personal perspective on the dramatic days of the civil Or, discover the Freedom Rides Museum, rights movement. Chaplain Browder was dedicated to the young activists, black and the first African-American prison chaplain, white, male and female, who rode on buses appointed by governor George Wallace, and has together to nonviolently defy local segregation worked tirelessly for decades to better the lives laws, as well as mob intimidation at the of less-fortunate Americans. hands of the Ku Klux Klan, to force the federal government into action. The museum is located Dinner: Included at a local at the site of the Greyhound station where, in restaurant—chaplain Browder will join you for 1961, the Freedom Riders were confronted by your meal to continue your conversation. an angry white mob, leading to an outburst of Evening: You have the freedom to spend the violence to which the federal authorities could rest of your evening as you wish—ask your no longer turn a blind eye. Program Director for recommendations. Lunch: On your own—ask your Program Director for local restaurant recommendations. Day 8 Montgomery • Memorial for Peace and Justice • Equal Justice Institute Afternoon: Visit the Memorial for Peace and conversation Justice, just opened in April 2018, dedicated to the more than 4,400 African Americans • Destination: Montgomery who were lynched, shot, burned, or otherwise • Included Meals: Breakfast murdered by white supremacist mobs between • Accommodations: Doubletree by Hilton 1877 and 1950. For decades, much of this Montgomery or similar campaign of racial terror, which exiled millions Breakfast: At the hotel. from the south as refugees, went ignored and undocumented, and the memorial is a sobering Morning: Learn more about the history of the reminder of the trials that African Americans civil rights movement in Montgomery today as endured, even long after slavery was abolished. you continue exploring with your local guide.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

14 Following your tour, you will learn more words, “We will not be satisfied until justice about the Equal Justice Institute (“EJI”), the rolls down like waters and righteousness like a organization that investigated these atrocities mighty stream.” and founded the memorial, during an exclusive You’ll explore Dr. King’s legacy further on the Discovery Series conversation with one of its next stop of your tour, which is just around the members. In addition to documenting the corner from the memorial. Here, you’ll find untold story of racism in America (the scope of the Dexter Avenue Baptist church where Dr. its research extends beyond the south), the EJI King led his congregation between 1954 and seeks to end mass incarceration and challenges 1960. Founded in 1877 on the site of a slave racial injustice in its many forms. Grand Circle trader’s pen, the church has a long history is proud to support the EJI: A portion of the of community service, and it was from Dr. proceeds from this journey will be donated to King’s office where many of the Civil Rights the organization to support their mission. movement’s earliest campaigns—including the The rest of your day is free to explore on your 1956 Bus Boycott—were planned. own or reflect on today’s learnings. Lunch: On your own—ask your Program Dinner/Evening: Continue making independent Director for local restaurant recommendations. discoveries this evening, with dinner on your Afternoon: Depart for Mobile, your next own. Ask your Program Director for restaurant destination, arriving early in the afternoon. The recommendations. rest of the day is yours to spend in Mobile as you please. Day 9 Montgomery • Civil Rights Memorial Center • Dexter Avenue Baptist Dinner/Evening: Continue making independent Church • Mobile discoveries this evening, with dinner on your own. Ask your Program Director for restaurant • Destination: Mobile recommendations. • Included Meals: Breakfast • Accommodations: Hampton Inn & Suites Day 10 Mobile city tour or similar • Destination: Mobile Breakfast: At the hotel. • Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner Morning: Dig a little deeper into the civil • Accommodations: Hampton Inn & Suites rights history of Montgomery. First, you’ll or similar visit the Civil Rights Memorial Center, a Breakfast: At the hotel. dramatic monument designed by Maya Lin (architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Morning: Enjoy the coastal charm and in Washington D.C.) The memorial is a circular easygoing spirit of Mobile, Alabama’s only black granite slab, etched with the names of true seaport. It is one of the state’s oldest and martyrs who died in the battle for equality, most culturally diverse cities, with a French, radiating from the center like a clock’s hands. A Spanish, and British colonial past, and its constant flow of water bubbles from the center, cultural tapestry is informed by the influences spreading across the surface, and a granite of many other groups including Native wall behind echoes Dr. Martin Luther King’s American, African, Jewish, Irish, and many Caribbean people.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

15 America’s first Mardi Gras celebration The balance of the afternoon is free. Mobile originated here, years before its counterpart boasts seven historic neighborhoods to explore in New Orleans. In the 19th century Mobile on your own, each filled with beautiful homes was an important port for the cotton and slave in different architectural styles. trades, then in the 20th century it prospered Dinner: Come together to share our most as a shipbuilding center. Your tour includes a important learnings from the trip, and visit to Africatown, a neighborhood settled in celebrate our fellowship at an included Farewell 1860 by 32 West Africans who were among the Dinner in a special local restaurant. last-known slaves to be illegally shipped here from Africa. Evening: You have the freedom to spend the rest of your evening as you wish—ask your Lunch: You’ll pause for a break during your Program Director for recommendations. tour to enjoy lunch on your own. Your Program Director can recommend a restaurant. Day 11 Depart Mobile Afternoon: Conclude today’s tour at the • Included Meals: Breakfast Oakleigh Historic Complex, which maintains a trio of houses representing an enslaved Breakfast: At the hotel. person’s quarters, a working class bungalow, Morning: Transfer to the airport for your flight and an upper-class town home. home, or begin your optional New Orleans, Louisiana post-trip extension.

END YOUR TRIP WITH AN OPTIONAL POST-TRIP EXTENSION 3 nights in New Orleans, Louisiana

Day 1 Mobile, Alabama • New Day 3 New Orleans • Whitney Plantation Orleans, Louisiana slavery museum Day 2 New Orleans city tour Day 4 Depart New Orleans

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

16 PRE-TRIP Memphis, Tennessee

INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE

» Accommodations for 3 nights » Exclusive services of a Grand Circle » 6 meals: 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, Program Director and 1 dinner » Gratuities for local guides and » 6 included tours: Memphis city tour, motorcoach drivers Lorraine Motel Museum, Stax Museum » All transfers of American Soul Music, Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, Delta Blues Museum, Money & Sumner

PRE-TRIP EXTENSION ITINERARY

Memphis is a place of pilgrimage, whether you are a devotée of the blues, rock or soul; a lover of barbecue; or a fan of the King, Elvis Presley, who you can honor at his Graceland home. All these American icons are deeply indebted to the cultural and political contributions made by generations of African-Americans who made Memphis one of the South’s most vibrant cities, which is why we are honored to offer it as a prelude to your civil rights tour. Our journey will include a special focus on another King, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who lived his final, impactful days here.

Day 1 Arrive Memphis, Tennessee Day 2 Memphis city tour • Lorraine • Destination: Memphis Motel Museum • Accommodations: Holiday Inn Memphis • Destination: Memphis Downtown or similar • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Morning/Afternoon: Depending on when you • Accommodations: Holiday Inn Memphis arrive in Memphis, you’ll have time to relax, Downtown or similar and perhaps join your Program Director for an Breakfast: At the hotel. orientation walk around the neighborhood. Morning: This morning you’ll enjoy a Dinner/Evening: Continue making independent panoramic city tour of Memphis. This city is discoveries this evening, with dinner on your deeply rooted in the American blues tradition, own. Ask your Program Director for restaurant and your tour will showcase the many historic recommendations. recording studios and music venues along Beale Street.

Lunch: Included at a local restaurant.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

17 Afternoon: Explore the last moments of Dr. when segregation was the law of the land. King at the Lorraine Motel, and learn more Learn about the Stax story, and indulge in its about the movement he led at the neighboring legendary style and sound on a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum. The motel is museum’s visits. where Dr. King was shot and killed by James Your next stop is the Slave Haven Underground Earl Ray as he stood on the second floor Railroad Museum, located in the 19th century balcony. It still bears its iconic, 1950s turquoise estate of Jacob Burkle, a local businessman façade and two rooms, including King’s, have who offered refuge to slaves as they escaped to been preserved as they were in 1968. Its roster freedom. Inside the home, you’ll explore the of famous guests included entertainers like Sam secret underground cellar where Burkle housed Cooke, Aretha Franklin, and Wilson Pickett, his refugees, and step into an escaped slave’s who composed “The Midnight Hour” here. The shoes to get a glimpse into their struggle as adjoining National Civil Rights Museum is now they hid from the authorities and awaited the a Smithsonian Affiliate whose 260 artifacts plus river ships that would take them on the next leg multimedia exhibits chronicle five centuries of of their journey. the African-American struggle. Lunch/Afternoon: Yours to do as you please. Dinner/Evening: Continue making independent Your Program Director will be happy to discoveries this evening, with dinner on your recommend a spot for lunch and free time own. Ask your Program Director for restaurant activities. Perhaps you’ll admire the striking recommendations. photography of the famed African-American photojournalist Ernest Withers at his namesake Day 3 Memphis • Stax Museum of museum, or head out to Graceland. American Soul Music • Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum Dinner: Included at a local restaurant.

• Destination: Memphis Evening: You have the freedom to spend the • Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner rest of your evening as you wish—ask your • Accommodations: Holiday Inn Memphis Program Director for recommendations. Downtown or similar

Breakfast: At the hotel. Day 4 Depart Memphis • Delta Blues Museum • Money & Sumner, Mississippi • Morning: Memphis holds a special place in Jackson, Mississippi • Join main trip America’s cultural scene as a center of soul • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch music, and you’ll explore that legacy this morning on an included tour to the Stax Breakfast: At the hotel. Museum of American Soul Music. Over half Morning: After departing your hotel, you’ll a century, Stax Records established itself as travel to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, America’s leading producer of soul music, Mississippi, which honors the heritage of this launching the careers of legendary musicians distinctly American genre of music through and recording artists including Otis Redding, memorabilia (including the shack where a Isaac Hayes, Richard Pryor, Booker T & the young Muddy Waters once lived), art, and MGs and more. Most impressively, Stax, an educational programs aimed at fostering African-American-owned business, built itself musical talents among youths. up as an integrated company in the 1960s,

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

18 Lunch: Included at a local restaurant in Clarksdale.

Afternoon: Ride to Money, Mississippi, an important stop along the Mississippi Freedom Trail. It was here in 1955 that 14-year-old Emmett Till was tortured and murdered for supposedly flirting with a white woman. The two murderers were acquitted by an all-white jury, but admitted their crime a year later in an interview with Look magazine. The accuser, Carolyn Bryant, later recanted many details of her story.

The event galvanized the nation, especially after Till’s mother insisted that his coffin remain open so the world could see the brutal evidence of lynching in America. Rosa Parks said the injustice of the acquittal inspired her to hold her seat on the Birmingham bus four days later. You’ll also stop at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in nearby Sumner, housed in the courthouse where the trial took place.

Continue on to Jackson, where you’ll join your fellow travelers to commence your main trip.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

19 POST-TRIP New Orleans, Louisiana

INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE

» Accommodations for 3 nights » Exclusive services of a Grand Circle » 6 meals: 3 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners Program Director » 2 included tours: New Orleans, Whitney » Gratuities for local guides and Plantation slavery museum motorcoach drivers » All transfers

POST-TRIP EXTENSION ITINERARY

Vibrant, diverse and always welcoming, New Orleans is home to the oldest surviving black community in the United States. The bedrock traditions upon which the city is built—its music, cuisine, and Mardi Gras culture—are all built upon the African-American experience. Though life in the “Big Easy” has been anything but easy for the city’s African descendants, it has been colorful, resilient, and deeply inspiring. Come celebrate with us on this fitting coda to your civil rights tour.

Day 1 Mobile, Alabama • New Evening: You have the freedom to spend the Orleans, Louisiana rest of your evening as you wish—ask your Program Director for recommendations. • Destination: New Orleans • Included Meals: Dinner Day 2 New Orleans city tour • Accommodations: Westin New Orleans or similar • Destination: New Orleans • Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Morning: Depart Mobile and travel by private motorcoach to New Orleans. You’ll arrive in • Accommodations: Westin New Orleans the early afternoon, with the balance of the or similar day free. Breakfast: At the hotel.

Lunch/Afternoon: Yours to do as you please. Morning: Today, explore lively New Orleans Your Program Director will be happy to on a guided tour, including Treme and the recommend a spot for lunch and free time Ninth Ward. activities. If you like, you may join your Program Director for an orientation walk later Historic Treme sits on the edge of the French in the day. Quarter and is the oldest continuously inhabited African-American neighborhood in Dinner: Included at a local restaurant. the United States. It was originally part of a French colonial plantation but starting around 1794 it was developed into subdivisions to

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

20 house the city’s free people of color, which Lunch/Afternoon: Return to New Orleans for included Haitian Creoles, Africans, and an independent lunch and free afternoon to do Caucasians of European descent. as you please. Your Program Director will be happy to recommend a spot for lunch and free During the years of Spanish control, slaves time activities. were permitted some time off on Sundays. They gathered with freed people at Treme’s Dinner: Celebrate the end of a moving journey Congo Square to socialize, play music, dance, during a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant. and sell goods. This is where the Louisiana Evening: You have the freedom to spend the jazz tradition was born, and still flourishes rest of your evening as you wish—ask your today. We’ll visit the site of Congo Square, Program Director for recommendations. now part of Armstrong Park; and also explore the Ninth Ward, another traditionally black neighborhood. Hit hard by Katrina, the Ward Day 4 Depart New Orleans is still struggling to rebound and is also • Included Meals: Breakfast diversifying. Breakfast: At the hotel. Lunch: Included at a local restaurant. Morning: Transfer to the airport for your Afternoon: Free for your own discoveries—ask flight home. your Program Director for recommendations.

Dinner/Evening: Continue making independent discoveries this evening, with dinner on your own. Ask your Program Director for restaurant recommendations.

Day 3 New Orleans • Whitney Plantation slavery museum • Destination: New Orleans • Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner • Accommodations: Westin New Orleans or similar

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Ride southwest of the city to Whitney Plantation, the only historic home in Louisiana that is focused on slavery. Here your guides will depict a vivid portrayal of slave life based on first-hand slave narratives, and supported by restored historic buildings, museum exhibits, and memorial artwork.

Itinerary Subject to Change. For Information or reservations, call 1-800-221-2610

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TRIP:

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With all of our resources available to you, enjoy peace of mind … and look forward to the incredible discoveries that await.

22 CONTENTS

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS & ENTRY REQUIREMENTS...... N/A

RIGORS, VACCINES & GENERAL HEALTH ...... 24

MONEY MATTERS: LOCAL CURRENCY & TIPPING GUIDELINES . . . 27

Top 3 Suggestions

Local Currency

Tipping Guidelines

AIR, OPTIONAL TOURS & STAYING IN TOUCH ...... 29

PACKING: WHAT TO BRING & LUGGAGE LIMITS...... 32

CLIMATE & AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ...... 36

ABOUT YOUR DESTINATIONS: CULTURE, ETIQUETTE & MORE . . . 38

Culture & Points to Know

Shopping

DEMOGRAPHICS & HISTORY ...... 42

RESOURCES: SUGGESTED READING & MOVIES...... 44

23 RIGORS, VACCINES & GENERAL HEALTH

Keep Your Abilities In Mind Please review the information below prior to departing on this trip. We reserve the right for our Program Directors to modify participation, or in some circumstances send travelers home if their limitations are impacting the group’s experience.

GROUP SIZE • A maximum of 38 travelers, led by a local Grand Circle Program Director

PACING • 4 locations in 11 days

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS • Walk 1 mile unassisted and participate in 3-4 hours of physical activities daily, including uneven walking surfaces such as unpaved paths, steep hills, stairs, and stones

• We reserve the right for Program Directors to restrict participation, or in some circumstances send travelers home, if their limitations impact the group’s experience

TERRAIN & TRANSPORTATION • Uneven surfaces, including unpaved trails, steep inclines, steps, and rocky terrain

• Travel by 55-seat motorcoach

CLIMATE • Daytime temperatures range from 60-87°F during touring season

• Nighttime temperatures can fall to 37-65°F

Health Check Feeling healthy and confident of your mobility is essential to fully enjoy your trip. If you have ongoing medical conditions or concerns about your health, we highly recommend that you schedule a checkup with your personal physician at least six weeks in advance of your departure date.

• Discuss with your doctor any aspects of your itinerary that may affect your health and be guided by his or her advice. (You can use the “Keep Your Abilities in Mind” on the previous page as a guideline to discuss with him or her.)

• You may want to have a dental exam before your trip. A loose filling or developing cavity would be difficult to remedy while you are traveling.

24 • If you have a condition that requires special equipment or treatment, you must bring and be responsible for all necessary items related to your condition.

Vaccine Required

COVID-19 Grand Circle Travel requires that all travelers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are able provide proof of their vaccination upon arrival at their destination. A full vaccination is defined as having been inoculated at least 14 days prior to departure by an approved vaccine. This requirement is not contingent on the countries the tour visits, but a strict company policy due to the nature of the pandemic.

Other Vaccines The CDC recommends that all travelers be up to date on their routine vaccinations and on basic travel vaccines like Hepatitis A and Typhoid, but these are suggestions only. However, this could change in future so we encourage you to check with the CDC yourself before meeting with your doctor.

Traveling with Medications • Pack medications in your carry-on bag to avoid loss and to have them handy.

• Keep medicines in their original, labeled containers for a quicker security screen at the airport and a better experience if you get stopped by customs while overseas.

• Bring copies of your prescriptions, written using the generic drug name rather than a brand name to be prepared for any unforeseen loss of your medications.

We recommend checking with the State Department for medication restrictions by country: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel- Country-Information-Pages.html. (Pick the country and then follow the links to “Local Laws & Special Circumstances”; if you don’t see any medications specifically mentioned, then you can presume major U.S. brands should be OK).

Staying Healthy on Your Trip

Jet Lag Tips • Start your trip well-rested.

• Begin a gradual transition to your new time zone before you leave or switch to your destination time zone when you get on the plane.

• Attempt to sleep and eat according to the new schedule.

• Avoid heavy eating and drinking caffeine or alcoholic beverages right before–and during– your flight.

25 • Drink plenty of water and/or fruit juice while flying

• Stretch your legs, neck, and back periodically while seated on the plane.

• After arrival, avoid the temptation to nap.

• Don’t push yourself to see a lot on your first day.

• Try to stay awake your first day until after dinner.

Allergies If you have any serious allergies or dietary restrictions, we advise you to notify us at least 30 days prior to your departure. Please call our Traveler Support team at 1-800-321-2835, and we will communicate them to our regional office. Every effort will be made to accommodate you.

26 MONEY MATTERS: LOCAL CURRENCY & TIPPING GUIDELINES

Top Three Tips • Carry a mix of different types of payments: some cash, an ATM card, and a credit card

• Traveler’s checks are not recommended. They can be difficult to exchange and the commission fee for cashing them is quite high. It’s more practical to view them as a last resort in the event of a special situation.

• Keep a few smaller bills on hand. It makes both tipping and small purchases easier.

ATMs When using the ATM, keep in mind that it may only accept cards from local banks, and may not allow cash advances on credit cards; you might need to try more than one ATM or more than one card.

Many banks charge a fee of $1-$5 each time you use an out-of-network ATM. Others may charge you a percentage of the amount you withdraw. We recommend that you check with your bank before you depart.

Lastly, don’t forget to memorize the actual digits of your card’s PIN number (many keypads do not include letters on their keys—they only display numbers.)

United States: ATMs can be hard to find in rural areas such as national parks, but are common in large cities and small towns. Our suggestion is to hit up the ATM in town before you head out for the day. Don’t forget to let your bank know that you’ll be traveling before you leave home—if they see a lot of out-of-town withdrawals they might put a freeze on your account because of suspected fraud.

Credit & Debit Cards Even if you don’t plan on using a credit card during your trip, we still suggest that you bring one or two as a backup, especially if you are planning a large purchase (artwork, jewelry). We also suggest that you bring more than one brand of card (i.e. Visa, MasterCard, American Express) if possible, because not every shop will take every card. For example, although the Discover card is accepted in some countries outside the U.S., it is not widely adopted, so other brands will work at a much larger range of stores, restaurants, etc.

Notify Card Providers of Upcoming Travel Many credit card companies and banks have fraud alert departments that will freeze your card if they see suspicious charges—such as charges or withdrawals from another country. To avoid an accidental security block, it is a good idea to notify your credit card company and/or bank you will be using your cards abroad. You can do this by calling their customer service number a week or two before your departure. Some banks or credit card companies will also let you do this online.

27 You should also double-check what phone number you could call if you have a problem with a card while you are abroad. Don’t assume you can use the 1-800 number printed on the back of your card—most 1 800 numbers don’t work outside of the U.S.!

Tipping Guidelines Of course, whether you tip, and how much, is always at your own discretion. But for those of you who have asked for tipping suggestions, we offer these guidelines. To make it easy for you to budget, we have quoted the amounts in U.S. dollars; tips can be converted and paid in local currency or in U.S. dollars.

• GCT Program Director: It is customary to express a personal “thank you” to your GCT Program Director at the end of your trip. As a guideline, many travelers give $6-$8 per traveler for each day their Program Director is with them. Please note that tips for your Program Director can only be in the form of cash. If you are taking any of the optional extensions, your Program Director during the extension(s) may not be the same as the one on your main trip.

28 AIR, OPTIONAL TOURS & STAYING IN TOUCH

Land Only Travelers & Personalized Air

Quick Deﬁnitions • Land Only: You will be booking your own international flights. Airport transfers are not included.

• Air-Inclusive: You booked international air with us. Airport transfers are included as long as you didn’t customize your trip’s dates (see next bullet).

• Personalized Air: You booked international air with us, and have customized it in some way. If you have customized your trip’s dates to arrive early, stay longer, or stop on your own in a connecting city, airport transfers will NOT be included. You must also arrange your own accommodations for any additional nights. For your convenience, a preliminary list of your included hotels is available on your My Account at www.gct.com/myaccount under “My Reservations”.

Airport Transfers Can Be Purchased For eligible flights, airport transfers may be purchased separately as an optional add-on, subject to availability. To be eligible, your flight(s) must meet the following requirements:

• You must fly into or fly home from the same airport as Grand Circle travelers who purchased included airfare.

• Your flight(s) must arrive/depart on the same day that the group arrives or departs.

Airport transfers can be purchased up to 45 days prior to your departure; they are not available for purchase onsite. To learn more, or purchase airport transfers, please call our Traveler Support team at 1-800-321-2835.

If you don’t meet the requirements above, you’ll need to make your own transfer arrangements. We suggest the Rome to Rio website as a handy resource: www.rome2rio.com.

Air Inclusive Travelers If you have purchased international air with Grand Circle Travel, there are some points that may be helpful for you to know.

• Air Itineraries: We’ll be sending you a preliminary flight itinerary—and posting it online in My Account—no later than 100 days prior to your departure. (If you booked your trip inside 100 days, then expect it a week or two after booking.) Due to restrictions from the airlines, air itineraries cannot be confirmed more than 320 days before your travel dates. If you have booked your trip a year in advance, we cannot send you a preliminary itinerary or answer questions about your flights until you are inside this 320 days timeline.

29 • Flight Delays: Grand Circle Travel is not responsible for flight delays or cancellations. In the unfortunate circumstance that your flight is delayed or changed, please try to reach the regional GCT office (their number will be in your Final Documents). Due to airline regulations our staff is not notified of flight rerouting, and your Program Director won’t necessarily be aware of your new arrival time.

• Flying with a Travel Companion: If you’re traveling with a companion from a different household, and both of you are beginning and ending your trip at the same airport on the same dates, let us know you’d like to travel together and we’ll make every effort to arrange this (please note, however, that this is not always possible). If you request any changes to your flights, please be sure that both you and your companion tell us that you still want to fly together.

All Travelers: Check Your License or ID What are you checking for? To see if is compliant with the Real ID Act, passed in 2005 (and also to confirm that it won’t expire before your trip).

Starting October 1, 2021 you must have a Real ID compliant document in order to fly domestically within the U.S. Passports and passport cards are Real ID compliant and will be accepted, but only some state-issued IDs will work. If you plan to fly on or after October 1 with your driver’s license or state ID, double-check that is Real ID compliant. Most Real ID licenses will have a star logo in the top right corner and/or have the word “enhanced” printed on them. If you are unsure about your ID, check with your local DMV or appropriate government office. And give yourself enough time to renew your license if needed—the change is expected to cause delays.

Optional Tours Optional tours are additional add-on tours that allow you to personalize your vacation by tailoring it to your tastes and needs. And if you decide not to join an optional tour? Then you’ll have free time to relax or explore on your own—it’s about options, not obligations.

What You Need to Know • All optional tours are subject to change and availability.

• Optional tours that are reserved with your Program Director can be paid for using credit/ debit cards only. We accept MasterCard, Visa, and Discover credit cards; we can also take MasterCard or Visa debit cards as long as the card allows you to sign for purchases. (You won’t be able to enter a PIN.)

• To ensure that you are charged in U.S. dollars, your payment will be processed by our U.S. headquarters in Boston. This process can take up to three months, so we ask that you only use a card that will still be valid three months after your trip is over. The charge may appear on your credit card statement as being from Boston, MA or may be labeled as “OPT Boston”.

30 • Your Program Director will give you details on the optional tours while you’re on the trip. But if you’d like to look over descriptions of them earlier, you can do so at any time by referring to your Day-to-Day Itinerary (available online by signing into My Account at www.gct.com/myaccount).

Communicating with Home Your phone service may vary from what you’re used to in terms of strength and connectivity, as providers have different levels of saturation throughout the U.S. Costs will vary depending upon your contract.

Data usage, however, can pile up costs if you rely on it heavily. Those handy apps can run up download/connection fees. The simplest solution is to shut down all cell phone functions, automatic data feeds and roaming options, and take advantage of the apps via available Wi-Fi. With an Internet VOIP app (like Skype) you can make inexpensive calls. If necessary, turn roaming back on and your phone will work as usual, albeit at some cost.

App quality, availability and costs vary—as do platforms (iPhone, Android, Blackberry), so again you’ll need to do some legwork. But there’s a lot of choice: apps for packing lists, maps, journals, Wi-Fi hotspot finders, etc.

31 PACKING: WHAT TO BRING & LUGGAGE LIMITS

Luggage Limits

MAIN TRIP LIMITS

Pieces per person One checked bag and one carry-on per person.

Weight restrictions Varies by airline. The current standard is 50 lbs for checked bags and 15 lbs for carry-on bags.

Size Restrictions Varies by airline. Measured in linear inches (length+width+depth). Generally, 62 linear inches is the checked bag limit; carry-on limit is 45 linear inches.

Luggage Type A sturdy, fabric-sided suitcase with built-in wheels and lockable zippers is recommended.

TRIP EXTENSION(S) LIMITS

The extensions have the same luggage restrictions as the main trip.

REMARKS/SUGGESTIONS

One suitcase and one carry-on bag per person: Due to the space limitations on bus transfers, you’ll be restricted to one suitcase and one carry-on bag per person. This is to ensure that we have room for everyone’s luggage. We ask that you abide by this limit to avoid inconveniencing your fellow travelers and prevent additional airlines luggage fees (which are your responsibility). Most airlines now charge to check a suitcase.

Luggage rules: Luggage rules and limits are set by governmental and airline policy. Enforcement of the rules may include spot checks or may be inconsistent. However one thing is the same across the board: If you are found to have over-sized or overweight luggage, you will be subject to additional fees, to be assessed by—and paid to—the airline in question.

Don’t Forget • These luggage limits may change. If the airline(s) notify us of any changes, we will include an update in your Final Documents booklet.

• It’s a good idea to reconfirm baggage restrictions and fees directly with the airline a week or so prior to departure. For your convenience, we maintain a list of the toll-free numbers for the most common airlines on our website in the FAQ section.

32 • Baggage fees are not included in your trip price; they are payable directly to the airlines.

Clothing Suggestions: Functional Tips • Travel light: A good rule of thumb is to gather together everything you want to bring; then take half of that. To have a varied travel wardrobe, yet keep your luggage light, we recommend you select a color scheme and pack color-coordinated clothing items that can be mixed to create different outfits.

• Consider clothing designed for travel, sports, or camping: With modern fabrics, lightweight packing for comfort and protection through a wide range of weather is easy.

• Pack casual clothes: The presiding clothing style of this trip is casual. Men do not need jackets or ties and women do not need nice dresses—bring these only if you are planning a special night out on your own.

• Good walking shoes are essential: For your comfort, you’ll need supportive walking shoes that offer good traction.

• Light rain gear: Rains of any variety (heavy or short-lived) are possible at any of your destinations. A folding umbrella and/or waterproof jacket, preferably with a hood, could come in handy.

What to Bring We have included suggestions from Program Directors and former travelers to help you pack. These lists are only jumping-off points—they offer recommendations based on experience, but not requirements. You may also want to consult the “Climate” chapter of this handbook.

Your accommodations will supply soap, body wash, and shampoo/conditioner. If you prefer a certain brand you may want to bring your own, but otherwise you can rely on what they provide. And don’t forget a reusable water bottle—you’ll need it to take advantage of any refills we offer as we are working to eliminate single-use plastic bottles on all of our trips.

Recommended Items Daily essentials: toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hairbrush or comb, shaving items, deodorant, sunscreen, etc.

Spare eyeglasses/contact lenses and your prescription Sunglasses with a neck strap Insect repellent Swimsuit if your hotel has a pool Wide-brim sun hat or visor

33 Compact umbrella Pocket-size tissues Moist towelettes and/or anti-bacterial “waterless” hand cleanser Photocopies of passport, air ticket, credit cards, prescriptions for your medicines Items for your comfort on the bus (pillow, blanket, etc.). This tour involves several long drives.

Camera, spare batteries, and memory cards

Clothing Shirts: A mixture of short and long-sleeved shirts to layer Trousers, jeans, or skirts Comfortable walking shoes and/or water resistant shoes Light rain jacket/windbreaker with hood Sleepwear Socks and undergarments A warm layer, such as a sweater, fleece pullover, or jacket

Medicines All over-the-counter medications and first aid supplies listed below are available locally. But you may want to bring your own for convenience.

Your own prescription medicines Vitamins Cold remedies: Sudafed/Dristan Pain relievers: Ibuprofen/aspirin/Naproxen Laxatives: Senokot/Ex-Lax Stomach upset: Pepto-Bismol/Mylanta Anti-diarrheal: Imodium

34 Band-Aids, Moleskin foot pads Antibiotic creams: Neosporin/Bacitracin

Optional Gear Compact binoculars Hanging toiletry bag with pockets Basic sewing kit Reading materials Hand-wash laundry soap, and maybe clothespins/travel clothesline/stopper Travel journal/note pad Addresses for postcards

35 CLIMATE & AVERAGE TEMPERATURES

The Deep South: The Deep South is characterized by a humid subtropical climate featuring hot, dry summers with average highs in the 90s. The Gulf of Mexico brings winds along the southern coast and slightly cooler temperatures are common near the Appalachian Mountains. Thunderstorms are common throughout the year, particularly during summer months. Winters are characterized by milder temperatures in the 30s-40s with heavier precipitation in the form of rain, sleet, and occasionally snow (the average annual accumulation is typically less than 5 inches) from November through April. Thunderstorms are common throughout the year and tornadoes and hurricanes are possible.

Climate Averages & Online Forecast The following charts reflect the average climate as opposed to exact weather conditions. This means they serve only as general indicators of what can reasonably be expected. An extreme heat wave or cold snap could fall outside these ranges. As your departure approaches, we encourage you to go online to www.gct.com/myaccount for your 10-day forecast.

Average Daily High/Low Temperatures (°F), Humidity & Monthly Rainfall

MONTH JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA

Temp. High-Low % Relative Average # Days Temp. High-Low % Relative Average # Days Humidity (am-pm) with Rainfall Humidity (am-pm) with Rainfall JAN 58 to 37 87 to 59 10 57 to 36 83 to 56 10 FEB 62 to 40 87 to 54 10 62 to 39 82 to 51 9 MAR 68 to 45 87 to 51 10 70 to 45 81 to 48 9 APR 77 to 54 91 to 50 8 77 to 52 80 to 46 8 MAY 84 to 61 92 to 53 8 84 to 61 80 to 51 8 JUN 91 to 68 92 to 53 8 90 to 68 81 to 54 10 JUL 93 to 71 94 to 57 11 92 to 72 84 to 59 12 AUG 93 to 70 95 to 55 9 92 to 71 86 to 56 9 SEP 88 to 65 94 to 54 7 87 to 65 85 to 55 7 OCT 79 to 53 93 to 49 5 78 to 54 86 to 50 7 NOV 67 to 43 90 to 52 8 69 to 44 86 to 52 8 DEC 60 to 39 87 to 58 10 60 to 37 84 to 56 10

36 MONTH MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Temp. High-Low % Relative Average # Days Temp. High-Low % Relative Average # Days Humidity (am-pm) with Rainfall Humidity (am-pm) with Rainfall JAN 49 to 32 79 to 60 10 62 to 43 85 to 63 10 FEB 54 to 35 78 to 56 10 65 to 46 84 to 59 9 MAR 63 to 43 75 to 52 11 71 to 52 85 to 57 9 APR 73 to 53 74 to 49 10 78 to 59 88 to 57 7 MAY 81 to 61 77 to 53 10 85 to 66 89 to 58 8 JUN 89 to 69 77 to 53 9 89 to 72 90 to 61 12 JUL 92 to 73 80 to 55 9 91 to 74 92 to 66 14 AUG 91 to 72 81 to 54 7 91 to 74 92 to 65 13 SEP 85 to 64 82 to 53 7 87 to 71 89 to 63 10 OCT 75 to 53 81 to 49 7 80 to 61 88 to 56 7 NOV 62 to 42 79 to 54 9 71 to 52 86 to 59 7 DEC 52 to 35 78 to 60 10 64 to 45 86 to 62 9

37 ABOUT YOUR DESTINATIONS: CULTURE, ETIQUETTE & MORE

Your Program Director During your exclusive Grand Circle vacation, you’ll have reliable assistance available at all times from an on-site Grand Circle Travel Program Director. Your Program Director is fluent in English and can give you an inside perspective on your destinations. He or she is supported along the way by local tour guides, who guide you expertly through particular sites and cities.

Many Grand Circle Program Directors are graduates of professional education programs for travel guides. In addition, they receive specialized training directly from Grand Circle, training that is based on what we’ve learned from thousands of past travelers about how to make the trip most enjoyable. Your Program Director offers both a deep knowledge of the region and a commitment to make this a very pleasant, informative, and rewarding travel experience for you.

Your Program Director will provide sightseeing trips, handle all travel details, reserve optional tours you choose to take, oversee your Discovery Series events, and provide any other assistance you may need. You will be in the company of a Program Director throughout your vacation.

Southern U.S. Culture U.S. culture has been described as everything from a “melting pot” to a “tossed salad.” As a nation of immigrants, it has been shaped by the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans, Asians, and many others. And being so large geographically, aspects of U.S. culture also vary widely by region—especially in the Southern United States.

Elements of “Southern” culture that differentiate it from other regions of the country include cuisine, music, literature, manners, and—at least for those who’ve spent any time in the Deep South would insist—language.

Alabama and Mississippi are two of the five states referred to as the “Deep South” (South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana are the others). Cultural traditions everywhere are rooted in the past, and among the enduring legacies of the Deep South are its early associations with slavery and secession—and its more recent links to the Jim Crow segregation laws that spurred the Civil Rights Movement.

Mississippi, whose name comes from the Native Indian word meaning “big river,” has a rich cultural heritage that evokes Civil War battlefields, vast cotton fields, steamboats, the blues, and the birthplace of Elvis—and a literary tradition ranging from William Falkner and Tennessee Williams to John Grisham. And Alabama, the “Heart of Dixie State,” has an equally rich tradition of music and literature spanning from country bluegrass legend Hank Williams to Harper Lee’s iconic American novel To Kill a Mockingbird. It also found itself embroiled in two of the country’s most controversial eras—when Montgomery served as the first capital of the Confederacy during the early days of the Civil War and when the turbulent streets of Birmingham were at the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement in 1963.

38 No one leaves a table hungry in the Deep South. Southern cooking may not be the healthiest, but few cuisines are heartier or more delicious. From soul food to seafood, Southerners take great pride in their ability to craft simple but memorable home-cooked meals. Barbecue is ubiquitous, along with biscuits and gravy, gumbo, shrimp and grits, po’ boys, fried catfish, fried chicken, and fried pretty much everything. With both states bordering the Gulf of Mexico—and with Mississippi being one of the world’s biggest producers of catfish—it’s more than likely that seafood will make an appearance on most menus.

People in the Deep South are known for being deeply religious, with a love of family, football, and food. It’s also a place where a drawl and slow manner of speech shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of sophistication. Along with their lilting twang, Southerners often use flowery expressions (madder ‘n a wet hen) that often aren’t meant to be taken literally (“the Southerner talks music,” is how Mark Twain described it). The vast majority of people living in Alabama, Mississippi, and the rest of the Deep South are naturally friendly, polite, and go out of their way to extend a hospitality that’s sweeter than a tall glass of iced tea.

Jackson in Brief

City Layout and Details Jackson comprises several districts and lies in the western part of Mississippi where I-55 (north-south) and I-20 (east-west) meet. The roads are laid out in a grid-like formation. The downtown area is bordered by Jefferson Street to the east and Courth Street to the south and west and features sights such as the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion, Old Capitol Museum, and the Mississippi Museum of Art. To the north and northwest, you’ll find the Farish Street and Poindexter Park Historic Districts and Jackson Street University to the west. State Street is a main thoroughfare through Jackson, running to I-55. Along State Street further north, you’ll find the Fondren district, known for its funky art scene and live music venues.

Newspapers & Magazines The Clarion-Ledger is the city’s daily paper.

Evening Entertainment While the city encompasses many residential areas, check out the Fondren district for a blend of funky art, bars, restaurants, and live music.

Local Transportation The JATRAN is a public bus transportation system with 12 fixed routes throughout Jackson, most of which culminate at Union Station in downtown Jackson. Buses run Monday-Friday from 5:15am to 7:45pm and Saturday 6:45am-6:45pm.

39 Montgomery in Brief

City Layout and Details Montgomery is situated along the banks of the Alabama River with route I-85 running along the southern edge of the downtown area where it meets with I-65. Along the river, you’ll find the Riverwalk area featuring an amphitheatre and Riverwalk Stadium. The historic Union Station is located just south of the Riverwalk in the center of the downtown area. Just south, you’ll find the convention center and the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre and the nearby Alley Entertainment District boasts many restaurants, boutiques, and nightlife.

Newspapers & Magazines The city’s daily newspaper is the Montgomery Advertiser, including local news, sports, and politics.

Local Transportation The Montgomery Area Transit System (also called the “M”) offers 17 public bus routes throughout metropolitan Montgomery. All bus routes operate Monday-Friday with some lines running on Saturdays as well. Schedules vary by route, but the major bus routes typically operate Monday-Friday from 5:15am-9:15pm and Saturdays from 7:15am-6:15pm. For specific route information and schedules, visit http://montgomerytransit.com.

Shopping: What to Buy, Customs, Shipping & More There may be scheduled visits to local shops during your vacation. There is no requirement to make a purchase during these stops, and any purchase made is a direct transaction with the shop in question, subject to the vendor’s terms of purchase. Grand Circle is not responsible for purchases you make on your trip or for the shipment of your purchases.

Returns If you discover an issue with an item, you should contact the vendor directly. If the shop is outside the country, you should expect that any resolution will take longer than it would in the U.S. We recommend that you keep a copy of all your receipts, invoices, or contracts, along with the shop’s contact information. Keep in mind, local practice may vary from the standards you are used to, so don’t assume that you have a certain number of days after the purchase to speak up or that you are guaranteed a refund.

Crafts & Souvenirs

Sales Tax in the U.S. When thinking of sales tax, please keep in mind two things: It varies from place to place and it is subject to change without notice. (Also, please note that this section is intended to cover all of our itineraries in the U.S., so you may not be visiting all of these states.)

40 • Alabama: From as little as 4% to as much as 11%, depending on the city.

• Louisiana: Sales tax ranges from 4.45% to 11.45%, depending on the city.

• Mississippi: Sales tax ranges from 6% to 7%, depending on the city.

• Tennessee: Sales tax ranges from 7% to 10%, depending on the city.

U.S. Customs Regulations & Shipping Charges For all things related to U.S. Customs, the ultimate authority is the U.S. Bureau of Customs & Border Protection. Their website, www.cbp.gov has the answers to the most frequently asked questions. Or you can call them at 1-877-227-5511.

The top three points to know are:

• At time of writing, your personal duty-free allowance is $800 for items brought with you. Items totaling more than $800 are subject to duty fees.

• Items shipped home are always subject to duty when received in the U.S. Even when the shop has offered to include shipping and duties in the price, this typically means shipping to the nearest customs facility and payment of the export duties—not door-to-door shipping or payment of the import duties. All additional duties or shipping charges would be your responsibility. Unless an item is small enough to send by parcel service (like FedEx), chances are you will need to arrange shipping or pick-up once the item is in the U.S. and will need to pay customs duties.

• It is illegal to import products made from endangered animal species. U.S. Customs & Border Protection will seize these items, as well as most furs, coral, tortoise shell, reptile skins, feathers, plants, and items made from animal skins.

41 DEMOGRAPHICS & HISTORY

Southern United States

Facts, Figures & National Holidays

Alabama • Area: 52,419 square miles

• Capital: Montgomery

• Entered Union (rank): 1819 (22)

• Motto: Audemus jura nostra defendere (We dare defend our rights)

• Nickname: Yellowhammer State, The Heart of Dixie, and Cotton State

• Time zone: Alabama is on Central Time, with the exception of Phenix City which is on Eastern Time.

Louisiana • Area: 52,378 square miles

• Capital: Baton Rouge

• Entered Union (rank): 1812 (18)

• Motto: Virtute et Armis (By valor and arms)

• Nickname: Magnolia State and Hospitality State

• Time zone: Louisiana is on Central Time.

Mississippi • Area: 48,430 square miles

• Capital: Jackson

• Entered Union (rank): 1817 (20)

• Motto: Union, Justice, Confidence

• Nickname: Pelican State (official), Bayou State, and Creole State

• Time zone: Mississippi is on Central Time.

Tennessee • Area: 42,143 square miles

42 • Capital: Nashville

• Entered Union (rank): 1796 (16)

• Motto: Agriculture and Commerce

• Nickname: Volunteer State

• Time zone: Tennessee is divided into two time zones - eastern Tennessee is on Eastern Time and western Tennessee (including Memphis) is on Central Time.

National Holidays: USA

While many major holidays have a fixed will be traveling during a holiday, please visit date, some move around from year to year www.timeanddate.com/holidays. (Thanksgiving, Easter). To find out if you

43 RESOURCES