Trip ideas and suggestions

We made such trip in summer of 2017, when planned destination was Florida Keys, yet Irma made us turning around 2 days before getting there.
Lot of things to see in this country and all depends on your likes.
I liked New Orleans for lot of entertainment (what a difference just few days after seeing Phoenix) but high humidity and bugs on negative site.
I loved staying on Pensacola islands. Beautiful white sand, good weather, some historic sites to see, Blue Angels flying over almost every day and state campground with $10 a night senior pricing.
On our way back, we followed Mississippi coastal roads. Summer was over, so low traffic, while weather still was nice for stops at the beach.

Sounds like the beginning of a Grand Adventure. May I suggest a book my daughter bought me a few years ago: Road Trip USA.

This book details around a dozen east/west or north/south cross-country journeys with notes about the sights and attractions in every town, city, and village on each trip. It's a paperback, about two inches thick, and has proven worth its weight in gold.

April brings the annual Lone Star Rally to Austin and it's a great event if you're into cars, hot rods and rat rods. Oh yeah, lots of local music too :-)

Lone Star Rally

By April, I would head north instead of east.

Do a Google search for `________ tourism' and put the city, state, or area in the blank and read what the specialists have to recommend.

Sounds like you'll be doing I-10. I'd stop in Breaux Bridge LA and spend a night or 2 at Poche's Fish 'n Camp and chow down on crawfish etoufee at the local market (also called Poche's). Further east there's the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola.

On the warning side, I-10 from Lafayette to Baton Rouge is a terrible stretch of blacktop.

When in Austin, Tour the Texas Capitol buildings. Eat at the Salt Lick or Stubb's BBQ. Bring your own beer. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Walk along the river. Zilker Botanical Garden. Lots to see in Austin. Swing into Roswell on the way. Don't miss Carlsbad Caverns. Take your time, don't rush...

Do you like the heat? April is around the time many of us are heading north.

Congrats on the retirement!