Hi Bertorelli! It looks like you may have already figured this out based on the advice you've received but let me reiterate: I've lived in Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville, TN (currently live in Knoxville) and trust me on this - if you want to see Memphis and Nashville (and I highly recommend those two cities), you can most definitely skip Chattanooga and even Knoxville - not much to see here unless you are making a pass through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Enjoy!

Hi, Becca

Our choice for Knowville or Chattanooga was based on the fact that we needed a place to sleep.
We don't want to travel too many miles a day so a sleepover in one of those 2 was planned.

And thanks Skai for the advice!
We will make reservations for the 4th of july. ;-)
And we don't mind if that's a Super8 or Motel6.

That should be KnoXville :)

I don't want to throw a damper on your Travel Party - but I can see the makings of getting very Road Weary through it all. And I've travelled Alot! in my day.

If you don't mind me asking - what is it you want to accomplish throughout your trip?

Are there specific Sights that interest you? Museums? Old Towns? Amusement Parks? Clothing Outlets? Music? Art? Scenery? Mountains, Beaches, Farmlands?

Make a LIST of all the things that interest you on an everyday basis. For instance, I enjoy visiting quaint towns and antique shops - cause I'm an artist and a collector...This makes my trip more focused on my personal likes.

Thanks for listening.

Juliana

Juliana,

We want to take a bit of everything.
A museum every now and then.
A day or two at the beach.
Music in Nashville and New Orleans.
The occasional Shopping Mall (my wife would kill me if we skipped those ;-) )
Graceland, and one of the parks when we're in Orlando.

We just want to see a lot.
This is why we're early in planning this vacation.
We can both drive so that's not a problem.

Thanks for your reaction.

Bert

Hi,
I'm in a travel related industry, but before trying to give you some ideas, let me know: any kids? And if so how many? How are your traveling?

Bertorelli, maybe you are different from us, but over the years I've learned one thing about our driving trips. We may have only a 3 or 4 hour drive scheduled for a day and think that way we can stop along the way and do things. But invariably when we get to a place that requires a decision -- should we stop or not stop? -- it seems we are always anxious to get to the next destination, so we keep going. We find ourselves much more open to visiting places and exploring on a day when we are staying at the same place that night. When driving to the next destination, we find it hard to want to stop and explore.

Likewise we think maybe we can stay in a city for the morning and explore and not leave until after lunch since we don't have far to go. But by the time we finish breakfast, it seems we're always anxious to get going to the next spot, so we seem to cut short exploring the area where we only spent one night.

This thread is relevant:

Author: Bertorelli
Date: 10/31/2007, 08:01 am
Hi,

Next year we're visiting the US and we will be over there at july 4th.

I made a rough planning and as it looks now we will be in or around New Orleans that day.

What can we expect?
And how long in advance do we have to make reservations for our hotelroom?

Greetings

Bert & Hilda



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Author: MrRip
Date: 10/31/2007, 08:27 am
It will be hot and humid in July. There will be some good summer deals on hotel rooms so no need to rush.



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Author: uptowngirl2418
Date: 10/31/2007, 09:01 am
Essence Music Festival is July 4, 5, & 6 at the Superdome. Make hotel reservations early. It will be very crowded.
Most places will have minimum stay requirements to get a lower rate.



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Author: Bertorelli
Date: 10/31/2007, 09:35 am
We are planning to be there 3 nights.



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Author: Dan
Date: 11/01/2007, 03:53 pm
Agree. Make reservations soon. July 4 weekend is VERY busy in New Orleans but the prices aren't nearly as bad as, say, fall or spring.

Fireworks on the river will start at 9pm on the 4th.



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Author: bkluvsNola
Date: 11/01/2007, 11:03 pm
New Orleans is a great place to spend July 4th. Go Fourth on the River is pretty nice, and if the Essence Fest interests you, you might want to get tickets as they can have some pretty good performances.

As far as hotels are concerned, you mentioned New Orleans during Essence, so book that early. Orlando is always crowded during the summer, because that's when kids have summer vacation. The Florida Panhandle's high season is in the summer as well (unlike South Florida), so take that into consideration when booking hotels. I'm not sure about the rest of the South, maybe others can chime in.