Road trip with a 15 and a 11y old girls to the south.

[Anonymous]

Stopping in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge would be very fun for this age range. It’s tacky, but there is just so much to do and I think teens would have a good time. I think your road trip sounds fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Going to the South in the summer sounds like hell. Driving in the hot sun for hours sounds awful too.

Does your car not have a/c? I don’t see the problem

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t take my daughters to places where they’re 3rd class citizens and subject to significant danger - guns, criminals, police, MAGAs. Just as I wouldn’t take them to Afghanistan. I wouldn’t want to spend a penny of my money in any one of the states you’ve mentioned either. How about driving north instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t take my daughters to places where they’re 3rd class citizens and subject to significant danger - guns, criminals, police, MAGAs. Just as I wouldn’t take them to Afghanistan. I wouldn’t want to spend a penny of my money in any one of the states you’ve mentioned either. How about driving north instead?

Too many liberals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t take my daughters to places where they’re 3rd class citizens and subject to significant danger - guns, criminals, police, MAGAs. Just as I wouldn’t take them to Afghanistan. I wouldn’t want to spend a penny of my money in any one of the states you’ve mentioned either. How about driving north instead?

Too many liberals.

Meaning far safer for women.

[Anonymous]

Jesus Christ! Op here: this post is a prime example is the state of things in America nowadays. An innocent post about recommendations for best routes/pit stops for a road trip, has morphed into racist, cultural appropriation, and political stuff.

I’m not American born but a naturalized citizen. I AM taking my passport and my daughter’s passports “just in case,” and that is the maximum I’m willing to give in for the current environment in this country.

On a side note, if we are arrested by ICE, I hope you guys make noise in our behalf!! 😂😂😂😂

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Where are you leaving from? Everything sounds good, except for Nashville which is out of the way. Consider that traffic can be terrible, so it adds hours to your trip. I'd also throw in random roadside kitsch for fun. Maybe a night at Pedro South of the Border or whatever roadside attractions you find along the way. Google road trip ideas for suggestions.

My DDs would like this trip, but each stop should be at least 2 nights, 3 nights towards the end.

Do you suggest going straight to NOLA? That would be a very long drive, maybe only a pit stop to sleep and rest.

Or do you suggest some other cool place to visit in between Oakton VA and Nola?

In the grand scheme of a three week road trip, Nashville isn’t that far out of the way. If it’s somewhere you really want to go, then do it. An alternate stop if you’re taking I-81 is Pigeon Forge/Gatlingburg/Great Smoky Mountains.

Also, you can skip South of the Border night. Definitely don’t spend a night there. The place is pretty run down and depressing (and the theming has not stood the test of time.)

Since beaches and food are your top priorities, I’d pick Charleston over Myrtle Beach. Stay at Kiawah or Wild Dunes for the beach access.

I’d also dip more into Florida if I was already driving all that way. Space Coast to watch a rocket launch. It might be too late in the season to catch the turtles hatching. Theme parks, if that’s your thing.

PP who you're quoting and I fully confess I've never been to South of the Border, just seen the signs. But I think cheesy roadside attractions are a good idea.

OP - here's what I suggest. Go Asheville (I loved the Biltmore around that age) to Nashville to New Orleans (probably going to need to plan a stop between the two) to Destin to Savannah to Charleston. Another option would be Greenville, SC, which is a cute little city and allows you to come home on 81 instead of 95.

It’s a racist tourist trap! Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine suggesting anyone go there!

You’re the reason people hate millennials.

You think a man wearing a Sombrero is racist? Americans hate people like you.

You’re really stretching yourself to make excuses for this place that is widely known to be considered at the least culturally insensitive. Signs that poke fun at Mexican accents “this place is deeferent”, every worker there has to be called Pedro, and the caricatures of what a Mexican man looks like. So odd that you want to make defend it and brag that everyone you know goes there.

Have you ever been to Trader Joe’s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don’t need 5 nights in NOLA; 3 nights max. It’s too far to drive in one day imho.

The Destin area is very, very crowded. Stay oceanfront or don’t bother going.

We love Charleston. Stay in a walkable area near King St. And perhaps add a few nights at the beach (Folly, Kiawah, Seabrook, Wild Dunes, etc.). You can drive home in one day afterwards.

I agree about NOLA. While the food is good, architecture and history interesting…the focus is very alcohol-oriented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ! Op here: this post is a prime example is the state of things in America nowadays. An innocent post about recommendations for best routes/pit stops for a road trip, has morphed into racist, cultural appropriation, and political stuff.

I’m not American born but a naturalized citizen. I AM taking my passport and my daughter’s passports “just in case,” and that is the maximum I’m willing to give in for the current environment in this country.

On a side note, if we are arrested by ICE, I hope you guys make noise in our behalf!! 😂😂😂😂

You laugh but it’s not a joke. It sounds like you’ve never been to the deep south. ICE is unapologetically rounding up people every day in the south. It’s terrible and will only get worse as that organization grows.

That aside, I’d suggest skipping New Orleans and Destin, and just sticking to the eastern seaboard. No need to visit both New Orleans and Charleston, especially with kids. I’d suggest picking a nice beach town on the eastern Atlantic coast and pairing that with Charleston or Savannah (again, both aren’t needed).

Here are some suggestions (Pick one from each category):

-BEACH: St Augustine (beach) or Amelia island or Jekyll/St Simons islands or Hilton Head or Myrtle beach

-TOWN: Charleston or Savannah

-MOUNTAINS: Asheville or Gatlinburg or Chattanooga

[Anonymous]

^^Same PP here. Will also add to consider including the Okefenokee Swamp if it fits the itinerary. You can do that as a day trip during transit. Just take a nice boat tide to see the alligators, snakes and turtles.

[Anonymous]

*ride (not tide)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ! Op here: this post is a prime example is the state of things in America nowadays. An innocent post about recommendations for best routes/pit stops for a road trip, has morphed into racist, cultural appropriation, and political stuff.

I’m not American born but a naturalized citizen. I AM taking my passport and my daughter’s passports “just in case,” and that is the maximum I’m willing to give in for the current environment in this country.

On a side note, if we are arrested by ICE, I hope you guys make noise in our behalf!! 😂😂😂😂

I was trying to help you when warning about Destin. I am not exaggerating when I tell you how disturbing it is to see beach goers wearing ICE shirts (as if its funny/to intimidate), HUGE "Gulf of America" flags and shirts, and the word democrats with a bullet hole graphic through the word. VERY disturbing that's the state of our country.

[Anonymous]

I am a NOLA native now residing in Savannah and have lived in Knoxville, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Wilmington, NC.

Knoxville instead of Nashville. Market Square has great restaurants and shopping, they can paddleboard or kayak the Tennessee River, cute boutique hotels they’d enjoy.

NOLA for 5 days for girls who cannot enter a bar at all, even in the daytime, is not going to be fun, especially in the summer. Take a day to shop uptown, a day to explore the quarter, and a day in the bywater.

Destin/Ft Walton has a lot of private access beaches so you’ll be crowded into gen pop and have issues with driving to the beach and parking. I have an annual meeting there the last week of July each year and it’s always a drag.

Charleston is such a boring city. Get into North Carolina like Carolina or Kure Beach so they can enjoy the boardwalk and shopping without the mess of Myrtle.

[Anonymous]

As a non-drinker I enjoyed seeing New Orleans and things in the area. I'd have no issues taking my kids there, especially kids who love food like one of OP's kids.

[Anonymous]

Destin is very overrated. Better areas around there are the towns off Hwy 30A, Navarre Beach, Panama City Beach, and Pensacola Beach.

Destin has beautiful beaches but the traffic is terrible, and it’s very built up. It feels like a suburb on the coast to me, and I hate how you can’t see the ocean at all while driving don’t the main drag. It doesn’t feel like a beach town to me.