Daughter relocating to Austin. She is hell bent on driving and planning to show that part of the country. I would like to know more from all of you who have travelled and have better knowledge about the route to choose, places to stop, and make the journey an excellent experience
That’s a great way to see the country! My ex and I made cross-country trips several times and always stopped at interesting locations along the way. A friend of mine in Texas makes the trip your D is planning every 2 years to see relatives. She just got back, actually. She takes one freeway going east and another west-bound, or reverses the routes to shake things up. She takes the 40 and the 20, but there are other options as well. Lots of pretty country along both. They like to stop and hike and see local sites.
It’s been too long since I’ve done a road trip to truly give good advice, but years ago my boyfriend (now husband) drove a U-Haul pick up truck from NYC to LA. Early on in the trip (3 hours)she could go to The Frontier Culture museum or stop and see Shakespeare in a replica of the Globe in Staunton, but I’m guessing she’s like to drive further before starting on the sightseeing. Nashville is the next obvious stop. A bit of a detour is the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill near Lexington, KY, or one could go directly to Nashville - plenty to do there. I have friends who spent a winter break in Memphis exploring the blues - they thought it quite a bit grittier than Nashville, but worth the trip. From Memphis instead of driving straight to Dallas, I’d drive down along the Mississippi and take it in, visiting one of the plantations along the river. It would be tempting to go all the way to New Orleans, but you can cut over sooner. I love the Amon-Carter museum of American Art - designed by architect Louis Kahn.
My main advice would be to try not to drive too far in a day, assuming she has time. You’ll want a full half day to enjoy any site. Also give a thought to fun and memorable places to eat. This site has good suggestions: https://roadfood.com
We drove from Austin to Portland, Maine when we moved here in 1986. Had a great time!
I hope your daughter likes Austin - it’s a cool city for young people! My 18-year-old daughter is there right now for a few days.
Most of her trip will be east of the Mississippi. There will be plenty of cities and towns along the way, unlike the vast distances west of that river. Plenty of beautiful scenery and the mountains are fun to drive in the east. Plenty of potential interstate routes depending on the cities she wants to go through. A warning- Nashville traffic is bad, even on weekends. So many choices for interstate travel, which is what I recommend.
She should be sure to stop at state information centers along the way. She can look at all sorts of local attractions along her route. Those coupon books for cheap hotel/motel rates are useful in figuring out where to sleep. We drive not knowing how far we will get and just want a decent place to eat and sleep.
Using the interstate with its rest areas will provide the best and safest roads. In the mountains there are good speed limits for conditions and steep slope extra lanes et al.
We have gone more northerly east/west routes in the past and recently north/south through some states on her route. She is not at all crazy to choose to drive, this may be her only excuse to see some parts of the country.
S drove east to west last summer and is returning this summer. Is your D driving with someone? How far is it altogether?
It’ll be HOT at this time of year! If she can stand it, it could be a great time.
I drove from Austin to Pittsburgh and back to drop off DD at school. It was a great drive, nice interstates. The one thing I did wrong was not to make reservations at motels along the way. I got the last room at one place near Memphis on the way up and had to drive until 2:00 in the morning to find a place in Tennessee. So my suggestion is to make a plan for driving 8 to 10 hours a day and then figure out where you are stopping and make some reservations.
BTW, the worst road she will encounter is I35 from Dallas to Austin - crowded and full of construction.
My daughter was mentioning the route something like: Hampton - Charleston - Atlanta - New Orleans - Lake Charles - Austin. According to her, she has mapped the places to visit on the way and the total trip could be 4/5 days. Any thought?
I would never drive for 8 to 10 hours. I can barely manage 6 if I am not sharing the driving.
DS2 has driven from DC to Nashville and Austin to Nashville various times but never the whole way in one trip. I love a road trip so I say go for it. It sounds like she wants a more southern route than I was thinking, but it would work.
“My daughter was mentioning the route something like: Hampton - Charleston - Atlanta - New Orleans - Lake Charles - Austin. According to her, she has mapped the places to visit on the way and the total trip could be 4/5 days. Any thought?”
Is her priority getting to Austin in the easiest way possible and seeing stuff along the way? Or is it getting to Austin eventually and stopping at places she wants to visit?
Charleston, New Orlean, Atlanta - all great places to visit but going a route that makes these stops definitely takes her WAY out of the direct path and makes the trip much, much longer.
If it was me, I’d focus on hitting spots along a more direct route - Nashville, Memphis, Dallas. Asheville NC is supposedly a great place and would only be a very small detour off a direct path so I’d check that out. I would save some of the places she mentions for another trip. It’s way too much to do in 4-5 days if you actually want to do more than just sleep in those cities.
^^^ Agreed.
If I were doing it, I’d go through Nashville and spend a day or two there. I’d rather see one place well than 5 places for a couple of hours each.
S is taking 8 days to zig across the country with a friend. My first concern would be whether she is going alone. We did not want S driving it alone, so we paid to have a friend fly there and come back with him. When he went out, we flew friend home. If she needs places to stay, try AIRBNB. S has done and will be doing several of those. I already have all of his stops set up. You don’t want her having to look for lodging in strange places on the fly.
Hi! The paternal side of my family has lived in Tennessee since it was settled by James Robertson; we come down through his sister. My grandfather descended from Yankee sympathizers in middle Tennessee close to Nashville. We both live in or close to Nashville and have driven to Virginia Beach. I have lived,in both Louisiana and Texas. If,you contact me directly with time line and interests, we would be happy to help plan your travel. If I were making your trip, I would get to Nashville and spend several days. There is no much to see and do here. I might drive south to Huntsville, ALabama for the space camp and. …I would for sure go to Jackson MS and visit Vicksburg and Natchez You need to follow the taped driving trail and history; you will get a sense of the war and relationships of soldiers Snatches was a wonderful, very prosperous city. I would follow the Mississippi River south toward New Orleans. It is so interesting to see how the river has changed course since the Civil War and later. New Orleans is perfect though after the hurricane. Drive north through St. Francisco to see the plantations. Some are said this be haunted, which is,to be expected with the hanging moss. I would head to Alexandra which is charming and pretty,close to the Cane River plantations. Look at your map to find a good westward route to Austin. I have lived in Monroe and driven west to Dallas. Having lived in both Monroe, LA and Fort Worth, TX , I can tell you about the communities and highway if you have questions Austin is,nice, but San Antonia is special. The Alamo is interestingly and amazingly small. SAnta Ana’s encampment is nearby. Last time I was there, I chose what I wanted to see and road the city bus and transferring as needed. I have found this strategy is a terrific way to sight see. Drivers in TX are crazy and fast. Have a great trip
My sister and I would be delighted to help
Hello Maine person! I was faculty at Usm for years.
Red
I drove from Dallas to DC last year and had a blast. I took the Memphis/Nashville route to DC and the Atlanta/New Orleans route back. There was plenty to see both routes and I was glad I took two routes. I have also driven both routes straight thru. It was 22hrs in a car and I will never do that again. I spent time in Memphis, Nashville, Smoky mountains, DC, Charlotte, Atlanta and New Orleans. I had a blase.
Audio books are a great thing when driving long distances. Sometimes you don’t want to stop. It makes the time go much faster and keeps your attention.
OP – you should tag along with your kid.
Over the past several years I’ve done several long trips with various kids as they have moved into and out of various cities for work and school. Some of the best bonding experiences I’ve had with them.
The route and theme of your trip is obvious, although no one has yet mentioned it. There’s four canons of southern regional BBQ, and your route goes right through the heart of three of them (NC, Memphis, Texas). You are basically driving the fertile crescent of BBQ. Enjoy!
@northwesty She obviously needs to detour to Kansas City!
^^And she’ll be ending with the BEST BBQ! Yum, brisket at the County Line. 
I go there every time I visit. I know some people like other Austin BBQ places better, but I grew up on County Line BBQ.
Tell your daughter she has to check out Barton Springs. It’s a beautiful, spring-fed pool. 68 degrees year-round.