4 Days Thanksgiving Road Trip

Hi All,
My friends and I are from NYC and were planning for a 4 days Thanksgiving Road Trip. This is our first time traveling on the road and we want to keep it on the eastern border and most likely going south. We would like to ask for suggestion for attractive places to visit, good foods to dine, and malls to shop along the way. Also cheap and decent places for the nights. We're looking to enjoy ourselves within the 4 days. Any suggestions are greatly appreciate.
Thanks.

Hopefully, one of our east coast posters will see this and give you a more complete response. I don't know how far south you intend to go, but I would suggest a visit to Colonial Williamsburg (Virginia) if you are interested in American history and 17th Century life in the New World.

Also, I love the sea and the beach -- so a visit to that part of the world for me would always include a visit to the coast -- like maybe the Outer Banks of NC. Most of the tourist-related businesses are closed this time of year, but if you want to see the Atlantic coast in fall/winter, the OBX are a great place to start. And you'll have it all to yourselves! Bob