yellowbyrd

Although you can take the ferry from Boston to Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod, I would advise you to rent a car if you plan to be on Cape Cod for more than a day. You will want to see some of the charming New England villages like Chatham and Wellfleet and visit more than one of the beaches (Cape Cod Bay beaches-on the West facing coast- are very different from the National Seashore beaches on the East/Ocean side). Provincetown is a lot of fun but it is not representative of the rest of Cape Cod..especially in the summer months when the gay population swells and tourists clog Commercial street. So if you decide to go to Cape Cod, fly into either Providence RI (Green Airport) or Boston (Logan) then rent a car and drive to the outer cape. That is about a 2 hour drive plus 30 minutes more to get to Provincetown.

Omr

How about Lake Tahoe? If you fly into Reno it's maybe a 1.5 hr. drive from there. There's quite a bit you can do on the Lake (scenic cruise, parasailing0 or even a nice scenic drive around the Lake. San Francisco would be rather cold, windy and foggy by most people's standards in July. I remember when i lived there in the summer we might see 3 hours of sunlight if we were lucky. San Diego would also be a good choice. Their overcast period typically occurs in June, hence the name "June gloom," so July should be rather nice, but not too hot either.

sobolik

On the shore of any Great Lake. "cooler by the Lake"

How "adult" are you ? If still young enough the Cedar Point Amusement Park Ohio The #1 park in the world.

Could also catch a walleye fishing charter (cool)

On the shore of any Great Lake. "cooler by the Lake"
Look at Grand Haven Michigan also

Very Awesome Niagara Falls, get as wet as you want to. (and cool) Not that crowded in July either when we were there.

Wayne

These are all good suggestions, but most of them are indeed places we have all heard about, read about, or been to. Since you seem to want something that is more out of the way and unusual, try this: Drive or fly from Dallas to El Paso (fits your definition of a short trip) and then go to Alamogordo, then east to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. It's on a cool mountain top in the middle of the New Mexico desert, and you could visit White Sands on the way to help you remember why you don't like the summer heat.

melh

TahitiTams - Any La Jolla hotel recomendations? DH seems to like your idea.

Sobolik - I love your ideas too ~ we've been to all the places you mentioned except we never made it to Niagara Falls. I might look into that.

Thanks everyone. I love all the ideas!

roseclare

Bar Harbor, Maine (Acadia National Park)

roseclare

and White Mountains, New Hampshire

starrsville

Just spent today in Niagara Falls. Go the the Canadian side and be sure to visit the beautiful town of Niagara on the Lake. Take wine tours. Bike. Gamble at the NF casinos if you want. Be sure to take a trip on the Maid of the Mist. Great trip!

don512

Since I like to vacation in the summer to get away from the heat, I thought that I would chime in. My favorites are Seattle, Toronto and Boston/Cape Cod/Maine coast. San Francisco, which is probably my favorite city destination, would also be a great choice. I have traveled to all of my choices in July and have had great experiences. We did the Oregon Coast and the Portland area one year and it would have been great, but we caught a rather rainy week (I don't know if that is the norm or not).