1) San Francisco. You can drive North to wine country and redwoods or South to Pebble Beach and Monteray or East to Lake Tahoe. I loved it all.

2) Chicago. Too much to do even if you spend a week. Great in September.

3) New England. Beautiful in the fall.

4) New Orleans. Don't count us out. I just had 2 couples from Canada stay with us for 8 nights and they had a great experience. Great people, great food, great weather for January and a great time even under the circumstances. Spring is best with all of the festivals.

5) San Antonio and Austin. Yes, Texas can be cool! Enchanted Rock, Hamilton Pool, Fredericksburg, Mexican food, Margaritas, Schlitterbahn, rafting or tubing on the Guadalupe, bats in Austin and more.

I like the "combo" ideas, especially with 7-10 days.

1. NYC, then drive up through the Adirondacks which are lovely and have nice hiking and lakes.

2. San Francisco with Napa/Sonoma.

Shorter trips might include San Diego, Chicago, Sedona/Grand Canyon. Gosh, the possibilities are endless.

Also liked the idea of a driving trip like JJ5 suggested. Friends loved a trip driving around including a "dip" in all 5 Great Lakes.

Have fun!