Wow! Thanks for all your wonderful ideas. I am going to print this and discuss it during our next playgroup.

gail... "I would want to park myself somewhere, relax, read, drink, sun myself by the water." ABSOLUTELY! This is exactly what we are looking for! All of our children are between the ages of 1 and 8, so we need to just relax!

escargot...thank you. We are looking at going somewhere as soon as possible and you have some wonderful places listed. Thanks for the Doral Resort link.

cd...I'm right up the road off 91 in Twinsburg. I think I will do as you suggested...but with my husband :)

this post might interest you if you end up considering FLA - this couple just returned, but a lot of what he mentions is the same for gals - the spa pool being quieter area w/ the falls into sep spa pools, etc - and restaurant mentions.

it would be better if I included the post thread....
duh - and I don't have little ones at home anymore as an excuse for mental lapses....ah, but I have moved into the land of using menopause as an excuse !! the link is:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34759695

My wife & her crew just returned from a weekend in the Asheville area which included some time @ the Grove Park Inn & their spa. See www.groveparkinn.com. Key West also comes to mind.

A point I was trying to make about an AI or short cruise was that when I am with a group of women there is inevitable endless discussion about where to eat, who ordered what, what time to eat - I guess I am so good at organizing my time, my family, etc that I just can't let it go on vacation. With above suggestions, most decisions are either limited choice or made ofr you - that works for me on a short R&R vacation, but could understand how it would not work for others.

I think destination matters far less than what you do not have to do - such as plan meals, carry luggage, pick up after yourself, make any logistical arrangements of any kind. That is why one posters suggestion of renting a cabin would not work for me.

1. Savannah, GA
Needs Met:
1. Shopping (clothing)
2. Shopping (antiques)
3. Doing something (tours of old homes, bus tour of historic city)
4. Eating (Lady & Sons, and sit down, dont get the buffet)
5. Beach fix? Drive 15 min. to Tybee Island.

2. St. Simons Island, GA
Needs met:
1. Relaxation: Beaches!
2. Drinks: The Village Inn
cute beach house turned classy to casual bar
3. Eats: Yes! Seafood galore... Barbara Jean's (casual, amazing food)
4. Shopping: Oh my yes! Cute boutiques
5. Stay at a bed and breakfast
6. Stay at a coastal cottage, big enough for all of you! Ocean views
7. Spa it one day

-- have an extra day--

goto

Jekyll Island
1. Bike ride
2. Historic distric
3. Peach Daiquiri at sunset over the river, amazing...
4. Dinner

---
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3. Seaside, Florida
Needs Met:
1. Relaxation: Blue waters of the Gulf
2. Relaxation: Cute houses to rent, seasidefl.com hang out, read books
3. Good eats
4. Shopping

May be a slow... but enjoyable...

5. Martha's Vineyard, MA
--wait until summer girls!-- too cold now and things shut down early.
Stay at the Beachview Hotel or any bed and breakfast in Edgartown

1. Beaches with shells
2. The best shopping in the US (possibly)
3. The best seafood in US (without doubt)
4. The best sunset in NE (Menemsha)
5. Bike ride
6. Picnic on beach with lobster bake and wine
7. Biggest stars ever

6. NYC
1. Broadway
2. Shopping
3. Cruise around Manhattan
4. Walk on a TV show, be an audience member
5. Spa it

7. Wine Country
a. Drink
b. Drink
c. Drink
d. Fine Dining

8. Victoria, Vancouver Island
a. Stay at a bed and breakfast
b. Shopping

Oh Gail I am laughing and commiserating over your comment: "with a group of women there is inevitable endless discussion about where to eat, who ordered what, what time to eat - I guess I am so good at organizing my time, my family, etc that I just can't let it go on vacation. " Ditto for me -

Our group had to actually make 'rules' after a few too many discussions during our first trips :) - like 'the bill gets divided up. period. none of this I had one beer and you had 2 martinis, I had an appetizer but you had steak....it all evens out after a few days." etc, etc....we even tried dividing tasks for a few years and alternating them...as in 1 person getting assigned each night, others a day, others meals in, one the resident bartender, one in charge of rental movies (she got fired after her first try-worse movies we'd ever seen!) etc....so we went back to going with the flow...which usually made for too much indecision as to where and what time, with one or two of us making the final plan anyway....although this year we've rented a house for a week and I think I got the short end of the stick, as in "well you're so organized, we're going to let you plan each night, dinners, etc and the rest of us will plan the days..." ....but the days are all days on the beach/pool.....but as you said, when you're an organizer it's hard to let go even on vaca - and our gal friends know who the organized ones are....we deal with each other all the time - the organized ones and the unorganized ! :) And we love them all....

Chicago (theater/shopping) or if you like Shakespeare & Musicala - Oliver) how about Stratsford Festival in Ontario.

And there is the work colleague of mine who just told me that her recent absence was not a major vacation like everyone thought.

A group of her friends had planned a trip to mark significant birthdays, but in the end decided to all go get facelifts together! (I would have taken the trip, but I guess that is why I frequent this board and not WebMD)

oooh facelifts....i'm a chicken. told my family they'll have to get used to me in old age looking like Georgia O'Keefe.

Char - wherever you end up - have a great time.

I live in NYC and my two closest friends and I go to Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA once a year or so for a long weekend away from our husbands and kids. You would probably have an easier time getting to the one in Tuscon, though.

My sister-in-law and her friends do the same thing every year (over Mother's Day weekend, no less) and go to a resort/spa in Tennessee, but I'd have to ask her the exact name.