Thanks For Initial Input
Thanks for the input guys and gals. EFINREF asked how long I plan to ride? Well, that's tough to say. Last May and June I was on the road for six weeks and covered 6700 miles. My plan is to get as much info about sites to see and then sit down with my AAA rep and plan the trip. I'll travel most of the way alone; however, my nephew and niece will accompany me on a short 1 wk trip on the Blue Ridge in April.
Last May I rode the Blue Ridge from start to finish, I ended up in Front Royal, Va. From there I rode to Ohio, via the twisty they call W. VA.

Got tired after 400 miles of following the snakes back and overnighted in a motel. Telephoned a niece and told her I would not be in that evening and that I was about an hour away. She said, "good thing Uncle Mike, a tornado is going through our town at the present." She called back about 2 hrs later and told me that her vehicle had all the glass broken, the house siding was shredded and the pool cover was swiss cheese. I told her that I would see her on my next trip north because I knew she would be too busy to entertain a guest. The next day I rode to Almont, MI to visit her dad, my 5th oldest brother, and remained there about a week.
I've made the trip from MI to Upstate NY, near Watertown, via Canada, in a day without too many problems. However, going the southern route under Lake Erie I have to overnight before reaching my nephew's house. We rode to Americade in Lake George, NY and a few other spots locally. After a week, I headed to a nephew's horse farm in PA. I normally try to plan my rides to reach a rest stop where I don't have to pay for a room.
Unfortunately, when I head West my free rest stops come to an end. This time I'm going to pack a light sleeping bag just in case I get too tired to make the next town.
I'm retired and disabled, I can't walk very well but I like to ride. Normally I try to budget about $100.00 a day: gas = 3 fillups; motels $30 to $60.00 and at least one hot meal a day. I don't get upset when I get lost and I wear clean clothes every day, except for trousers. I've met some pretty amazing folks on the road, some I helped out and others have bought me lunch (the GI Vet thing). In Ga, Tn, Al, SC, NC, Va, W.Va folks have gone out of their way to thank me for my military service. When I get home from a long trip the first thing I do is start planning on how to pay-off my credit cards bill.

Thanks again for the input, I'll keep checking the posts. T-Rex