Suggestions for I81 from TN to PA Roadtrip?
 

My family has decided to take a roadtrip from central AL to Williamsport PA in July. The goal is to see where the Little League World Series is played as we are base/softball fans & players. We plan to take our time and explore along the way. According to Yahoo Maps we will be travelling I81 for a LONG time and with a 10 year old boy and 12 year old girl we need places to see and things to do along the way!! We don't mind venturing off the I81 course as we find interstate driving rather boring, but want to make sure we do it in the right places. Any suggestions? Thanks!

In Virginia, both the Luray Caverns and the Natural Bridge are worth seeing, and right off I-81. Of course there are the inevitable gift shops which you can breeze through...

Gettysburg PA will be remembering the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War... the new Visitor Center is great. About a half hour off I-81.

I agree with wrongfoot about the places in VA. There is a long part of Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway that basically parallels 81. This would be a much slower pace, but through the national park with opportunities to pull off and take a hike or stop at a visitor's center. Lots of tame deer along the way.

All good suggestions from wrongfoot and emalloy. Come as far as Natural Bridge, see it and then if you have lots of time, take the back road up to Rt. 501 to connect to the Blue Ridge Pkwy.
What else are you going to see in Central Pennsylvania? I graduated from college in Williamsport and know the area well.
If you wanted to go farther, you could visit PA's Grand Canyon west of Wellsboro.

I suggest a DVD player!!
I81 is a great road to get "there" but it is among the most monotonous I know, rivalled only by I26 between Columbia and CVharleston!!

Have you looked at I85 to Charlotte, up I77 to I81?

Thank you all for the replies! We really haven't looked at any alternate routes or made any concrete plans for anything yet...this trip was actually more of a **thinking out loud** moment that turned into a vacation plan in about 10 minutes lol. I was kind of kicking myself at first but the more I hear (read) the better it sounds! I think I will start a list of all suggestions and then go around the dinner table allowing everyone to choose a couple of ideas and make it a team effort! We love; history, sports, nature, architecture, art, good food...and are willing to try most anything at least once so please keep the ideas coming ! I generally tend to get so caught up in the planning & research phase I am "over it" by the time we get in the car so I thought I would try asking those of you that have been there and done that! Again..Thank You