East Coast Trip
 

In June 08 we will travel down the East Coast with our 4 year old. Any advice on sights to see and cities to stop along the way would be great. We start in Williamsburg, VA and go to Myrtle Beach, SC and then back up to Winston Salem, NC (area).
Thanks

Sounds like a neat trip you've planned! I'll assume you're just interested in sights/attractions en route; that is, you know what you need to know about Myrtle Beach and Winston-Salem.

From Williamsburg to MB, I'd probably just drive straight through--nothing much of interest along I-95. Unless you get off I-95 and onto I-40 (East) below Rocky Mount. Then you have a pretty neat option.

You can take I-40 to Wilmington, which has a neat waterfront area (along the Cape Fear River), including something your 4 y/o may like--a tour of the WWII-era battleship, USS North Carolina.

Then either take 17 down to MB or another detour, to Fort Fisher (below Wrightsville, Carolina, & Kure Beaches). There is an aquarium at Fort Fisher. But the really cool thing is to take the car ferry over to Southport. It's different, it's about half an hour, and it's free. Southport is a neat little town too, and about 1.5 to 2 hours on to MB.

http://www.ncdot.org/transit/ferry/r.../route008.html

You probably know what you want to do in MB, so I'll skip that.

Heading back to Winston-Salem from MB, you have options. If you're into pottery at all, you could swing through the Seagrove NC area as you go north on 220:

http://www.ncpotterycenter.com/visitor.htm

A little more conventional, you'll be passing beside the NC Zoo (just south of Ashboro) as you go north on 220:

http://www.nczoo.org/

Have a great trip!

Beach_dweller's recommendations are right on target. The aquarium is a nice side stop (as is Fort Fisher just north of the aquarium, if you go that way), and the ferry is wonderful. The Battleship might be a bit much for your little one (it was for my almost-five-year-old, but my nearly-eight-year-old loved the three hours we spent there).

On the drive back, the pottery area and Zoo both merit stops - and once you get to Winston-Salem, they have a great children's museum and SciWorks for your kiddo.

Thank you both very much. Those are great tips. I am going to look into taking I-40, that sounds really nice. And also thanks for the info in Winston Salem. We're going to stay with a friend there while my husband attends a conference in Durham. So any tips for that whole research triangle area are helpful.

Winston-Salem was home for us for about 15 years. Great little city. In addition to travelhappyfamily's good suggestions, here's a few more possibilities in the area. Near downtown is Old Salem, a very well-preserved original settlement dating back to the mid-18th century:

http://www.oldsalem.org/

Also, there's a neat little mountain about 20 minutes north of W/S, called Pilot Mountain--very unique, easy drive to the top, great trails and views up there.

http://www.stateparks.com/pilot_mountain.html