I got very lucky in 2017. I decided a couple of weeks before the eclipse to go see it. I found one hotel room south of Nashville (outside totality) for under $100 when every other room left was $300-500. Six hour drive there and the longest 12 hour drive back. Traffic was still jammed up crossing into Cincinnati at 2am from the eclipse traffic.
I'm aleady parked for the 2024 eclipse. :)