Thanks for all the great ideas. As of now, but that's a long way off, we're leaning toward either Charleston, SC or the state of Louisiana somewhere. The southwest and western areas are appealing, but seem to daunting. We only like to drive about 3 hours a day. State and COE are the parks we prefer, but an occasional county or municipal park can work. Lake city FL which to us, is the gateway to central FL, is about the same distance for us as to Charleston, but Lake City seems farther.
Palmetto Island SP, LA is appealing, as we were there before and really liked it, but that time of year LA and Texas seem to be very storm intense. But another factor is the park cost. SC state parks seem to range from $47 to $60 a night, on the coast. While Palmetto Island, for example is $28 and a geezer pass is reported to get you 50% off of that. Say that times 16 nights? That could buy you a lot of adult beverages! Florida panhandle has been visited to many time recently and we need a break.
Purpose is to drive from the cold weather of the midwest into sunshine. Beach not required.
Thanks all.