Up the Atlantic coast, but where to go after Charleston, SC?

There are the smokey mountains, and the outer banks.

After Charleston, I can either head inland and go straight to the mountains or continue up the coast. If I go up the coast, are there any towns worth stopping for? Colonial? beautiful? romantic? scenic? I don't need to see beaches or tourist traps. I'm in this for the landscape photography.

You could go to Asheville, SC and the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you're into landscape photography, this would be ideal. Make sure to go to the Biltmore House in Asheville. It's a little pricy,but it's a photograper's dream.

Don't forget how beautiful Kentucky is for its caves and rolling hills. If you like landscape, it's a pip! After Asheville, you could go north.

tell me more about Kentucky please. My final stop is DC, and I need to find a scenic route from the Smokeys and up the Appalachain chain.

as you're not interested in beaches, definitely head northwest to Asheville after Charleston.

If your ultimate destination is DC, you could just follow the mountains, blue ridge parkway, then take 81 north, with a sidetrip to the Charlottesville VA area--that landscape is awesome.

If your ultimate destination is DC, then KY is a bit out of your way....however, you can easily come into KY by following I26 out of Asheville and into TN. You then follow 421 into KY. It is a fairly easy 2.5 hour drive from Asheville to southeastern KY, where you can find lots of non-touristy scenery. The mountain range along the KY/VA border is lovely, especially in the spring. You don't give your exact dates, but when the mountain laurel is blooming in late May, the mountains around here look frosted with pink and white flowers. If you enjoy ATVing, the southeastern KY mountains are becoming known for ATV trails, which offer spectacular mountain views. From the Harlan County area, which is where you would come into KY from NC/TN/VA, you could travel south to Bell Co. and hit the Cumberland Gap National Park in Middlesboro and then follow 25E up to Corbin to the Cumberland Falls State Park, another very scenic location. From Corbin, you can hop on I75 to Lexington and hit the Bluegrass/horse farm areas and then take I64 back over to WVA and head back to DC. Of course, this is assuming you have an extra 2-3 days to spend wandering around!