orlando to providence, ri - tips?

My girlfriend and I are making our first roadtrip, from Orlando to Providence, RI, so we're basically going along the whole of the east coast. We're pretty excited and we're leaving June 2nd, so it's coming up soon. We are planning two stops to see family at the Marine camp in North Carolina and at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. We'd also like to stay overnight in D.C. to see the museums, etc. and in New York if our friend has a room open to us. What I'm interested is in anything else, small or unexpected, that we should make time for to make the trip fun. Since we're spanning basically the whole east coast, we figure there has got to be great / interesting/ funny / beautiful stops on the way. Thanks in advance for any tips.

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

There are so many places, it's difficult to know where to stop. Some of the more popular stops along your route include:
South of the Border in South Carolina.
Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive in Virginia
Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT
If you're a big seafood fan, you could stop at Custy's in Stonington, CT for their buffet.


A good guide you may want to consider is Drive I-95, even if you won't be spending the entire trip on that route.

How many days are you planning on spending on this trip?