We just returned from a road trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.  On the way down we decided to stop one night in Charlottesville, VA to see Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home).

Monticello (www.monticello.org/) was frankly a disappointment.  The tour lasted all of about 20 minutes and there wasn't much else to see (or learn) at the site.  If you want to teach your kids about the early history of the U.S. then I would suggest doing Mount Vernon (George Washington's home) instead.  Charlottesville is an interesting town with a revitalized downtown and some interesting architecture but not worth a side trip of its own.

The drive (direct) to Asheville is about 8 hours along I81 which runs through the foothills most of the way (a late Fall trip should be impressive).  We stayed at a B&B called Applewood Manor Inn (www.applewoodmanor.com/) located just north of the town center.  I would highly recommend this B&B to anyone traveling here.  It is located just 5 minutes from town center in a very quiet historic neighborhood and the accommodations (and full breakfasts) are great.  

Asheville itself was not at all what we expected from a North Carolina town.  From our past experiences in NC we had a preconceived notion of a conservative and frankly somewhat backward ,sleepy little village; that couldn't have been farther from reality.  If it was possible to drop you into the middle of town without you knowing the name you would swear it was Berkley, California.  I never expected the Bohemian atmosphere that we found there to be in NC.  For a town of its size there was a large number of varied restaurants, art galleries and boutiques.  If you're done with the Biltmore and walking around town you can always take a short side trip to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

The Biltmore Estate (www.biltmore.com/) takes a full day to get through the sites.  Just the house tour (self guided) lasts about 4 hours.  You need to start as early as possible and make sure you purchase the audio package as the guidebook is very lame.  The gardens are worth a look and the winery tour is worth the effort if you haven't done Napa/Sonoma.