Hi all,
Mom and I are researching destinations for trip either the first part of August or possibly Labor Day weekend. In the past, we've done Montreal/Quebec City (09), Maine (08), San Antonio (06), Washington, D.C. (02) and New Orleans.

We had narrowed our search to San Francisco, Niagara Falls and Nova Scotia, but have since ruled out NS due to airfare ($400+ rt). Ideally, we are looking for coastal/lake/river-centered towns above the Mason Dixon line. Somewhere with an average temp in the 70s or lower during Aug/Sep would be best.

We've tossed around San Diego, Toronto, Portland (not sure where), and New England (maybe Rhode Island or Boston), but I'm thinking a mountainous locale with lakes would be nice too, so I've thought about places like Colorado Springs, Jackson, Wyo., etc.

See! We're all over the map!

I guess other than mild temps, we're looking for a scenic destination with activities, like boat/ historic/hop-on-off tour-type stuff, museums/historic sites and homes, quaint shops and streets/town square/pedestrian-friendly areas for strolling... We're open to hotels, but a wonderful B&B or vacation rental, to me, would be ideal.

Of all our trips we loved Maine and Montreal/QC the most.

Any suggestions?

CDG

PS - We're in our 50s and 30s and this time my sister who's in her mid-20's might tag along.

Oh. One more detail - we'll be meeting up at our destination, flying from Dallas and Chicago.

Portsmouth NH?
Burlington VT?

Lake Winnipesaukee, NH - stay in the Meredith or Wolfboro area. Mountains are a short drive away. Visit Center Sandwich for historic homes, Tamworth for the Remick Museum. The last weekend in August before Labor Day is usually Musterfield Old Farming Days - Sutton, NH. Almost next to a small lake. New London NH is next town, pretty college town with a small amount of shopping. Lake Sunapee is also nearby (try a supper cruise). Warner NH to the south has the Mt Kearsarge Indian Museum.

Boston - with side trips to New Hampshire/Vermont serves both the city/mountain lake preferences. Airfare Chicago-Boston can be under $200 (DH flies frequently there on business - just booked $179 RT) and DFW-Boston is about $300. And you get the ocean - something missing in both of your origination cities.

You could still do Nova Scotia with flights to Boston, drive or take train to Portland, Maine and then take the CatFerry (.com is website) to Yarmouth, NS. But the cost of the ferry would negate the airfare savings of flying into Boston. You could then rent a car in NS and continue your trip, since fare for car is about $150 on ferry.

Early August temps in Boston would be somewhat higher than your preference, but September is wonderful - and hotels are a bit less expensive then (Ialthough be prepared for sticker shock on the price of Boston hotels - although they have gotten somewhat cheaper in this economy and many are offering packages and perks)

How about flying into Providence and going down to the Newport area? Spend some time there and then R I is small enough so you could do some of the other points of interest in the area. Take the ferry from Point Judith out to Block Island for the day or take the fast ferry from Quanset point over to Martha's Vineyard.

You seem to enjoy cities so, if you've
never been, go to San Francisco. You'll
love it. I do and I don't usually enjoy
cities that much. It is also easy to get
out of town quickly to scenic areas of
Northern California. Yosemite is only
about a 3 hour dive for instance.

Without knowing the length of your visit,
it is hard to know what to suggest.

I think San Francisco is a great idea and if you like wine, possibly a side trip to Napa or Sonoma. San Diego is also great, but may not be as cool as you like it. Wunderground.com has a trip planner that will give you historic temps (and rainfall etc.) for any place you're considering.

Agree either Boston or San Francisco, do one this year, the other next year !

Agree with Boston or San Francisco.

Ahh, peterboy, you mentioned something I completely forgot to include. Unfortunately, this is only a weekend trip. So, three maybe four days. Leaving Friday and returning late Monday evening. I do like cities, PB, but really love small towns/villages. When in Maine, we stayed in Boothbay Harbor and that was quite nice. I do like the idea of SFO and the fact that you can get to Napa and such.

dfrost - What you describe sounds lovely. We spent a little time in Portsmouth en route to Maine.

gail - Thanks for the suggestions, and especially the info on Boston hotel rates.

emalloy - RI was our top choice before we narrowed the search to those three locales I initialy mentioned. My first real job out of college was with Amica and I spent three or four months living in downtown Providence while in training. Made day trips to Hoboken, NYC, Newport, etc. Fun, fun times! I've loved New England ever since. Newport would be ideal, but in searching for lodging during our desired weekend, things were either booked or expensive. Mom's always wanted to visit RI. Maybe we should take a second look. Who knows. We may find something in our budget.

mclaurie - A couple co-workers are from San Diego and for whatever reason, hubby and I both have run into folks recently who are either from SD or have a family member there. So funny! Actually, last night I checked the avg temp in SD via weatherdotcom. It showed 84 the avg high in August, so that is a bit warm but maybe mom won't mind. Living in Texas, anything under 89 is great for me. LOL

Wow! So many wonderful places to go in this world and so little time. All of the places you mentioned are fabulous. I'd say put them on a list and go to one of them each year for the next 10 years. And just to complicate things, here's 3 more heavenly places to add to the list: Victoria, Yosemite, and Maui.