A little advice on a first time road trip please - New Orleans to New York

Hi,
We're in the process of planning a road trip for 3 weeks next August, and i could use a little advice on how it could be better or if i'm trying to pack too much in. We’re heading over from the UK and we know it's going to be sweltering in August, but it's the only time we can take off 3 weeks in the year. I'll give you the break down:-

Day 1-2 ARRIVE - New Orleans
Day 3 New Orleans to Lafayette (pick up rental car
Day 4 Lafayette to Natchez
Day 5 Natchez to Vicksburg/Jackson
Day 6 Jackson to Fort Walton Beach
Day 7 Fort Walton Beach to Tallahassee
Day 8 Tallahassee to St. Augustine
Day 9 St. Augustine to Amelia Island
Day 10 Amelia Island to Savannah
Day 11 Savannah to Charleston
Day 12 Charleston to Asheville
Day 13 Asheville to Knoxville (and back)
Day 14 Asheville to Roanoke (Blue Ridge Parkway)
Day 15 Roanoke to Chesapeake Bay
Day 16-17 Chesapeake Bay to Washington D.C
Day 18 Washington D.C to Baltimore/Philadelphia
Day 19-20 Philadelphia to New York - (drop off rental car)
Day 20 Explore New York
Day 21 SPARE DAY, IN CASE WE FANCY STAYING ON ANYWHERE AN EXTRA DAY
Day 22 FLY HOME

What do you think, am i being totally over ambitious, or is this do-able? Our main objective is to eat as much delicious food as possible (we are total Man v Food addicts), see as much gorgeous scenery as possible (hence the Blue Ridge Parkway - see i've done my research) and meet as many totally eccentric, wonderfully unique people as possible, and to hopefully get ourselves caught up in strange, memorable, funny little non-everyday kinda situations along the way.

I could also use a little advice on the best rental car to go for - i'm thinking cos of the heat a convertible is probably out of the question - No Fear and Loathing for us!!

Massively grateful for all your great advice.

Thanks,
Danielle

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

None of your individual legs stand out as being a problem, however, I do wonder if you might find the pace to be a little exhausting. You really aren't staying in any one place for even a full day. I'd think there is something to be said about staying in the same place for a day or two to be a little more relaxed and not feel like you only have hours to see an area. Personally, I'd cut out a few places to spend more time in others, but that's how I travel, you'll have to figure out how it fits with your style.

For food, I'd really recommend stopping at Mrs. Wilkes while in Savannah, and I know I spend a lot of time enjoying BBQ anytime I'm in the south - especially because off all the regional differences like mustard flavors in south carolina, to vinegar-pepper sauces of eastern NC, and the ketchup style from Lexington.

The best value for a rental car nearly always comes from getting a mid to full sized sedan. A convertible would likely be extremely expensive for a one way trip like this.

To me, it seems like you have a lot of beaches planned. If you want more of a balance between beaches and other sights, I'd spend more time in DC (just going to all the museums in DC can take several days), Philly, and NYC and cut the beach time back a little. However, if you really love beaches, then you may like it as it is.

Added: Or, on the other hand, if you don't care about city stuff much at all and want to focus on the scenery, you may not want to go back to the coast right away after Roanoke. You could take a more diagonal route up to NYC with nice mountain views along the way.