I’m driving from Orlando to Charlotte, NC to visit family. I’m planning on taking the I-95, then I-26 and finally I-77.
I’m coming with my wife and kids (9,8,6). Is there anything particularly nice for them to see on the way?
Any place I should not miss?
Also, I want them to play in the snow. They’ve done here in Peru, but alway at about 5000 m.a.s.l. (16,000 ft) so some nice places in NC would be appreciated.
I’ve heard that Boone is a good place close to Charlotte.
Thanks for the help
Boone is north of Charlotte, you won’t go through there on your way. It may have snow this time of year but it’s not 100% certain. Charleston , SC is a very nice place to visit, it’s at the end of I-26 , east of I-95. It’s not far off 95.
Charleston looks promising.
I’d be going to Boone after/while in Charlotte.
There are ski areas near Boone that have tubing which is good for kids.
Charleston is really your best bet on that route, there are many historic homes to visit.
He won’t go past SOB since he heads up I-26 .
You’ll want to go to Charleston. It’s an easy day to travel from Orlando to Charleston and from Charleston to Charlotte is an easy day, too. It’s about in the middle.
If you want to do it right, exit at Point South (Exit 33) in South Carolina and take Highway 17 north to Charleston. It’s scenic and about an hour shorter than the all interstate trip. (It’s my home, I know.)
Savannah is not bad either. You’ll go through there first.
If the kids like zoos, the Columbia zoo is excellent and you’ll be very close to it.
Seconding South of the Border. Truly tacky and offensive, in the best meaning of the phrase.
I second the fact that he won’t be anywhere near South of the Border.
I think the high points have been mentioned. Once you get north of Jacksonville, you’re going to see mostly swamp until you get to Savannah. There are a lot of nice old antebellum areas there to see but probably not something the kids will care about.
Charleston would be a good side trip if you have an extra day to spare and want to spend the night there.
As mentioned the Columbia zoo is a nice place and right on the way. You might want to take the kids by the EdVenture Children’s Museum in Columbia as well. It’s a great place for kids.
And finally, just south of the Charlotte, spanning the SC/NC border is a huge theme park, Carowinds (ah crap, it’s closed until the end of March)
If we keep telling him how “wonderful” it is, maybe he will change his routing. 
The two Mast general stores (Old Boone Mercantile & The Original Store) in Boone and Valle Crucis are worth a visit; lots of neat merchandise and an old-timey atmosphere.
There is a lot of Revolutionary War history in South Carolina if you have any interest in that sort of thing. You will be passing close by the old star fort at 96, South Carolina, which was besieged during the war.
Close to Charlotte, there are some very nice facilities at King’s Mountain and Cowpens, commemorating battles that arguably turned the tide of war and led to the ultimate defeat of the British.
You don’t say when you are making the trip, but if you are interested in this stuff and have time for reading before you go, The Road to Guilford Courthouse is a good history of the Revolution in the Carolinas.
Well, I’m really going to try to have a day in Charleston.
I’d never seen snow tubing before and I already love it. That’s the kind of thing for my kids.
The Columbia zoo will be on my list as well as the Edventure museum.
Those revolutionary war places appeal to me because I teach history, I’ll have to talk the family into them
Thanks a lot.
Re: South of the Border. My wife would divorce me in a femtosecond if I took her to a Mexican place after driving 8 hours.
You can visit Cowpens and Kings Mt. in a 1 day trip from Charlotte. Also Guilford Courthouse is in Greensboro which is about 90 minutes or less from Charlotte.
Biltmore House in Asheville is not far from Charlotte, it’s the biggest house in the US , they do tours. It’s been used for movies such as Being There
http://www.biltmore.com/Oh, SOB is so much more than a ‘Mexican place’
You could reroute up I-95 to SOB (it has its own exit! Of course, there’s also a US route involved), then take US 501 to Laurinburg, NC, and US/I-74 (not sure which it’s called now) from there west to Charlotte.