Camping on the east coast - Event Date: 28 Jul 2018 - 10 Aug 2018

I would think a 3 day or more stop in Wash D.C. / smithsonian is almost on the way, then maybe a couple days in gettysberg. Ya want history, ya cant beat those 2 places

Skyline Drive and/or the Blue Ridge Parkway. Consider a trip through the Smokies with a stop in Cherokee for the "Unto These Hills" outdoor pageant. If you want to stick closer to the coast, consider a stop in Manteo, NC for the Lost Colony outdoor pageant.

4 Mile Creek State Park (NY), right on L. Ontario is a perfect base camp for the Niagara Falls area.  On a clear night you may see the lights of Toronto Canada across 30 odd miles of lake.  Less than 20 miles from the falls.  Like someone else on this thread said - park your TV near the falls on the American side and walk over Rainbow Bridge to Canada (remember your passport).  Canada and the bridge have the best views and is an easy walk.  Other places to visit nearby:  Goat Island (American side), Welland Canal and Niagara on the Lake (Canadian side).  Traffic across any of the bridges to/from Canada is usually bad.  The Welland Canal is where the big lake freighters and even military ships are seen bypassing the falls on their way to/from Lake Ontario and Erie and the lakes above.  Cool stuff watching huge ships rise or lower as they navigate the numerous locks between the lakes.

We spent three weeks in September/October 2017 traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway Motor Road all the way from Great Smoky Mountains National Park up to Shenandoah National Park - 469 miles plus 105 miles on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah NP. The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most amazing trips we've ever taken, because the whole Parkway is a designated scenic byway with no resorts, towns, etc. You have to hop off to go into town. A couple of lodges, museums, old farmsteads, waterfalls, caves. The vista views are breathtaking and the speed limit a slow-paced 45. At least go to Boone, NC (close to Raleigh), get on the BRP and go to Linville Falls and Linville Caverns if nothing else. From Shenandoah we spent 4 days in Gettysburg, PA, another amazing place to see.    

+1 regarding the BRP.  Don't look at it on the map though and think you can do it in a day or two.  It takes and deserves more time than that.  There are a million things to see and do.  One of my favorites is the Natural Bridge in VA.  It's about a half hour off the BRP, but it's a great side trip.

TT