New Orleans would get my vote. It's a great city for adult fun. Plenty of romantic restaurants, lots of sites to see, great walking tours, etc.

SF is also a great city, but Napa and SF are kind of spread out and by the time you add in all of your flight time from the east coast, you'd wind up with not much time to actually enjoy the weekend.

Surprise, go for it. Don't let some grumpy old fart who doesn't have any sense of fun spoil yours. I took my wife to New York City for a surpise birthday party, and she loved it.

Take away travel considerations, then San Francisco and surrounding environs wins easily. Although New Orleans is fun, 5 days seems like a lot. Miami is interesting, but you will run into the Spring Break crowd.

Plans in and around San Francisco depends on what part of the week you will be there. I receommend weekends in the city and weekdays in the surrounding areas. Weekends in Napa and Carmel are very crowded, weekdays are much more lesurely.

I happen to like San Francisco & the wine country better than the other 2 places, but feel especially certain in recommending it because you said you enjoy hiking/camping. None anywhere near the 2 southern cities that can even compare to that in N. Cal. Even if you stay close to the city, you have outstanding scenery to choose from.
Don't worry about time. You'll never see it all, but you'll go back - again & again!

I think a surprise trip is a FANTASTIC idea and like your choice of destinations. My first pick would be New Orleans (personally, my husband and I can't get enough of that town!) and for a second pick I'd consider the Florida Keys. Good luck!

There's no way you can "see" New Orleans in two days unless you just stay in the French Quarter. N.O. is a city of neighborhoods and it could take you a week or more to adequately explore Uptown, the Garden District, Faubourg Marigny, the City Park/Bayou St. John area, etc.

I live in New Orleans now so I'm biased. While I love SF (my former hometown) and Miami, I agree that New Orleans is the perfect place to celebrate.

I love the idea of a surprise! However; I do think that SF for a 4 day trip total may be a bit much. With all of the new restrictions, time, etc., you may want to go "closer" to home rather than spending 9 hours (flight/check-in/etc.) travelling on 2 days. Just IMHO, but I think it's worth a consideration. That being said, my vote would DEFINTELY be for SF if these are the three choices. I'd also like to throw in a couple of other ideas though based upon what you said:

Santa Fe/Albuquerque/Taos - wonderful, romantic, great outdoors things, great weather in the spring.

Savannah & Charleston - nice old south

Myrtle Beach SC

Just suggestions to try and alleviate a long travel time. Have a wonderful time! I love hearing stories of couples who are thoughtful and generous!

My vote is for SF.

My wife and I went there this past March (same time you are planning for in '02, also for 4-5 days) and had a great time. The weather was beautiful. We opted to head south of SF for the first 2 days. The Carmel/Monterrey area is fantastic. Despite what everyone says, 17 Mile Drive is amazing.

We then spent a few days in SF itself (our first trip) with a day trip up to Point Reyes (national seashore). I would return in a heartbeat.

I just read through some of the postings and saw your question about doing a 6 hour flight. My wife and I thought it was completely fine (we flew from Boston via Chicago/O'Hare).

Think of it this way, you probably wouldn't think twice about driving 6 hours to get to a beach or mountain retreat for 5 days. Why should 6 hours on a plane be different?

Go for it.

We love all 3 of those areas and have been to each several times. For a March trip I would vote for New Orleans.
Have a great time...my husband has surprised me with a trip and it was great fun. jeannie

I live in Buffalo and by March all I can think about is Florida. I "hike" the beach looking for a pool bar that serves margaritas. So Florida gets my vote. However, I haven't stopped thinking about New Orleans since I visited last year. I was there in August (big mistake - I was a dripping ball of sweat the entire time I was there), so I would think March is a pleasant time to go. You can't go wrong with either choice. Have fun.

P.S. Have you considered Vegas? Even if you don't gamble, there's a lot to do and with a little homework, you can find some great hikes outside the city. The mountains and desert are awesome.

THANKS to everybody - I can't believe the amount of input I have received!!!! All of it has helped. I still would love to go to SF, but our time may now definitely be limited to 4 days, so I think I am leaning toward NO or Florida. The suggestion about the Keys is interesting. I don't want to start a whole new topic - I will do some research about the Keys on my own. So there it is - the choices have been narrowed to NO and Southern FL. SF will have to wait for more time - I know we will get there eventually! Thanks again so much for the input. Keep it coming!!! I'll let you know what I decide.

Mid March in Florida might be full of Spring Break college kids... Just something to consider.

Florida suggestions perhaps:

Sanibel Island
spafinders.com has a writeup of a spa on Fisher Island (very exclusive - right off of Miami)which could be very fun for both of you
Naples is very nice as well

I agree - March/April - lots of families/students in FLL, MIA, etc.

Sanibel is beautiful - that would be my choice for south florida

I'd go to the Florida Keys + Everglades: water sports, snorkeling, nice weather. But also mainly because my husband isn't into cities.