East coast road trip with family

[RZG77]

The family will be making a trip to Disney in a few months, we are looking at making a road trip out of the drive down (3 1/2 days). The kids are 9 and 6, boy and girl, what are some good stops along the way? We will be leaving Ohio on a Thursday night/Friday morning and don't need to be there till Monday afternoon. We are willing to drive out of our way to make it a fun trip down, are there some roads that would be worth driving to? Must see attractions?

Thanks, Ryan

[M.D. Holloway]

Route 1 - all the way up the coast to Maine. You will see parts of the eastern seaboard that will want to make you move there...

[Seahawk]

Should be fun!

With children, I'd stay off the Tail off the Dragon, etc. The route below is mostly pretty interstates, less twisty blue highways.

First night I would stay in Lexington, Va. 8 hour drive or so. My son went to the Virginia Military Institute so I have spent a lot of time there and love it. Stay at the Hampton Historic Inn. Great downtown with fantastic restaurants. Great walking tour to Stonewall Jackson's house, etc. VMI has great museums as well.

Interstate 64 through the George Washington National Forest is a nice drive.

Can't recommend Lexington more highly. Make sure there is not a football game. Place gets crowded and there will be no hotels.

Main Street Lexington - Home

Next day, head to Brevard, North Carolina, for lunch. My sister has a mountain house there and, like Lexington, is a neat little college town. Off the beaten path a little bit. Take Interstate 26 through Asheville.

Mountain Song Festival

After lunch stay on Rte 178 to Anderson in order to avoid Greenville, SC. Greenville has grown up quite a bit and the traffic can get stupid.

I would stay the night in Aiken, SC. My parents lived there for many years and, like Brevard and Lexington, is a really neat place. Stay downtown.

https://www.visitaikensc.com/

Orlando is a six hour drive from there so you can hit the Atlantic on day three very easily.

Enjoy. Fall will be in full force.

BTW, I like to do side trips to see college and pro football stadiums. Goofy, I know. VMI's right on the road and pretty cool. Blacksburg is a quick side trip, as is Clemson.

[id10t]

Originally Posted by M.D. Holloway

Route 1 - all the way up the coast to Maine. You will see parts of the eastern seaboard that will want to make you move there...

I did that trip as a 12 year old. Parents picked me up from Sea Base, up to Maine, across to Minnesota to visit family, stopping so I could go to GenCon in Geneva, then back down through the middle of the country and back to Gainesville via the panhandle... great trip Took a bit longer than 3 days.

[flatbutt]

Don't forget the Blue Ridge Parkway, it ain't fast but it sure is pretty.

[RZG77]

I'll look into RT 1, I want to hit the Tail of the Dragon but I won't.. this trip is for the wife and kids so I need to make sure they are entertained the entire time!! They are used to trips to Silver Lake Dunes with either a Jeep or a side by side. This trip is for them, I'll ck out Blue Ridge Parkway, is it a long drive?

Thanks for the ideas!
Ryan

[Jim Richards]

Spend some time visiting Kennedy Space Center.

[Alan A]

Zipline in NC. Up where 77 turns into 52. There's also a decent diner at Fancy Gap for breakfast.
Stop off in Charlotte - visit the NASCAR museum. No - really...

My kids are exact same age.
Did both last week except we went to Myrtle rather than Orlando.

[PorscheGAL]

I like the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.

Or

The US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville AL

Depending on your driving plan

[id10t]

Oh, and if you can pass Gainesville between 9am and 2pm, stop and visit the teaching zoo the college I work for has (Santa Fe College), or maybe if in evenings the planetarium we have. We're about 2 hours north of Orlando. I can also recommend a hole in the wall for good Spanish food (Puerto Rican/Cuban) in Bellview, just 5 minutes off I 75.

Drop me a PM as you get closer to trip time