What to do & see in cities along I-75, I-77

[bobliocatt]

I'll be driving up to Michigan to visit friends between July 2-13. I'm planning to stop and do breif photo tours several rarely seen cities on the forum. They include:

-Chattanooga

-Knoxville

-Lexington

-Toledo

-Ann Arbor

-Battle Creek

-Kalamazoo

-Grand Rapids

-Lansing

-Cleveland

-Pittsburgh

-Charleston, WV

-Winston-Salem

-Charlotte (not rarely seen, but i would like to check it out)

-Columbia

Does anyone know about any urban neighborhoods or vibrant areas of downtown, in these cities that I should try get pics of on my way through these towns? I'm also planning to spend a little time in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dayton & Detroit, but i don't plan to post any pics, since threads on these towns are posted often.

[Ivory Tower]

In Chattanooga, go up to Ruby Falls on the mountain.

You can get some great aerial pics of downtown from up there.

In Lexington, you can't miss all the horse farms.

[Neo]

While in Charlotte you absolutely must drive down Tryon through downtown. ;-)

[wolfdawg54]

Lookout mountain in Chattanoga is a great place to see.

[BrandonTO416]

Chattanooga has one of the most interesting downtowns for any city under 1 million, its worth a ride on the free electric bus shuttle that comes every 10 minutes like a bus version of LRT.

Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga has Ruby Falls, as well as Rock City Gardens with a great view. Point Park also has a great view of the valley and city - it costs very little to get in.

Its a must stop on any tour up I-75.

[teshadoh]

If you want to get anything to eat around Macon, Nu-Way hot dogs is worth it. Also it's always good to know that Tifton, GA has a Starbucks on the freeway. But otherwise, check everything out along your trip that you have time to. I'm never dissapointed in whatever city or town I visit, except for Dothan, AL - I didn't understand that town.

Columbia, SC is a cool town, if you visit downtown continue driving through the USC campus & go down Green St to Five Points - it's the city's eclectic urban shopping area. Charlotte will be an easy city to see, you can take the downtown loop & see plenty, exit at Tryon as someone mentioned - it's the downtown spine. As for suburbs, Davidson north of Charlotte is a rather nice example of a suburb integrating urbanist & smart growth designs. Don't stop in Rock Hill, SC.

[sunshine]

Gainesville, Florida.

Ocala, Florida.

[Neo]

Don't stop in Rock Hill, SC.

I could say the same thing about Macon, LOL! My ex-wife's family lives there and I've been there quite a few times, would never recommend it to anyone traveling by as a stop. Though there was a good BBQ joint there, but I forgot the name of it. White building with bars on the windows and doors.

[bobliocatt]

Gainesville, Florida.

Ocala, Florida.

I'll bypass these cities, because I'll be taking I-10, from Jax, to I-75 on the way up. I did a brief tour of Macon last year, so I'm going to bypass it, too get to Atlanta late Friday night (July 2nd). That way I can start fresh, with the first tour coming in Chattanooga.

[Cotuit]

I regret not making the push down to Chattanooga when I was in Tennessee a few years back. I'm looking forward to your tour!

[Brickell]

I did a day trip into Knoxville a couple months ago. It's a got a decent core, with some nice historical structures. There are free trolley busses that give you a tour of downtown. They are trying oh so hard to make downtown a destination. I was quite suprised actually. I give it a B-.

[teshadoh]

I could say the same thing about Macon, LOL! My ex-wife's family lives there and I've been there quite a few times, would never recommend it to anyone traveling by as a stop. Though there was a good BBQ joint there, but I forgot the name of it. White building with bars on the windows and doors.

I didn't say there was anything else in Macon did I ? In fact, Nu-Way hot dogs have stores off of 75 & the bypass at several locations.

[Neo]

I didn't say there was anything else in Macon did I ? In fact, Nu-Way hot dogs have stores off of 75 & the bypass at several locations.

[monsoon]