Between my wife’s full-time job, full-time school, and full-time job with the children, and my 80 hour a week job and full-time job being useless in everything else, we need a quick vacation. In our four years together, we have hit the whole Carribean and some of South America, along with Chicago, Disney, and Mexico, so they are all out.
I am open to ideas of all sorts. Money is not the BIGGEST concern, but we are not rich (despite a previous threads definition of rich), so I want to keep the total budget under 5k. It can be romantic, semi-adventurous (no three days of white water rafting or mountain climbing), exciting, fun, or a combination of everything.
We would have three days, perhaps leaving on Thursday and returning on Sunday or Monday. To help in basic planning, we live near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Oh, and it would have to be between January 2nd and January 8th.
I’ll suggest a couple nights at La Fonda on the plaza in Santa Fe. Lots of great dining within stumbling distance and room service breakfast that’s second to none. Good museums, skiing, Taos is up the road, the high desert & mountains are all around, it’s just a nice change of scenery.
Beginning of January, though - it’ll be cold so maybe not if you’re allergic to winter.
If you don’t mind flying, then a trip to San Francisco might be pretty nice. There are lots of things to see such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf (with the BEST clam chowder), Ghirardelli square, Chinatown, etc. If you prefer a more active trip, there are also nice dance and music clubs around the area. There’s also some pretty good shopping around there if you’re into that.
It all really depends on what type of vacation you and your wife would enjoy, so good luck with the planning!
Don’t mind flying at all. It actually might add some excitement to the trip. San Francisco would be nice, and there is a lot to do there. Another good idea.
Side note to everyone assisting me. This will be a total surprise for the wife. I will be cancelling her work for a few days, pack the luggage, have someone take care of the kids, everything. I will just throw her in the car and go.
Palm Springs! I went last year and had a blast, even in the 125 degree off season. I can even recommend an excellent Italian restaurant there (Al Dente, family owned and operated, pasta made on site, simple but absolutely delicious). You can go hiking or take the tram up Mt. Jacinto, or do like I did and sit by the pool for three days with a cigar and a bottle of scotch.
So that probably rules out Lake Tahoe as well, huh? Great skiing, snowy peaks, and beautiful scenery, but there’s no shortage of blackjack tables on the Nevada side of the lake.
Lots of things to do there on a 3 day weekend - shows, restaurants, shopping. 5K should be more than enough for a splurge-y weekend in Manhattan even with Manhattan hotel rates. Plus, there should be a fair number of flights into the NYC-area airports, so you should be able to get decent airfares.
Since this seems like a surprise gift to her, go whole hog and “theme” your vacation to something your wife is interested in. For example, one vacation my wife and I went on a driving tour of Revolutionary War battlefields. On another, we went on a tour of Ivy League schools, on a third, the agenda of the trip was to meet people we met over the Internet. (That one took us from Knoxville, to Nashville, up to Clarksville and Louisville, over to Cincy, and back down to K’ville).
If y’all like to dine, perhaps an eating tour of NYC… you have time to plan out your meals, obviously, and, of course, there’s plenty to do in NYC other than eat.
Come to Canada, lots to see including snow…Toronto has lots to do for three days…try the Royal York downtown…beautiful, old hotel, right in the middle of everything!
What about Bermuda? I’ve never been there but, obviously, it is quite popular and it’s not all that far. (Yes, I saw Carribean but am assuming it doesn’t qualify).
Another Sante Fe rec would be Hotel Sante Fe. Ain’t nuthin’ better than a weekend on the hillside in supurb galleries and restaurants.
I drove through Estes Park when visiting the parents in Colorado and thought that would be nice for a long weekend. You could fly to Denver and drive up. winter
There is a touristy town with lodges and plenty of restaurants and shops. And you are close to the Rocky Mountains.
You can download a visitor’s guide here.
Hmm. I just submitted my info at here and it said thanks, it was received. The PDF visitor’s guide is there too. Here’s a picture I took from the car on the way through in October.
And when you drive up through Boulder you can take me to dinner. I’ll regale you and your wife with stories of biochemistry and being responsible for freshmen.
