My husband and I have 3 nights and 4 days without the kids to celebrate my 37th birthday in 3 weeks (December 2010). We would like to fly somewhere somewhat close to our home in the Washington, DC area - would prefer not to spend an entire day flying across the country. We love the outdoors but, do not want to do a ski trip - we were thinking about Park City, UT because it is EXACTLY the kind of town we are looking to spend a few days in - take hikes in the mountains, stay in a beautiful 5* resort/cabin/ - eat great food, walk through fabulous shops. So, why not Park City? We don't want to ski and really feel like when we go to Park City in the winter, you have to ski. ANY ideas (quickly! : ) or thoughts anyone has would be GREAT! We also thought about Miami (quick flight but, too crowded?) or flying into Knoxville, TN and staying in a luxury cabin in the Smoky Mountains outside of Gatlinburg. Thoughts? Ideas? Thanks!! We really are open to any destination!

Santa Fe?

I have a hard time of thinking that Salt Lake is close to Washington DC. Personally I would opt for something in the Keys given the time liimits. There will be no hiking, snowshoeing - maybe, in Park City. Have you been to Park City? Maybe it is just being a male but Park City has mostly tourist shops and not much fabulous shopping -- IMO. Now Aspen has fabulous shops.

Santa Fe is a good idea and Scottsdale isn't bad either but greater Phoenix is a pain and neither is close to DC.

I'm a bit confused. You said you wanted a destination "close to home" (Washington, DC) but then you mentioned Park City, Utah which is almost clear across the country. What is your definition of close?

You also mentioned hiking as one of your activities but here again you talked about a mountainous area in winter but you don't want to ski. Do you want a place where you can hike in the snow? Is snow and/or cold weather a plus or minus for you?

Have you thought about places in New England - you'll find similar terrain, weather conditions and interesting towns as you would in Utah. You'll also have alternatives of larger cities like Boston, Providence or NYC. What about the coastal region of Maine - lots of small quaint towns but may be too deserted in December.

If you want milder weather consider Charleston, SC, Savannah, Ga or perhaps, Hilton Head, SC?

I think someone just tossed out a question without to much thought but will continue play the game. What about Quebec ?? Very festive at that time of year, a little foreign feeling, and the Four Season hotel would met most peoples definition of luxury. They have a terrific indoor/outdoor pool.

A couple of thoughts -
If you like Park City, go to Park City! Who says you have to ski because you are in Park City? I know a family who owns a place in a ski town and the parents do not ski. We used to love the Rockies in winter and my ex didn't ski. Go and enjoy a winter wonderland!

Price the tickets - we just booked a short trip in December because we needed 1000 more miles. I was shocked at the differences in the fares. We could have flown to Paris for the same price as some locations we expected to be inexpensive. I used a combo of both kayak.com and the airline sight - searching for 3 days before and after possible dates - to find the cheapest fares. We picked between the 2 lowest priced options. Put 4 or 5 places you'd enjoy on your list and then see which is cheapest to fly to.