Need help in planning a mid Sept
2 week trip for 2 middle aged adults east of the Mississipi. Have been to Gatlinburg, DC and all of Florida but thats about it. Seen everything out west,so we are looking for unique museums, awesome historical sites, train rides, great scenery, or anything that shouldn't be missed before we die. Hubby won't go to New York.
Thank you SO MUCH.

What about Savannah and Charleston? Lots of incredible history! And Food!

I would suggest a combination of mountains and flatlands -- one week in each, or your choice of the time spent. Since you have been to the major touristy part of the Smokies, you might think about the mountains of north Georgia as a less-visited but beautiful area. The suggestion of Savannah and/or Charleston would be ideal for the flatlands portion.

A surprisingly good museum, especially for WWII buffs, is the 8th Air Force Museum just off I-95 near Brunswick, GA. You will find some very good museums in Atlanta.

Of course, the Civil War battlefields in Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas all give you a good piece of history. Since you can't possibly visit all the great spots east of the Mississippi, you should probably narrow your search to at least a smaller region such as southeast, Atlantic coast, upper Piedmont, northeast, and other similar areas.
Good luck.

Mid Sept is a great time to visit New England. By unique museums do you mean something like the Farnsworth in Rockland ME that features Maine artists or more like the Cole Transportation Museum in Bangor ME? Canterbury Shaker Village in NH has a great tour. About an hour away is Portsmouth's famous Strawbery Banke Historic Area. The weather is frequently still warm enough to enjoy boat rides. There are short train rides such as the one from Weirs Beach on Lake Winnipesaukee or North Conway. There's lots of great scenery in New England. BTW I had to carefully negotiate a trip to NYC with DH to see the Rockettes Christmas special but the time we were invited on a special tugboat tour of NY harbor, my husband couldn't get there fast enough. Does your husband have some special interests? DH can drive miles for an antique tractor show.

Philadelphia!

Chicago.

Thank you so much, you have given me days of work to research these
suggestions. Can't wait to get started.

Gulf Shores, Alabama on the Alabama Gulf Coast is a nice spot. White sand beaches and scenic hiking trails...here's a web site with more info: www.thebeachiscalling.org.

It seems like everyone talks about east of the Mississippi or west of the Mississippi. Have you ever considered a trip north of the Mississippi? Tour the headwaters at Lake Itasca, see the old growth forest there and learn of its importance and what is being done to return it to what it was before white man trod upon its soil. Make a trip up through Hibbing to Virginia and gasp at the open pit iron mines, making a stop in Chisolm to read and experience the land and people who mined the iron ore. Continue on to Ely and learn about the wolves that inhabit these forests and of the fur traders who traveled these waters in small canoes. Father on to the east and south you will come upon the vast inland ocean called Lake Superior. Enjoy the scenic drive along this lakeshore back toward Duluth, the shipping terminus for all the iron ore and a great deal of the grain grown on the Great Plains on its way east or even on across the Atlantic. Spend some time at Canal Park watching the ocean going ships pass under the aerial lift bridge.

1) West Virginia

2) southeastern Virginia, visit Colonial Williamsburg. Yorktown. Civil War sites. Go to the beach and then down to Kitty Hawk, NC.

There is a "6 places to go before you die that you haven't gone to yet" thread in the Asia forum. I should list one of my six: Gettysburg.

Washington, DC, of course.

There would be live horse racing at Colonial downs, mid to late September. This is in the Williamsburg region of Virginia.

An absolutely gorgeous area that is often missed is northern Michigan. Mid-Sept. would be an amazing time to see it.

Fly into Chicago, spend a few days. Are you a football fan at all? Football season in the midwest is a treasure.

Drive up the coast of western Michigan. Saugatuck is a great artist community.

You have to see Sleeping Bear Dunes before you die. It is an amazing wall of sand.

Keep going to Traverse City. The Old Mission Peninsula feels just California wine country complete with amazing wineries.

Head over to Petoskey/Harbor Springs area. Then go over to Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island.

Then head to the Upper Peninsula for all sorts of nature and your train.

The unique museums in Chicago, awesome historical sites would be the old lighthouses and all of Mackinac Island including the fort, and great scenery is everywhere!

I think there are some trains in the area, but you can catch the big one in Ste. Sault Marie, which is about a 45 minute drive north of Mackinaw City:

http://hunts-upguide.com/sault_ste__...now_train.html

And if you are in the U.P. anyway, there are some wonderful waterfalls to visit and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with all sorts of boat rides. There is also a glass bottom shipwreck tour in that area as well.

http://www.nps.gov/piro/