Southern California definitely! My DH and I did a 2-wk road trip last Jan and traveled between San Diego and Monterey. The weather was fine - a little cool in Monterey (low 60's) but fantastic everywhere south of there.

Sedona, Arizona.....It matches everything you are talking about. It's only 1 1/2 hours north of Phoenix in the middle of gorgeous Red Rocks. There are quite a few vineyards, microbreweries, and amazing restaurants. I'd recommend Savannah's.

Just a reminder - Laura wants to go somewhere in January that is likely to have temperatures in the 60s or higher.

Most any beach resort in Mexico.

Key West!

Use your frequent flyer miles and go to Maui. See a luau, take a helicopter ride, go to the top of the volcano and best of all, take a catamaran sail to watch the humpback whales that migrate to Maui from Alaska every winter.

Just want to warn you all...I am a thorough researcher and slow decision maker, so while I *absolutely will* report back to share my decision, it will not be right away :-) Also, I'm simultaneiously detouring in my research to find us a good place to stay for a long weekend 2 weeks from now!

Please check out the Palace Resorts in Cancun area. These are beautifully maintained all-inclusives with great food (several restaurants on site), extraordinary staff, and lots of things to do in the area. We went to Adventura Palace (which was extraordinary, but even though the pool was amazing, you may want to choose one with more of a beachfront as well. We chose this b/c it is close to Tulum and other sightseeing and Playa del Carmen for music. I did a lot of research and this resort highly exceeded my hopes and expectations. There are several sites along the Mexican Riviera. Have fun wherever you go!

I said I'd come back to report our choice after so many of you were kind enough to reply....and it might be 3 months later, but here I am! The trip had to be postponed from early January to the second week in February, so we haven't taken it yet...our choice was Austin, Texas.

We got a vrbo in Travis Heights walking distance to SoCo there (the place looks great and I've emailed back and forth with someone who stayed there and loved it), and are making it "home" for the week; we'll day trip to San Antonio and to Fredericksburg/Hill Country.

Although a couple people didn't think there was enough to do there for a week, we are slow people who get going late and can while away an entire afternoon or evening in just one independent bookstore. We also love hearing live music and taking walks around lakes...so I think for us it'll be fine. It'll be even finer if the weather is warm enough to use the outdoor hot tub at the place we're renting!

Thank you all again for the input, I have great ideas for future trips, and am excited about this one!!

If you like history, I found a visit to the Alamo very interesting. It's in near downtown now compared to being in the countryside during the attack but the sense of history compares, for me, to some of the civil war battlefields.

As far as I know, this is the only battle in American history where three hugely famous men, then and now, perished in the same fight: William B. Travis, Davie Crockett, and Jim Bowie.

My last visit there was several years ago beginning on the Friday of the weekend of the anniversary of the battle (1st weekend in March). As I walked from behind the Alamo toward the front just before sunset to get photos in the good light, a lone Mexican bugler played El Deguello in front. The sounds of that haunting historical challenge reverberated in my soul. For a history buff, it just does not get better than that.

(Deguello should have an accent mark above the u but I don't know how to do that on my computer).

Thanks for that...we do plan to go there (one of the few specific plans for a week that will be mostly play it as we go) but I can't say I was all that excited about it, I just couldn't see being right there and not going...but I found your post quite moving and inspiring so now I feel excited about it!

I didn't used to be a history buff but I find the older I get the more I appreciate history! :-)