Philadelphia to Tennessee...but how?

I've got about 2 weeks off, and my fiancee and I plan on taking a road trip. We have a few thumbtacks on the map, as it were, but much is still up in the air.

Here's what we have so far:
leave Philadelphia Saturday April 18th
Maker's Mark distillery (a bit south of Louisville)
Nashville
Dollywood
Something coastal (Myrtle Beach? Outer Banks? Something else?)
return to Philly Saturday May 2nd (Sunday at the latest)

Are there any particular routes between these points that we should be sure to take/avoid? Any destinations that we should flesh out our schedule with? ("if you're near X, then you may want to check out Y", if you're going to Nashville, you should (or should not) continue on to Memphis, etc.)

We have a broad spectrum of likes: nature, weird things, music, bars, art, to name a few. We'll be camping mostly, interspersed with (hopefully) inexpensive motels when we're desperate for a real bed. If you know of any good books/movies that would enhance our experience of where we're going, that would be much appreciated as well.

Extra miles for good views/sights/etc. are ok, we're currently clocked in at around 2000 miles, and even if we do 25% above that we're only driving 3.5 hours a day at 50mph. That being said, I don't think we have the time to, say, head on over to New Orleans, not without sacrificing the ability to stay an extra day somewhere.

Thank you so much for your advice, both that we've already received from past posts, and what we hope to gain going forward.
-billfrog

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

Since you're going to be in one of my favorite states for travel, Kentucky, have you considered the following:

Mammoth Cave National Park - this is on the way from Louisville to Nashville. You could sleep in a wigwam in Cave City; if you're tall like me, watch your head when going into the bathroom.

Red River Gorge - in the Daniel Boone National Forest, it made me think of the Grand Canyon filled in with trees.

If you're looking to spend minimal time on the road each day, then New Orleans would be out of scope for this trip.

Thanks Tim!

We'll be coming to KY from WV, I assume via I-64 (or should we split off onto the smaller 60 for any reason?). When heading to the Red River Gorge, do you have any advice about routes through the Daniel Boone Nat'l Forest? (519 to 1274 on the eastern side or 211 to 36 down the center)

Also, if you had to choose between the two, would you visit Lexington or Louisville, and is there anything in particular to check out in either city?

Thanks again,
Bill

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Originally Posted by billfrog

Thanks Tim!
We'll be coming to KY from WV, I assume via I-64 (or should we split off onto the smaller 60 for any reason?).

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I-64 in this region has been a nice drive, and unless you have a penchant for following the courses of small rivers, I-64 is fine. US-60 also snakes about quite a bit here, due to the terrain. (To get a sense of what you are in store for, go to Google maps and click on the "Terrain" option and zoom in. Now that I look at it, it makes me realize how much work building this section of Interstate must have been.)

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Also, if you had to choose between the two, would you visit Lexington or Louisville, and is there anything in particular to check out in either city?

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Having been to Lexington several times, but never to Louisville, I'd have to say I'd go with Louisville simply because it is an unknown quantity to me. However, since it is also a larger metro area, you are likely to find more different things to do there. During the last visit to Lexington, we toured the gardens at the University of Kentucky campus and spent the rest of our brief time rolling along two-lanes outside of the city limits. I guess it really depends on how much time you want to spend in Kentucky weighed against how much time you'd like to spend elsewhere.

There is also a great article that discusses the Old Kentucky Turnpike, another great road in this area of great drives.

My GF and I are taking a 2 week trip (Philly - Nashville/Dollywood - Philly), and while we have good "anchor activities" (those highlights you need every day or two to look forward to on the drives) for the second half of our trip, we're lacking inspiration for the first half.

Once we get to KY, we've got things we want to do (based on your recommendations, thanks!), but where do we go before that? Do we go to Pittsburgh and then south? West Virginia? Is there anything you know of in either central/western PA or WV/northern VA that makes it a more entertaining/enjoyable route than the alternative? We've got a few days to work with, starting on April 18th.

Thanks for your help,
Bill