Charleston SC

http://spoletousa.org/
You'll love it!

this is almost too easy...knowing your love of food, Charleston,SC

Ah, Kathleen, great minds.

New Orleans for Jazz Fest.

New York City, Chicago. Both wonderful places to explore and dine.

New Orleans is a definite! jazz Fest !
Chicago too.
When is best month for Charleston - we don't do hot and humid too well.
(NYC would be great but we are both native NYer's. )

Keep 'em coming!

I definitely agree with New Orleans (for JazzFest, which is fantastic, or otherwise) and Chicago. Also Seattle, Portland, Washington, DC. Everyone of them would be a great 3-4 day destination.

Debit, If you are a foodie, then in Charleston

Charleston Wine and Food Festival
http://charlestonwineandfood.com/

and the next Charleston Restaurant Week
http://www.charlestonrestaurantassociation.com/charleston-restaurant-week/ The is a great way to sample the food in many of our restaurants.

And of course the Spoleto Festival for all arts.

All are at times when Charleston is not too deadly with heat. One (Food and Wine) is coming up soon, Spoleto (end of May-early June) and the other (Restaurant Week) is September.

cmcfong,Yes, hard to beat Charleston

Charleston - Sept- we are SO there!

Nashville - Country Music, short drive to Franklin to see Civil War stuff, the Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home) go in early May or the fall

Salt Lake City - Park City in the fall when the Aspens change or winter if you like winter outdoors stuff,

Providence - Drive to either Cape Cod and do the Cape, September when the crowds leave but it's not cold

or Newport, RI, all those houses of the Gilded Age

Kansas City, a surprisingly beautiful city, not sure when the best time to go is

Southwest goes to Cancun. http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/routemap_dyn.html
My first thought was to fly to Spokane and take the Empire Builder overnight to Whitefish MT.
The old World Fair grounds in Spokane are a great visit as well.

Sadly, Cancun (and all of the mexico and Caribbean spots) are not Southwest, it's either Air Trans or Volaris and tht won't work. Has to be one of the continental US locations marked with a SW mark action.

Fly into Sacramento and spend time in the California Gold country exploring Hwy. 49.

Fly into Sacto or Reno and go to Lake Tahoe.

Have you been to Portland, OR? You didn't say what time of year.


Tell me where to go!
Posted by: DebitNM on Feb 1, 13 at 8:05am

Don't tempt me

Bisbee, Arizona.

http://www.discoverbisbee.com/
http://www.bisbeearizona.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/HACSearch?geo=31171#02,1359740985379,cat:S2,rad:S25mi,sponsors:ABEST_WESTERN

Fly into Tucson, pick up a car, drive 80 miles southeast past Tombstone.

We are game for any month. Faina. And btw,

Bisbee spring or fall.

Fly into Manchester,NH then head north, do up Portsmouth, NH - Strawberry Banke, then Portland, ME and eat lobster at a shack along the shore.

The flight to Providence, RI is good too, you could do either Cape Cod, Newport RI, or Mystic CT from there.

Southwest flies into Midway Chicago so it's very easy and fast to get into the City on the orange line.
Providence is a great little airport too..

1st week in November. Fly to El Paso. Go to Guadalupe National Park and Carlsbad Caverns(wild cave tour is the bomb). Guadalupe has some of the best fall foliage(really).

Late March or April. Fly to Midland/Odessa and do Big Bend National Park.

August 1st-Fly to Seattle and consider Mount Rainier, San Juan Islands, Olympic NP.

Portland-already mentioned, but good choice.

Nashville/Memphis in Spring

Mid-October-Fly to Boston(could see it or drive up the coast to Acadia NP

December of January(not during the holidays) Fly to Miami and could include Dry Tortugas, Keyes, Everglades

Honestly, I always have fun in LA. Lots of exciting food right now, too.

Louisville is another place that is pretty hot right now.

Jazz festival on Catalina, the "Island of Romance".

http://www.catalinachamber.com/island/specialevents/jazztrax10

Palm Springs date festival in February. Joshua park, etc...

Well, to get right to the point:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/and-nowthe-100-best-things-to-eat-in-philadelphia.cfm

Fall is really nice, and spring is lovely. Actually, there's a lot going on in winter and summer, too. Beautiful hikes, world class museums, including the new National Museum of American Jewish History, an active music scene, and history galore.

On the picture worth a thousand words principle: http://missalg.tumblr.com/

Another vote for New Orleans JazzFest!

OR I've always wanted to go to Key West...It would be something totally different!

Fly to Boston, travel to Martha's Vineyard?

Go to Beaver Creek Colorado. Enjoy dog sledding, snowmobiling, cobblestone streets with cute cafes, a horse drawn sleigh up to the top of a mountain where the best meat and food is served. Ski down a mountain where warm chocalate chip cookies are waiting for you. Complete heaven.

I'm guessing that Albuquerque is your home airport.
How about a direct flight to SeaTac (Seattle)?
You can go North to Vancouver BC, East to Leavenworth WA or South to Portland OR.
It looks like the Spokane trip involves a connection in Denver.
Leavenworth WA has many things going on on many weekends through the year. Google it.

You aren't completely correct about only Air Trans or Volaris serving the Caribbean. Southwest *does* fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Check it out. I loved it there and would gladly return if I had a free ticket!

Other than that, I'd say Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon. Or Austin, Texas if you've never been there.

Im thinking New Orleans too, but for French Quarter Fest. We went last year and it was one of the best times I have ever had.

Fly into Greenville, SC and drive to Asheville NC in the fall, October preferably. About an hour, very nice little airport.

Service to San Juan starts in mid April, so that is a good choice. Lots of points to get there though, so that will have a be a one timer.

Thanks for all your continued suggestions. We have been to many of those listed but will still consider them for these short trips.

Planning is such fun, especially when you get such great input!

I would recommend April or October for Charleston. The gardens are quite fantastic and April is the time they really shine. October is a very popular month for weddings because the weather is usually so nice.

Maybe 2 visits for Charleston!

I'll tell you "where to go" if you don't tell us about Montpellier.

We went to Charleston / Savannah late April and it was H-O-T and beautiful.

Also, be aware that there are no stores / restaurants / convenience stores south of Broad. So if you need a short cooling off break you better have water and snack with you and sit under a tree.

We bought a passport that included a few plantations and some historic homes. That was how we cooled off.

The suggestions are getting tempting for us.

Im confused now. This is about points or a companion ticket?

Spiro - one ticket will be "bought" using points, the second one is the "free" companion ticket. So, points are a bit of concern though we presently have approx. 175,000 points. Need to spend the points wisely. Of course, we will use $$ if we run out of points before the end of 2014, but getting the most "mileage" out of the points is my goal (pun intended)

I promise, Myer.....

some suggestions for the rest of the year:
February - Los Angeles/Palm Springs
March - New Orleans
April - Charleston
May - Chicago
June - Seattle
July - Denver/Boulder
August - Salt Lake City/Park City
September - Providence/Cape Cod
October - Boston/Martha's Vineyard
November - Austin/San Antonio
December - New York City

have fun and safe travels!

With SW 175,000 points can go a long way. I find their point system very fair. The short flights are usually 8,000-12,000 points per segment, while the longer flights might be as high as 20,000 each way. With a companion pass, you might as well go as far as you possibly can-meaning you will have to use more points, but that is just that many more $$ you are saving on your free companion ticket.

What I am getting at is this. If it is a short trip you are going to use 20,000 points and save $300 on your companion. If it is a long trip you might used 40,00O+ points, but you might save $600+ on your companion tickets. I am sure you have calculated it this way already.

Hi Debit,

I would also recommend Park City, Utah if you have never been here. Hiking, golf, & the Arts Festival (outstanding) - come first weekend in August. Skiing - come end of Feb/early March. Fall colors - come last week Sept/first week Oct. It't a perfect getaway for 3-4 days of variety and excellent restaurants.

Two places I've really enjoyed during longer vacations, but would return for a getaway -

Port Townsend, WA - fly into Seattle, ferry to Bainbridge Island and drive from there. Charming old town and we had some great meals.

Manzanita, northern OR coast - rented a lovely vacation home here and loved the tiny, funky beach town. Good for doing day trips from, but not touristy like Cannon Beach (much bigger).

Let me know if you want the specific rental info for the vrbo listing. It was great and the owner is great too.

Have fun planning!

If going toSeatac, how about Olympic National Park AND the San Juan Islands...very refreshing in the summertime...

I would recommend New England in the fall to catch the changing of the leaves. For food, you could come to RI as your base and visit Newport Mansions, then head to Boston which is 45 minute drive tops.

I am so appreciative of all your replies and great suggestions! Thanks and I will use all of these ideas in helping us plan our getaways!

(Still seeking ideas, so feel free to pitch an idea! )

Minneapolis, late September/early October. Go during the week, take a couple days to drive up beyond Duluth to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Great scenery and hikes up there, great restaurants and plenty to do in Minneapolis. If you go, I'd add an extra day because of the drive up north.

I know San Francisco is on your "been there, will return" list, but what about the Monterey Peninsula and Monterey Bay? We just drove down there a few days ago and spent 4 days in the area, just the sort of length of time you're looking at. Fly into San Jose or Oakland, then a one or two hour drive.

And as for when, now, or at least by the end of the month.

Why so soon?

1. It's gorgeous this time of year - not warm, but everything's green, including the hills between Monterey and Salinas. The coast... 'nuff said.

2. Elephant seals at San Simeon. Two hours down Highway 1 (past Big Sur and all that glory) are many thousand elephant seals on the breeding/birthing beaches at Piedras Blancas. Battling bulls, bleating babies, cranky cows... amazing. But they're only there in the winter.

3. Butterflies at Pacific Grove. A few bazillion Monarch butterflies hanging around or fluttering by. Gone by spring.

4. Jellyfish, jellyfish, jellyfish. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is remarkable.

5. Eat, eat, eat. An awful lot of good restaurants per capita.

6. Cheap and uncrowded. Lodgings are reasonably affordable in Monterey, Pacific Grove and even Carmel, and the weather is fabulous (most days.) Skip the $10 baksheesh to take the 17-mile drive and just hang out at Lovers Point, or Point Lobos.

Photos from the past couple of weeks:

Pacific Grove from Lovers' Point park:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8445782794

Big Sur coast:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8399407464

Elephant seals at San Simeon:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8444694219
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8398323255
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8399408100

Butterflies at Pacific Grove:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8416481427
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8413177420
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8413177538

Jellies at Monterey Aquarium
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8399420880
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865367@N06/8398336299

Elephant Seals closer to the Bay Area, just north of Santa Cruz, guided walks this time of year:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=523

Grady, we just did that trip in August, great one at that! We have seen the elephant seals at Ana Nuevo, amazing!

I would vote for Austin, Texas. Fun city, really interesting restaurants. Check out Barley Swine! ACL festival is in October & this year it will last 2 w/e instead of 1.

If you get bored, drive over to San Antonio for a completely different experience. Austin is best Feb-April & then again in mid October-December. Summers are too hot!

I used to live in New Orleans. If you don't do humid & hot, then you don't do jazz fest. It's the last w/e in April & 1st w/e in May. In the 10 years I lived there, only once was it cool. NO is a great city to visit about the same times as Austin.

Austin! One of my favorite cities in the entire WORLD. Amazing food, pretty...pup-friendly, cool music and cool vibe! 100% Austin!

Eavesdropping, just in case...

Dave -

Maybe we will be seat mates !

I second Amy's Philadelphia suggestion. Except unlike she who's such a Philly fan that she was lauding every time of year, I'd definitely go with May. Second choice, September/October. I would not recommend Jan., Feb., July or August.

The new Barnes Museum is incredible! Of course, tons of other museums and overflowing with history. Fairmount Park System, largest urban park in the country. Gorgeous hikes just outside the city, too. And oh, the food! Besides Amy's thread, which I hope you looked at, so many other terrific byob's (what Philly's known for, and no corkage fees!). All kinds of great live music. And a little secret we don't often share as we like Washington D.C. to get the crowds...we get tons of gorgeous cherry blossoms here, too.

If you chose Philly, would be happy to share details of any of above. And participate in a gtg if that were of interest and not when I'm in France!

Cape Cod in September

The magic list:

Feb: FL
Mar: SC
Apr: NOLA
May: CHI
Jun: CO
Jul: WA
Aug: MA
Sep: SFO
Oct: NC
Nov: TX
Dec: SD
Jan: AZ