I need to plan a road trip with my son. When he was 8 we left Knoxville and went white water rafting in WV, up to the air museum at Wright Pat, over to the Wright Bros house/shop, up to Kelly's island, and the last stop was the historic races at Mid-Ohio before heading home. Here are the facts:
- That 8 yo is now a 15 yo who got his permit at the end of December.
- We watch and love all the Top Gear/Grand Tour adventures.
- The trip should include on road, and maybe light off road via gravel/dirt roads.
- I'm thinking camping as the main setup with the occasional hotel as needed.
- Fishing, preferably fly, but we have bass stuff should also be included.
- And any interesting stuff along the way. Including all car stuff.
- No real direction or plans for the trip, and our online timeline is late May to early August.
- We would be leaving and returning to Knoxville.
- Vehicoe options are 2006 Tundra (can put the camper shell on) or 1950 Willys Jeep. I'm leaning towards the Jeep for the adventure, but that limits the distance we can go.
My first thought was the Blue Ridge parkway. Second thought was backroads to AR, AL, MS, or KY. Last thought was backroads to NC or SC. We've seen a lot of NC. One of my buddies lives in central SC so we could go down there and fish for big ole river catfish, or maybe gators. I also thought about a road race at Road ATL or Petit Lemans but that is in October.
I'll listen to all suggestions and thoughts.
Hi, being from Ohio I have to recommend the Hocking Hills area in the southeast part of my state, plenty of light off road opportunities. Buckeye furnace is definitely something to check out, and of course plenty of camping there to.
Re: vehicle choice, that's a tough call. The Willys would provide adventure, even if there are no mechanical challenges. Does he enjoy that kind of adventure, or will he be focused on getting moving again vs. savoring the moment? Even the most die-hard car kid will probably have a shorter attention span for that kind of thing than an adult would. The Toyota might let you see more and with the camper shell in place would let you take more risk in terms of where you go, timing, planning, etc. That could = adventure.
Seems to me that you have two good choices. Not a terrible position to be in. Enjoy!
Can you tow the jeep? That would open up more possibilities.
Just some personal Experiences and Ideas to share, Just kind of spitballing here..
My Daughter and I had a good time at East Harbor SP in Ohio on lake Erie.
Get there before the end of May and you should miss the Mayfly spawn of doom.
Great campgroind and fishing op's ( I don't fish but my daughter did/ does)
It's Near Ceadar point, You can somehow string Dragway 42/ Norwalk / Midohio or Nelson Ledges into the trip as well if you wanted too.
Pitt Race is anly ~45 minutes over the border in PA off I76 as well foe more car stuff if needed.
If you get near SW PA or Western PA in general I can throw out some more ideas for you if needed.
Enjoy!
I could be way off, but my first thought was Indy. Both the 65 and 75 routes have cool stops along the way. NCM in Bowling Green is another gearhead spot that's easy. The speedtour events are pretty fun and I could see a 15 year old really geekin' out in the paddock.
https://speedtour.net/indy/
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