Hubby and I -- alone at last . Two teenagers off on their own adventures.

* Budget doesn't have to be bargain basement, but it's tighter than usual (paying for those teen adventures!), so I am being budget conscious.

* We live in NYC and have access to great beaches on eastern Long Island -- so beach destination as the primary feature is OUT (we got that already).

* Don't want it to be crazy hot.

* We love cities, food, culture, street life. That being said, with the right inspiring natural sights, we'd consider not going to a city.

* Want to avoid driving trips.

* Would be willing to consider Europe, but leaning toward USA, because...

* We have only 5 days including travel.

thoughts?

San Francisco, Vancouver, or closer to home, Quebec fit your requierments. For more of a nature trip then head to Calgery and drive, sightsee, to Jasper and back. Baniff, Lake Louis, the Icefields Hwy., as well as Jasper are beautiful and well worth the drive. Have fun as you start this new phase of life!

Hello kflodin, if San Francisco is of interest to you two JetBlue flies from JFK to SFO and you could take BART into San Francisco. Many here on Fodors would be happy to give thoughts on a reasonable priced hotel. San Francisco sure offers wonderful food, culture and street life! And you would not need to rent a car.

Have fun planning your getaway!

Check deals on travelzoo.com

We are going to Vancouver (flying in) and Seattle (flying out) in early July. We live somewhere very hot in the summer so we wanted to go somewhere milder. We initially considered a trip to San Francisco and wine country but thought Vancouver & Seattle were more attractive. To get to Seattle from Vancouver, we are taking the scenic train which gets high marks.

To us, the trip seems to combine the best of both worlds--good cuisine and hotels with great views and nature. We'll probably take a day trip to Washington wine country from Seattle.

You could do something similar between Portland, Oregon & Seattle.

Have you been to Toronto/Niagara Falls? A combo of city and nature and not far away.

Otherwise I woulld suggest either Seattle or Vancouver - but the flights are long for 5 days.

Thanks everyone -- great ideas. I'll check in with our decisions soon.

How about the Canadian Maritimes? I'd love to see those areas.

Seattle, San Fran sound great. We really like Portland, OR.

Iceland. It's only a 5 hour flight and you'll get to see the volcano. It's gorgeous in July. Pretty good specials at icelandair.com.