I am planning a road trip from the San Francisco Bay Area (home) to the Deep South leaving in early June of 2018 with my two kids who will be 9 (son) and 15 (daughter) at the time. My hubby will be staying home for most of the trip to work and because road trips are really not his thing. I'm having a challenging time trying to figure out our return trip to California. I would like to see something different and take an alternate route. I would love some fellow road tripper's sage advice, tips, cautions, anything :). Here is what I currently have:

Day 1: Bay Area to Barstow
Day 2: Barstow to GrandCanyon Np (camping)
Day 3: Grand Canyon NP (camping)
Day 4: Grand Canyon to Amarillo, TX
Day 5: Amarillo to Waco, TX
Day 6: Waco (my daughter really wants to visit Magnolia Market)
Day 7: Waco to Natchez, MS
Day 8: Natchez
Day 9: Natchez to Seaside, FL (camping at a state park nearby)
Day 10: Seaside (camping at a state park)
Day 11: Seaside (camping camping at a state park)
Day 12: Seaside to Savannah, GA
Day 13: Savannah
Day 14: Savannah
Day 15: Savannah to Chattanooga, TN (camping)
Day 16: Chattanooga to Nashville, TN (husband flies in)
Day 17: Nashville
Day 18: Nashville
Day 19: Nashville to Lexington, KY (husband and daughter fly home)
Day 20: Lexington, KY
Day 21: begin the journey home
So here is my conundrum, do I travel north through Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada? Or do I travel back through the Southwest? Or should I take US 50 home? I would like to get home in seven to eight days, see some "pretty stuff" along the way, visit some locations in our national park system, have my son see parts of the country he has never seen, and not die of heat. Ideally I would prefer to not drive more than six or seven hours each day. I am a tree lover and we typically camp or travel where it's heavily wooded. So the thought of visiting the Southwest leaves me kind of meh. But since I have never been there I want to give it a chance. After driving through Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of the high desert. So I not sure a return trip through the Southwest is the ideal option for me. Plus I worry about heat as we get closer to July on our way home. US 50 certainly has some appeal due to the fabulous things I have read about it. Definitely something different. But am I trying to squeeze too much into the return trip home? Should that be a different trip? We are road trippers, but have not driven cross country before (I did when I was 19, but did not do the actual driving). We are campers and have lodged in everything (tents, trailers, teepee on an Indian reservation, treehouse, you name it lol). All I ask for is running water. Not much intimidates me; we just want to be a safe areas since I will be a woman traveling alone with her kids. Thanks is advance for any insight or suggestions. It is greatly appreciated.