October trip - where to go?
 

We have an unexpected opportunity to take a trip from October 14 - 19. I am looking for suggestions and I'm open to almost anything, but probably don't want to take a city trip this time. We will be flying out of North Carolina and will be renting a car. We like driving tours and have no problems with moving on to a different place every night or two. Priorities are beautiful scenery and great food.

To limit it a little more, we probably don't want to do the Cailifornia coast from SF to Santa Barbara or the Santa Fe to Taos area as we have done both of those quite recently - and loved both of them.

Any suggestions? Thank you!

Aren't the leaves changing in New England? I don't think you can beat that for scenery.

Boston, Seattle, Bermuda (you can't rent a car there and need a passport).

Jackson N.Hampshire in the White mountains.Lovely !!!!!

Mid October will be a little late for foliage in Northern New England, but the Berkshires in Mass should still be scenic, as would the Litchfield hills of Ct.

New Orleans is quite lovely in October.

A driving vacation for a week? The SW USA!

Does a "week" include the weekends so it's more like 9-10 days? If so, this is how I'd spend a week driving vacation -

Fly to Phoenix. Go to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taleisin West in Scottsdale. Drive on to Sedona.
Nights 1 and 2 in Sedona.
Drive to the Grand Canyon.
Night 3 (and maybe 4) at the Grand Canyon.
Drive to Chinle AZ via Winslow and quick stops at Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest NP.
Night 4 in Chinle
Visit Canyon de Chelley via a private tour (recommendation available). Drive to Durango past Shiprock and Four Corners.
Night 5 in Durango.
Visit Mesa Verde NP (Day6).
Optional Night 6 in Durando to give you time to take the Durango-Silverton railroad (Day 7).
Be sure to take a quick drive up to Ouray and see America's Little Switzerland.
Stay in Durango another night or drive to Alamosa.
Let's see, we are at Day 8 - stop by Great Sand Dunes NP and drive up to Colorado Springs
Spend night 8 in the Denver area.
Day 9 - fly home

That's what I'd do. That's pretty much my favorite part of our country. I'd probably squeeze in a night in Lake City (just because I've never been and a family member highly recommends it) and I'd probably try to squeeze in a 4WD jeep tour that crosses over the mountains via passes to see the backcountry (in and around Durango/Ouray/etc)

Total = about 16 hours of driving with the segments not being more than about 3 hours. Map it on google maps to see the route.

If CO isn't of interest then I'd drive south from Durango across the high desert to Taos/Santa Fe and then fly out of Albuquerque, NM.

I would make a loop from New England around through Lake Placid and down along the Hudson and back... Fall in the Northeast can be stunning... lots of villages, festivals, wineries, amazing food, and good driving... you can pick a smaller city for flights and stop at will... have fun

Also consider the Rockies in Colorado. Lots of choices. Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park, Mesa Verde-Durango-Silverton area. Weather permitting of course
OR
Northern California Coast a nice tour would start in San Francisco, a day or so in Sonoma or Napa areas, thence to Mendocino and Fort Bragg, back south along the coast past Fort Ross, Bodega Bay and Point Reyes Nat. Seashore.
OR (my personal pick)
Pacific Northwest, start and end in Portland and visit northern and central OR coast, the OR wine region around McMinnville, the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens.

Nola or the Keys