OK, how's this look?
Day 1 - Arrive 4pm IAD, drive to Colonial Williamsburg – stay 3 nights
Day 4 – Drive to Outer Banks, NC – stay 3 nights
Day 7 – Overnite Wilmington area on way to Charleston, SC
Day 8 – Drive to Charleston, SC – stay 4 nights
Day 12 – Drive to Savannah, GA –stay 2 nights
Day 14 – Drive to St Augustine, FL – stay 3 nights
Day 17 –Overnight on way to Knoxville, TN
Day 18 – Arrive Knoxville, TN – stay 2 nights
Day 20 – Drive to Asheville, NC – stay X nights

I now have 9 days to use for Asheville and back to Dulles thru VA. I want you all to know that I really appreciate your help with this. One other question - is it imperative to have reservations for all of these places? I can do that but sometimes I like to 'wing it'. But not if it will take me several hours to find a vacancy and then have to pay top $$ for it. I was thinking of 'winging it' after Asheville. Thanks again for all of your help.

TAW,

Now you're talking! I think your itinerary is really taking shape and becoming more fun.

As to your 9 days, how about not killing yourself on that drive from St. Augustine to Knoxville, perhaps staying in or near Atlanta for the night?

As to winging it on hotel reservations, that time of year I think you'll be fine without reservations (just make sure to google each city for the specific dates you're staying and make sure there are no huge festivals or conventions).

From Asheville, you could travel up the Blue Ridge Parkway a bit, say to the Boone/Blowing Rock area (Grandfather Mountain and the Linville Gorge would be really neat to see). Then you could head east or west on Hwy 421 to pick up either I-77 or I-81 respectively to get you up to DC through the beautiful Appalachians. If you take I-77, you would connect to I-81 anyway. 81 is a great highway.

Lots of options as you head north from Asheville as far as spending your 9 days. Of course save several of them for DC. But also consider Winston-Salem, NC (for Old Salem, just off I-40, which you reach from 421 if you go that far east into NC). And consider Charlottesville VA (which you could reach from I-81), just a beautiful place.

Now I'm getting excited.

Thanks so much! I think I will leave it like this and do what you said after Asheville. Now I just need to talk my DH into DC (he doesn't want to go there...don't ask me why).Maybe we'll stay somewhere outside (Arlington?)& I can take public transportation by myself & he can stay at motel.

Public transportation in DC is terrific. I never take a car into the city.

Don't go to Atlanta to get to Knoxville!

Then how? Looks like a straight shot up 75 thru the middle of GA then Hwy 411 into Knoxville. What do you suggest instead? At this point we're only going from point A(St Augustine) to point B (Knoxville)so we were thinking of doing the fastest route. We'll probably stay somewhere along the way if we get tired.

OK, I see it now. Mapquest shows it staying east of Atlanta and west of Augusta...Thanks

Don't go up 75. Go back up 95 to Charleston to I26 to Hendersonville. Go west from there through the park to get to Knoxville and see some of the mountains. 75 is 'way west.

TAW,

I was thinking as you were about I-75 from St. Augustine to Knoxville (it looks no more west than I-95 to I-26 is east). And I had sort of an assumption that you might not want to re-trace your steps so to speak as far as I-95 & the east coast.

HOWEVER, I think Gretchen may have the best idea, as you could stay overnight (and maybe spend a little time) in Hendersonville NC. We spent a long weekend there relaxing a few years ago and really loved it.

Oh, another thing.

cmcfong is absolutely right about using the Metro (subway) in DC. You can stay in Arlington or Alexandria and take the Metro directly to just about anything you'd want to see in DC. It's clean, inexpensive, and very efficient.

I am currently on my own Southern road trip. I have created an online journal website. You can access it at:
http://www.charlenehottel.com
I am updating most days.

I have to echo what Gretchen said -- don't use I-75 to get from St. Augustine to Knoxville. I-95 to I-26 is your best bet -- then from Hendersonville/ Asheville area you can be creative on your route to Knoxville. There are beautiful state and US highways in that area, although I-40 is pretty on that stretch as well if you're in a real hurry.

If you like casinos, Cherokee, N.C. has Harrah's. It's all slot machines and video blackjack (but with dealers! Weird.)

Your itinerary is ambitious! But it sounds like a good trip. Please include some time for R&R.

For Virginia, I recommend visiting http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/maporder.asp to order a free Map of Scenic Roads in Virginia. Hubby and I have used it a lot to get off I-81 and meander. Plus it shows wineries and some attractions. We liked both Monticello and Madison's home Montpelier ( http://www.montpelier.org/ ). And Richmond is a great city to explore if you're a history buff.

As for "retracing", I am the one that doesn't think they should go to St. augustine in the first place. I would rather come back and do a trip around FL to NOLA, for example--a perfect loop. The rest of this trip is through some very pretty country that could be enjoyed at a more leisurely pace.

I would love for you to stop by Americus, GA and Plains on your way to Knoxville from Jacksonville. We are only 45 minutes from the highway(75).
You said that you wanted to visit small town America. This area is the capital of small town flavor and is centered around the castle shaped Windsor hotel in Americus and is on the National Register. There are also chain motels near the outskirts of town.
Plan for a Sunday and you may go to a Sunday School at Maranatha Church,in Plains taught by former president Carter. He is an excellent teacher. There is also an infamous Andersonville Civil War Prison and Cemetary run by the National Park Service. It is now also a Prisoner of War Museum and is very powerful in its message. There are also cute antique stores and an ice cream parlor in the village of Andersonville.
Westville, a pre-Civil War town is also nearby. There you can buy fresh sqeezed lemonade and sausage biscuits baked on the hearth or the pot- bellied stove, depending on who is cooking that day. There is usually a potter throwing pots the old fashioned way. A blacksmith making iron objects was there the last time I went. There is always something interesting happening. Its much like Williamsburg but for a different time period. If you can stop by, I think you would find what you are looking for.
If you are looking to stretch your legs, a hike in the Little Grand Canyon is very near Westville in Lumpkin.
If you come, you will find the real small town South.

I live about 45 minutes south of Asheville, and spend much of my free time roaming the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Here are some suggestions to include on your trip:

Take the Blue Ridge Parkway south from Asheville. (Fill up your gas tank first - there are no gas stations on that stretch of the Parkway.) Follow the Parkway for roughly 45 minutes until you come to a LARGE parking area with a scenic view called Graveyard Fields. Get out, and stretch your legs on the trails. Facing the fields below, there are two trails. Take the one that is on your right, with stone steps and a hand railing. It will lead you through a small forest of giant mountain rhodendrons that will tower over your heads. Eventually, you will cross a sweet little stream. Follow the trails to your right, and you will come to wooden steps that will take you down to the bottom of a glorious waterfall. It's only about one half mile from the parking lot, and is beautiful. You can roam all over the area, and cool your feet in the stream.

Also, if you go North on the Parkway from Asheville, you will eventually come to Mount Mitchell State Park. Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi, and the view from the top is spectacular. There's a gift shop, small museum worth seeing, and a trail that goes steeply up to a stone tower on the peak which you can climb and enjoy a 360 degree view of the mountains.

Also, if you'd like to do something really unique on your trip, consider gem hunting! This area is great for that sort of thing.

There is a group called M.A.G.M.A. (Mountain Area Gem and Mineral Association) that is out of Leicester. N.C. (right outside of Asheville) that takes fieldtrips almost every weekend of the year. Their members are incredibly friendly, and welcome newcomers with open arms. Most of their trips are free, except for gas and food. Sometimes mine owners charge a small fee to enter their property and collect, but other times the visits are free.

You can find out more about them and contact their leader through their web site, which is www.wncrocks.com and you can also go to their discussion board at www.dirtyrockhounds.com

They do not charge membership fees, have regular meetings or hidden costs. All you have to do is send them your e-mail address and ask to be a member. You can send that info to [email protected] and he will sign you up. Then, you'll receive regular updates about upcoming trips.

A word to the wise: Be prepared to get dirty. Gem hunting is not a nice, clean business. But, your efforts can pay off handsomely. My cabin's interior is starting to look like a museum. Club members will graciously help "newbies" out, giving them advice, loaning them tools, showing them how it is done, what to look for and things like that.

Might be worth considering. You could end up taking home some very unusual, unique souvenirs of your visit.

Hi....just thought of another fantastic place you might want to see on your roadtrip, since you mentioned the Appalachian Trail.

There is a little, out-of-the-way place known as Grayson Highlands in southern Virginia. It is a state park, and features some of the most beautiful stretches of the AT. What makes it incredibly unique is that on certain parts of the trail, you may encounter small herds of wild ponies grazing and roaming around. In the spring, you may even see little foals prancing around.

They are used to people being in their home, and you can usually get up pretty close to them for photo opportunities. The area is nicknamed "The Swiss Alps of the Southeast", and views from the trail are awesome. The area is dotted with massive rock outcroppings reminiscent of the old west.

The area where the horses roam is easy to get to, requires only moderately strenuous hiking for a very short distance, then levels out. The Rhododendron Loop Trail is spectacular. You can pick up a free trail map at the Ranger Station as you enter the park. There is a small fee for parking during day visits, or you can camp there.

Grayson Highlands State Park is just about a half hour drive from Ashe County, North Carolina.

For more information, you might want to check out this link:

http://www.dcr.state.va.us/parks/graysonh.htm

Sorry to keep bombarding you with information on this post, but here's something else to consider in your travels.

Most of the map and travel direction web sites are still not updated about this. Interstate 26 has recently been completed from Asheville into Tennessee, and links up with Interstate 81. (The signs still say "Future 26", but the road is complete...and pretty.)

81 North is WAY more beautiful scenery-wise than I-95 up to Washington from North Carolina.

If you are heading north from Knoxville instead of Asheville, take 81 North for a pleasant ride with the mountains of West Virginia off in the distance on one side and the mountains of southern Virginia on the other. Then catch Route 66 East over to the Beltway, and you'll be in D.C. in no time.

Stevebarr, you are a gold mine of information. Welcome to the board. I have lived in NC off and on (on for the last thirty years) all my life, and I learned some new stuff from you. thanks for posting.

If you decide to travel the Blue Ridge Parkway any...Near the NC/Va. border is a little place called Villa Appalachia Winery (Down the road from Chateau Morrisette). Italian varietlas & a great place to stop for lunch. Va. & NC both have some pretty good wines (& some bad ones as well). Check www.virginiawines.org & www.ncwine.org.

Besides gas stations, there aren't very many rest stops (toilets) either along some parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway as I found out the hard way. But it's definitely worth the scenic drive.