Help with route for 1st long trip

I understand your need to plan because, to me, that's half the fun of the trip. Anticipation! Our first retirement trip we chose about 4 or 5 "must see stops" and the rest was free form with no reservations. After lunch we have a good idea of where we will be stopping. The navigator looks at a campground app or book to see what's available in the area. We sometimes call but usually not. If it's not a holiday we don't make reservations. One time we were taking a coastal route and after lunch I was concerned about availability and made reservations for the night. The campground was just a big parking lot that looked like an old drive-in movie parking lot. We found another campground in the beach city that had availability and cancelled the first one.

Also, stop at each state line rest-stop/tourism bureau. They have lots of help and brochures for you to get more ideas. They're very helpful.