From nyc to where?!

hey all,
me and my friends from high school are all at different colleges and we thought a road trip would be a great way to get together again during our spring break. I'm pretty sure spring break is about a week or a little more or a little less so we dont have thaaat much time but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for great roadtrip destinations from nyc/new jersey?
I kind of want to check out new orleans, but i'm not sure if that is feasible. Should we go north or south? west? ahh who knows but im open to all options.

Also some tips about gas, finding a motel, food (especially kosher food) and just overall strategies for a cheap and successful trip would be very much appreciated!!!

Thanks so much
-Arielle

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

This is a decision that only you and your friends can make, but I suspect that the 'where' doesn't really matter. This is a chance for you all to get back together, compare notes on how your lives are going and just talk and share another round of good times. You should all get together and first agree on what you expect to get out of your trip and only then decide on a place to go. With your timeframe, almost anywhere east of the Mississippi would work. But at the distant end of that, places like New Orleans would probably require that you be spending too much of your time in the car for some of your group. The upside is that if you can make the trip about the traveling and content yourself with two or three smaller venues each day, such a trip would let you see a good bit of the country. Closer destinations with lots to do would include the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee/North Carolina, locations with a distinctly foreign flavor such as Montréal or Québec, or New England. As a former New Englander myself I think you all would enjoy it, particularly since Spring is perhaps its least hectic tourist season and plenty of its best attractions would be close to deserted. But ultimately, this is your choice to make.

AZBuck

Sounds good thanks so much!

And also, the trip is going to be round trip, I think, so is there is like a loop to do, like so we don't have to back track or retrace our steps and see the same things? Or do we just pick the places an follow the roads and make our own?
Also, follow up, if anyone knows any cool fair, concerts or just overall happenings that sound interesting or just plain weird during spring break time, just let me know!

Thanks!

In case you don't know, you will need to get passports if you are planning on leaving the country - such as if you do want to go to Montreal. There is a lead time involved, and now is not too early to start the process.

ya i actually got one recently so im all good on that front.

so how about those festivals??