Trip to America - Washington DC and Nashville

That's quite a drive m8, must be 700 miles or so. If you hear any banjo music en route i'd put my foot down if I were you. GL.

my tip is to drive on the right side of the road.

stayed in washington dc in september for 2 nights before heading down maryland /carolinas coast, only to bump into hurricane matthew., ended up getting diverted to augusta, goergia before flying back from charlotte ,north carolina( that bit was scheduled ) .
we went to white house first thing on sunday morning for ook about then on to memorials ( lincoln, martin luther king,korean, vietnam  etc). all worth a look, korean one particularly haunting. lincoln memorial  was packed , this was 10am on a sunday. then headed to smithsonian  museums, again busy but we worth a look.
we had walk up to georgetown ( gentrified area) nice bars restaurants, also scene of exorcist, where priest falls down stairs.. be careful if walking about as number of holes in pavements before get to top of stairs and also they are very steep.

Smithsonian in Washington a must see. Lots to see by way of memorials etc in vicinity of the White House. Just keep your eyes peeled though, if you know what I mean.

Thanks for the tips so far (particularly the banjo one!).

Cooperman – yes, it is a fair distance but we plan to do it over a few days driving through the Blue Ridge parkway/ Appelachian trail and stopping at a couple of towns en-route.

Morpteh – Did you actually get to the coast? The reason that I ask is that on the way back we may divert over to the North Carolina/ Virginia coast line for a couple of days so am looking for any recommendations over that way.

Cooperman , remember some always fall on stony ground.

gin, yes, we stayed ( reverse south to north )  in charleston, wilmington, beaufort, kill devil hills ( where wright bros flight was )  and chincoteque.
was in charlestonwhere got evacuated, and went to augusta( ok , nothing flash at all )
all were nice, charleston busy, vibrant as was wilmington . kill devil hills was commercial and not all was expecting. very warm too. beaufort ( there are 2 along coast ) was quiet but very nice( nice bars/ restaurants).
chincoteaque bit remote until get there, and route to assateague island ( wild horses etc ) mossies rife though on island.

Western North Carolina is worth a look. Asheville for groovy shops, music, the Biltmore Mansion and the road to Lake Lure. Real America, unspoilt and scenic

Sorry for the delay in replying – busy weekend!

Morpteh – thanks for those suggestions. We will probably aim for the more northern end as we will be aiming back to DC and we really just want to see a bit of the coast. Beufort sounds interesting – quiet with good bars/restaurants sounds good to me! Although we will have our 15 year old daughter with us so bars won’t really be on the agenda.

Life Lucky – Have had a look at Asheville and it looks very interesting – I think we will definitely stop there (we can go from Nashville to Asheville!). Do you think the Biltmore estate is worth visiting? Thanks for the tip.

gin, this is where we stayed. http://pecantree.com/  . the restaurants are nice can sit out and face estuary on most of them.
nb- there are 2 beauforts on the coast think this is the smaller one and more northly.
it would still be a canny way back to washington dc from here tbh, would need another stop minimum. almost certainly 2 ( took us 2 ) .

IMHO American cities are often a disappointment. The first sight of the downtown skyline is in many cases the highlight but Asheville and the surrounding towns and hamlets are famous as resorts set on the first high ground as you move north out of Georgia and South Carolina. The rich would spend summers there in the cooler air. Fitzgerald mentions it in the Great Gatsby. The finest hotel is the Grove Park Inn, delightful location, amazing history. The Biltmore Mansion is the largest private home in the USA, costs about $50 to visit so its only really for house and garden fans. There are a few stunning viewpoints in the area incl. Ceasar's Head and Chimney Rock.

PS the Grove Park Inn is worth a visit even if just for a drink. Its very relaxed and welcoming, the only conditions are good behaviour and decent clothes

Morpteh – looks a nice place. As it is still a fair way back to DC, we may look further north. I am just starting to investigate the Outer Banks, I know you have already said that Kill Devil Hills was commercial – were the surrounding areas similar?

Life Lucky – Asheville is now firmly on the agenda. It looks like there are plenty of things to do / lookouts etc in the surrounding National forests. You mentioned Lake Lure earlier – would you say it’s worth a visit? Going for a drink at the Grove Park Inn sound nice – however as I mentioned earlier we are travelling with our 15 year old daughter so not sure how easy it will be to take her places where alcohol is sold. I understand that the Americans are pretty strict with that sort of thing?

gin, yes, have to say was surprised in disappointing way. beach was nice though and great sunrise, pelicans flying back and forward made great shots. be very hot too, we were at wright bros museum end of sept/early oct and was in 80s then 
Didnt bother with outer banks( cape hatteras etc ) as had prebooked accommodation further down coast ( beaufort,wilmington,charleston,savannah) and was wary that ferries could be cancelled etc ( werent far wrong as hurricane matthew was just around corner ) .

Ok, thanks again for taking the time to post.

np, just ask away