Boston to Los Angeles via a southern route

My boyfriend and I are leaving tomorrow (!!) for a 10-12 day cross-country drive. We're leaving from Boston and our final destination is Los Angeles. Two years ago we drove from LA to NH and we took a more northern route (after going through Arizona/Utah/Colorado) so this time we're hoping to explore more of the south.

Tomorrow we're heading to DC, the following day we want to explore North Carolina. We don't have too many plans after that... I want to go to New Orleans, we've talked about going to Austin, Santa Fe, and Sedona. We may also go a bit out of our way and head back to Bryce Canyon National Park, which was our absolute favorite stop last time.

I am 23 and my boyfriend is 22. We like hiking and being outdoors, and we also like museums and cities. I realize that some people are probably reading this and thinking, "You're leaving in 16 hours and don't know where you're going?!" but we want this trip to be flexible. We have loads of maps and guidebooks, but I really want to get advice from people who have done the route before. Where should we go? What's worth seeing in South Carolina? Georgia? Alabama? Mississippi? Elsewhere? What should we be sure not to miss?

Thank you so much in advance!

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Originally Posted by emilyr

I realize that some people are probably reading this and thinking, "You're leaving in 16 hours and don't know where you're going?!"

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That is the way I prefer to road trip -- let the road dictate the route, so not a mystery to me.

Since you are headed for the Carolinas -- Outer Banks is pretty cool and then you could also head for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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Mississippi? Elsewhere? What should we be sure not to miss?

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I always recommend a night at the Shack-up Inn.

Some more southern resources:
Jack Daniels and Kentucky
Savannah!
Great Smokies National Park by Megan.

Mark

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with leaving on a 2 week RoadTrip and knowing nothing more than your destination, a time frame for the travel, and a general idea of areas to explore on the way. We've all done the same. For a trip of my own that covered basically the same route that you'll be taking (albeit using two different routes out and back) have a look at this RoadTrip report. I hope it givesw you some ideas for what's possible, even though I only had two weeks for the round trip!

AZBuck