In November you'll really be too late to see a lot of fall colors anywhere (in East Tennessee, where

So I'm turning 17 this fall and want to take a trip with my friends instead of a party. For my 16 I went to NYC with my mom for a few days but I worked doubletree hotel san jose ca to pay for half and the other half was my bday/Christmas gift. So for this birthday I want to take a relatively cheap trip but with a few of my friends. We live in Florida so we want to go somewhere where the temps would be cooler and we could see the fall colors and have a fireplace or bonfire type thing. We would be going the first half of thanksgiving break (nov 17-22) if that helps any. And it would be four girls age 16-18, and three boys ages 15-17, and then of course my parents. I remember going to a place called Devils Fork in SC when I was little but don't know how it is now. But we want something that's within a 12 hour drive from Orlando (where we live). So does anyone have any ideas?
In November doubletree hotel san jose ca you'll really be too late to see a lot of fall colors anywhere (in East Tennessee, where I grew up, they tend to peak somewhere around mid-October; by Thanksgiving it's pretty brown). We've had such a hot, dry summer so far that the colors might not be great anyway.
There are tons of cabins big enough for groups, with fireplaces, in the mountains around North Georgia, East Tennessee and western NC; that's all within your 12-hour range. But November is getting to be kind of a down season in that area, so if you need a lot of activities to keep you happy, you'll want to be near a city. A place near Chattanooga might be fun; I like Chatt's downtown and north shore a lot. I stayed in a cabin on Lookout Mountain for New Year's and it was about a 30-minute drive into downtown. Somewhere around Boone or Asheville or Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge could also be good options, depending on what your group would find fun. (I could live without going back to Gatlinburg ever, but I know a lot of teenagers who think it's really fun, so it's totally dependent doubletree hotel san jose ca on you.)