Hollyday Planner

For the summarized itinerary, click here.

This trip had an delayed start. I unexpectedly lost a close family member earlier in the week. We had planned to start our loop closer in Tennessee. But we had to shift things around and start in North Carolina. Then we picked up those things in Tennessee on the way back. We had to miss some things we wanted, but kept the biggest highlights for us.

Day 1

• With the delayed start, we had to finish driving most of Day 1.
• Biltmore House – Vanderbilt home in Asheville, North Carolina. Timed tickets required. Incredible look at history. They were already setting up the Christmas trees in Mid-October. Would be fun to see this even closer to Christmas. They also change the gardens with each season.
• Bunker Hill Covered Bridge – Near Claremont, NC. Great quick picture spot.
• International Civil Rights Center & Museum – Greensboro, NC. Site of the Woolworth’s sit-in.

Day 2

• Fort Raleigh National historic Site – I was really excited for this. This is the site of the lost colony of Roanoke.
• Bodie Island Lighthouse – There are several lighthouses around the Outerbanks. This was the one we picked. If you want to go inside, tickets were available at Cape Hatteras visitors center.
• Kitty hawk & Kill Devil Hills– The flight happened at what is now called Kill Devil Hills. You can see where the first flights happened & the museum is really cool.
• Corolla, NC – We generally loved the OuterBanks. Great coastal towns. Corolla should be a must visit. Famous for its Spanish wild horses. You can easily see them just by driving around the town. And do spend some time walking on this beautiful beach. There are also some interesting houses built right on the sand. PRO TIP: The map shows a road for the beach but it is just a beach. And it does not go through to Virginia. You can drive down the beach but takes some special knowledge. A friend of mine lived there & they took us out driving on the beach.
• From the Outerbanks, we went into Virginia Beach. We have some family there so they took us to a great local restaurant. Then we spent our time hanging out at their house, but here’s some things I’d found to do. First landing state park, Cape Henry Lighthouse, the Boardwalk. Also, another beautiful beach.

Day 3

(VA) Historical Triangle

• Get tickets to all sites here
• Colonial Williamsburg – Kids & adults will enjoy this. They have people telling stories of the times. There are also craftspeople who still use the original arts. It’s a fun place to walk around. The historic section is only a few blocks and the nearby downtown is also very cute. Also, across the street is historic William & Mary.
• Historic Jamestowne– the original settlement site. I preferred this to the Jamestown Settlement. There is still active archaeology being done. Very cool to see our American origins.
• Jamestown Settlement – living history museum. Here they have created a replica of the original ships & section of life in the times. This is more kid-friendly than Historic Jamestowne. Very interactive. Our daughter was old enough that we didn’t spend too much time here.
• Yorktown Battlefield – Surprisingly, we skipped the battlefield & museum. To head on up to Mount Vernon.
• American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

(VA) Richmond – we decided to spend more time at the Historic Triangle and skipped Richmond. But here’s some fun things we had found.

• St. John’s Church
• Edgar Allan Poe Museum
• White House of the Confederacy
• Grand Kugel
• Hollywood Cemetery: James Monroe, John Tyler, Jefferson Davis, Confederate soldiers
• Chimborazo Hospital – Richmond National Battlefield Park
• Connecticut the Indian

(VA) Alexandria

• Mount Vernon Tour – DON’T SKIP! We loved Mount Vernon. We made the last tour of the day and the place was pretty quiet. You’ll get to see the house & the grounds. Be sure to visit his guarded tomb. You’ll learn he preferred to be referred to as General Washington rather than President. Some unexpected highlights for us: they preserved the bed where he died & his dentures. Timed tickets required.

(WV) Harpers Ferry

• Harpers Ferry National Park – Adorable small town. We found a restaurant & enjoyed walking around the town & historic sites. Also, this is about the half-way point of the Appalachian Trail. We passed a couple of hikers while we were there. The Potomac & Shenandoah Rivers meet here which makes for an incredible view. This became one of my daughter’s favorite towns we’ve visited. But we love cute small towns.

Day 4

• (VA)Shenandoah National Park – Beautiful. We took the Skyline Drive. Great way to start the morning.
• (VA)Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s House. Don’t skip. This place was WAY more busy than Mount Vernon. But you learn a lot about our 3rd president. He was an interesting and complicated figure. For example, he built his bed into the wall to save space. He learned and tinkered with so many different hobbies. Plus, he had a wide variety of interests. And it was his personal book collection that started the Library of Congress. There had been recent news about Jefferson & Sally Hemings. So any of the exhibits related to his history with her or slavery were jam packed. It’s also interesting how much he loved his University of Virginia. He kept a hole in the trees so he could see it. They keep that hole today. Requires timed tickets.
• (VA) Appomattox – Courthouse & McLean House. This is something we had to sacrifice with our missed start. But we have family in the area and can go back. I would make this a quick stop.
• (VA) Natural Bridge State Park – This is a spot I found for a stop to walk a bit if we need to break up the drive.
• (WV) Beckley – Where we stayed the night.

Day 5

• Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine Tour – This looked really fun. We skipped so we could get an early start. But, I would suggest looking if this fits your itinerary.
• Hatfield & McCoy feud sites – We loved this! They span from Sarah Ann, WV, through Pikeville, KY. We used the map & drove ourselves. BUT, there are some cool looking ATV tours with a guide. You’d probably get better information from one of these & it looked fun.
• Cumberland Gap National Historical Park – We skipped this as well. Tough decisions had to be made with our shortened trip. It wasn’t terribly out of the way from the direct drive. So we drove close by.
• Harland Sanders Cafe – Another casualty of our compressed trip. We originally were going up to Lexington and this was on the way. It’s the original KFC in Corbin, KY.
• Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge, TN – To be honest, not our personal favorites. The entire area is a very popular tourist area. I would compare it to Branson, MO. We found some good places to eat & fun things to do. Of course, we had to do the Titanic Museum. My daughter is still obsessed, remember?
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park – We want to go back & spend more time here.

Day 6

• The Lost Sea – Wow! You should certainly plan your route around this attraction. It’s a massive lake underground. It was a unique experience we all enjoyed. Tickets are required.
• Virginia Falls Pocket wilderness – The Tent Graves – One final casualty to our planned road trip. Nothing terribly popular, but looked unique.
• NASHVILLE – Western Las Vegas. If you’ve never been, this should be on your wish list. There’s so much to do & see. Here’s some of our favorites.
  • Grand Ole Opry – Worth it. Fan of country music or not, this should be top of your list for Nashville. The history of this institution is great. They will typically know who the headliner will be well in advance. However, the rest of the schedule may not be published. Tickets are required.
    PRO TIP: the opry is now outside of downtown & near a shopping mall. Traffic will be horrendous when leaving.
  • Country Music Hall of Fame – Again, fan of country music or not this was great. They have great history on display.
  • Parthenon – Exact size replica of the one in Greece. Just a fun stop.
  • Ugly Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue – A funny road side attraction. Drive by & snap a pic.
  • Old Tennessee State Prison – I don’t remember there being a tour option. But you can see where they filmed the Green Mile & Ernest goes to Jail
  • James Polk Tomb – on the grounds of the state capitol.
  • Hidden Heart of Stone – we looked but didn’t find it.
  • Ryman Auditorium – take a tour, watch a show, or just see this historic building.
  • Broadway St – live music is everywhere. Take a walk down Broadway & stop in anywhere.
  • Tour buses – these were everywhere & looked like a blast. If this were a couples trip or girls trip, this would be on my list.

Day 7

• Memphis, TN
  • National Civil Rights Museum – site of Martin Luther King Jr assassination. We started our day here. Very somber. but highly recommend.
  • Beale Street – we did lunch here to avoid the crowds. BB King’s Blues Club is the famous restaurant.
  • Sun Records Sun Studio – Swing by in the morning for tickets later in the same day. They didn’t have tours the day we were there.
  • Graceland – Tickets required. we spent about 3 hours here & saw all of it. The house, the museum, the plane. There’s just so much and it’s all good.

From Memphis, we started our drive home and called this road trip a success. Even with some last minute changes we kept all the highlights we wanted. And have great memories.