Road Trip NY to SC on I-81: Things to do?

Going to overnight somewhere, figured Red Roof at Staunton is a good half way mark. I know that there are some Jefferson houses along the way and there's also the Blue Ridge Parkway. Old houses don't seem to interest me and and I don't want to walk too much because of the heat in August. Is there anything specific in the Parkway that might be worth a short detour? Or anything else, like some caverns or crazy UFO and Elvis museum or something.