Hi @wayne — that’s out of our line of expertise! We’ll ask around for you, and hopefully the Community will unearth some treasures


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Hi Wayne! I agree with Drew above.
D.C. of course is full of free monuments and museums packed into a small area.
Heading south into Virginia you can meander a bit through that huge state. The Blue Ridge Parkway begins perhaps around 100 miles from the D.C. metro area with Shenandoah National Park, that for me was an incredible collection of vistas and ridgeline driving! There is a cost for driving through the park. If you want, you can get off the Parkway for a bit and head east to Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home), Montpelier, or Monticello- all displays of Virginia colonial estates. Many of the towns in Virginia have battlefields, old historic homes, antique shops, etc. all with a colonial feel.
You can get back on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head south to the Smokies, as we call them, which is the grouping of the highest mountains in the East (>6,000 ft) and absolutely breathtaking! Again, mountain driving and exploration is best for summer, with cool temps and blue skies on the ridge line.
Note: all along the Appalachian Mountain chain there are trails and day hikes that you make appreciate buying a local trail book/map and catching some off-road views.
Then either head to Nashville, TN (if you are a music fan) or south to Georgia, my home state. There, head to Atlanta, home of the World of Coke museum, Georgia Aquarium (the world’s largest), The Underground (a collection of shops, restaurants in an old train station, or a Braves baseball game. Once you have sufficient of Hotlanta, make the 4 hr drive to Savannah, GA. Here, with its squares, Riverfront, and Live Oak trees you get a sense of the old Deep South, even from colonial days when the first colonists came.
Now you are at the Georgia coast, the longest strip,100 miles, of saltwater marshland in the U.S. Drive south from Savannah through small fishing towns, old Revolutionary and Civil War forts to dozens of barrier islands that have great fresh seafood and sunny beaches. St. Simons, Jekyll, and Amelia Island(in Florida) are my favorites.
South from here you can travel A1A, the historic Florida highway, or Interstate 95, which stretches all the way along the East Coast, from D.C. to Miami. The interstates, or motorways as you know them, do not offer a lot of views, right? Now, you may be heading to Orlando for Disney, then south of Orlando go south on Interstate 75, which will loop you down through the Everglades Swamp and into Miami. If you are staying away from Disney,etc. head to the Space Coast, home of NASA and the space shuttles. After this continue on to Miami, with its beaches and sunshine. (I know a few families that live there if you want a home-stay with welcoming folks.)
If you want to take an extra few days, take a round-trip to Key West on Highway 1, with its treasure museum, delicious food, and the Sunset Celebration each evening. The drive is half the joy.
Hahaha, well, I hope this helps! I have a lot of ideas and your holiday is limited. So, enjoy what time you have. But, the small towns give the best view of the South and Deep South. God bless!

Some great suggestions there. I used to live in Virginia and work in DC–all the things mentioned are worth seeing. My husband and I drove down part of the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park Virginia–just beautiful. I highly recommend Charlottesville, VA as it’s a lovely town and there are several attractions nearby including Monticello.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina have great beaches–I used to go to Nags Head and nearby towns as a child and have fond memories of summer holidays there.

If you want to spend any time in South Carolina, Charleston is a popular historic destination and Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach are quintessential American beach vacation areas–it all depends on what you’re after. Savannah, GA has always been on my list to visit