Immerse yourself in the Danish culture while never leaving sunny California! Solvang is a city in Santa Barbara County. Solvang means "Sunny Field" in Danish. It was settled by a group of Danish educators. The settlers of this city left for the west to escape midwestern winters. The city is home to several bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California. The architecture of many, even most, of the buildings follows traditional Danish styles. There is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen, as well as one featuring the bust of famed Danish fable writer Hans Christian Andersen.

A bit north of Miami Beach, you'll find Pompano Beach. If you don't want to be "part of the masses", but some fun in the sun, plan your next trip here

Great family trip to Washington D.C with children aged 5 - 13. You'll stay at the Savoy Suites Hotel and see many of the museums, monuments, and memorials in DC. See the Day Notes of a Tripwiser User who went in April, 2007. I know it appears to be predominantly culture (non-kid stuff), but there is a lot of walking involved, which allows them freedom to run around.

This 4-Day trip is built around the Winterfest, which lasts from late November until after the New Year. In the evening at Larimer Square, the scent of roasting chestnuts wafts through the air while strolling carolers sing favorite Christmas tunes under strings of festive lights, creating a classic holiday atmosphere, especially when the snow is falling. Even Santa Claus makes an appearance. Most of the entertainment involves local groups either from high schools and churches. Winterfest is guaranteed to put any Scrooge in the Christmas spirit.

Taking the family for fun in the sun and exploring this vast lake. Hope to do some jet skiing, boating, swimming, hiking. Doing this on a budget but with all the outdoor activities, the kids won't be missing anything!

Point your motor home south from Anchorage and discover days of fun and unparalleled adventure. The scenery along Alaska's Seward Highway is breathtaking. That's why it has been designated a National Forest Scenic Byway. You'll travel along the beautiful highways & byways & appreciate nature in its pristine state.

This 3-Day trip to Boise has you staying at the Idaho Heritage Inn Bed & Breakfast to add a nice touch to your vacation!

This 9-Day trip, along with visits to 5 South Dakota cities, includes the Black Hills Autumn Expedition. This annual event that takes place in September and part of October, and includes a great variety of events and destinations that have to do with the history of this region and reflect the Native American and Western influences that shaped the culture of the Black Hills area.

High school buddies fly to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a vacation before one heads off to college! Since they are too young to be able to get a rental car (have to be 25+), they'll be looking to take advantage of buses, trolleys, taxis as much as possible.

The Monarch Butterflies return to Pismo Beach each November & stay through February. Before the Holiday Rush has you spinning in every direction, grab your honey and make this an extended weekend getaway! The Pismo Beach habitat is believed to be the largest in the Western United States. It is a wonderful site to behold of huge pods of thousand of colorful butterflies gathered in "their" eucalyptus tree grove. Hundreds more are happily flittering about in the sunlight. A magical experience!

Want to find a hut experience. I stayed at a bungalow on Kauai back in 1986 & want to find something that's even more secluded.

There's a fantastic 9-Day celebration that happens in Little Havana in Miami, usually end February to early March. It's Carnaval! And if you want to catch another great festival within that, come near the end to enjoy the Calle Ocho Festival.

This 4-Day Yellowstone exploration trip starts with a bang with a Chili Cook-Off in Big Sky, Montana! Thirty contestants compete to make the best chili. Put on your western duds and join them for an evening of good food, music, raffle and auction of art items. Yellowstone is a Top US Destination.

Pismo Beach, known for it's spectacular beach & summer fun, is also the Clam Capital of the World. The city holds the Clam Festival every October, complete with clam chowder competitions and a clam-themed parade. Additionally, at the southern end of Price Street upon first entering Pismo Beach, a gigantic clam statue greets visitors. This trip gets you involved in all the fun without having to "shell" out a lot of dough!

Stay for 4 days in gorgeous northeastern California! Spend your days hiking, jet-skiing, cruising on the lake, but return each evening to your luxury hotel for a rest/recharge before hitting the casinos in the evening. A fabulous blend of activity & luxury.

This trip is built around the Denver Auto Show. It's a five-day affair that has, in past years, drawn an attendance of more than 100,000. On display are all the new cars under one roof so you can compare and search from different manufacturers. The show displays standard import and domestic cars, and also presents futuristic prototypes and exotic cars including economical gas-savers. Come shop, browse and see what the cars of tomorrow will have to offer.

This 3-Day Weekend trip is built around the beer festival in October. A great buddy trip!

Want to spend time on Disney's private island? Then try this 7-day cruise, where you'll spend 3-4 days at Walt Disney World, then 3-4 days at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, in the Bahamas. Once you find out how your cruise goes, come back here to enter the individual activities so you'll have an itinerary to take with you!

A weekend getaway where you'll spend your day at Disney World and the evening being mesmerized by the acrobatics of Cirque de Soleil. All this while staying at the Walt Disney Resort. An extravagant weekend...but you know you're worth it!

A spring-break family vacation to Northern Arizona. Planning on lots of hiking (& some shopping for when our legs are tired!).

This trip includes Elk hunting...and one that is recommended is with the Crystal Creek Outfitters. Some trips can easily extend to 10 days...this is the 4 day version.

Enjoy 4 days in Estes Park, nestled on the Northeastern edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park. This trip is built around the Elk Fest. Elk Fest offers visitors a chance to view elk in the wild during the rutting season, as well as expand their knowledge of elk. Learn more about elk, their habitat and how to observe them in the wild.

This is a fun trip to New Hampshire, where you'll start your vacation in Franconia, then head south to Laconia, a popular tourist city, before checking out Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth.

A quick getaway to an island for some fun in the sun in a more remote place.

We live close by, so we did a day-hiking trip on Mother's Day, but if you want to get a thorough introduction to the Pinnacles, stay for the weekend, either camping there or at a nearby hotel. Pinnacles National Monument is protected mountainous area located east of central California's Salinas Valley. The Monument's namesake are the eroded leftovers of half of an ancient extinct volcano! There are several trails for day hikers, some of which are strenuous. The trails provide views of the surrounding hills and valleys on clear days. The San Andreas Fault is visible from some vantages along the trails. The park includes over 26,000+ acres.

This 7-Day trip to California's Central Coast makes for a grand family adventure. Start the summer off with some fun in the sun! Besides the beach & pier, there's ATVing & horseback riding. Not to mention the 11-acre Dinosaur Caves Park! And with a little "you hang with the kids while I..." shuffling, Dad can enjoy an early morning round of Golf and Mom can shop to her heart's content.

This extended weekend trip surrounds you in nature, from the Arches National Park to the Sauropod Dinosaur Tracksite. A great trip for the whole family to take with lots of fun things to do!

Spend 4 days camping in a tent, RV, or cabin in this gorgeous national park, where redwoods loom & ferns grow alongside trails. One of the best examples of High Sierra terrain I've seen, but be prepared, the bears are numerous & frequent the campgrounds & trails. Worth it though because this is a Top US Destination.

This 3-day exploration of Olympic National Park, one of the Top US Destinations, is a great getaway. If you live within 4-hrs drive from this place, 3 days will give you a nice immersion. If you're further away, I'd add Seattle to the trip & make this a 7-day trip (especially if you're flying in).

Enjoy this 6-Day road trip, taking in the glitz of Las Vegas, the man made power of Hoover Dam, and then to the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon! Start this trip on Father's Day and save some $ on hotels. Especially fun for families with pre-teens and teenagers.

Enjoy this 3-Day trip visiting a gorgeous meeting of land and water. Hit the slopes at the Heavenly Resort and get a sky-high view of Lake Tahoe in one of their 25 lifts or in the 50-passenger aerial tram! A great getaway for the whole family with bunny hills for the little ones, snowboarding for the teenagers, and the casinos at night for Mom/Dad!

On this 4-Day trip, you'll be surrounded by an 8-Day event called the Legacy of the Arts. A great trip to take around Father's Day with your older kids & teenagers. You'll kayak, enjoy boat rides & tours, check out lobster hatcheries, and eat a burger while Dad enjoys a beer at one of the local brewing companies. An active trip with lots of fun things to do!

This 5-Day vacation to Maryland's State Capital allows you to check out the beaches & parks in Annapolis along with the culture found there. A good combination trip, while staying at a nice hotel with a pool for the duration (nothing like a dip between getting back from your activities & relaxing in the hotel for a bit before going out to dinner).

Family vacation during Thanksgiving 2006. Theme: Follow the GoldRush and make it enjoyable and fun for the kids.

This 3-Day trip to North Dakota includes the 2-Day Fargo Blues Festival. It's an annual two-day blues music festival on the grass of Newman Outdoor Field with over 50 food & gift vendors. The Blues Festival has received national exposure and has been recognized as one of the best blues fests in the country. Dan Aykroyd (aka Elwood Blues) has twice given it a thumbs up on his nationally syndicated House of Blues Radio hour. Bring a lawnchair!

Enjoy this extended weekend getaway with the family! Spend time on Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake in the continental U.S. A lighted pier allows for day and night fishing. A hiking and biking trail wind around the lake. You don't have to wait till the summertime to go camping there... just stay at a nearby hotel.

Are you a bird lover? Try this section of trail, which stretches from Tallahassee to the Florida/Alabama state line and features nearly 80 sites. Once the entire trail is completed, it'll be more than 2000 miles! This four-day tour highlights several of Florida’s premier birding sites beginning in the state’s capital, Tallahassee. From Tallahassee you will travel south to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, west to Apalachicola, north to Marianna, and then wind up the tour in the Pensacola Bay area.

Going to gorgeous South Lake Tahoe, California for my birthday! Want to spend the days hiking, exploring, & sunning by the lake but the evenings (& onto the wee hours of the morning :>) are reserved for the casinos!

We're heading up to the Sonora & Columbia area to spend time with family. Our plan is to explore the Moaning Caverns on Friday, hang out at Pinecrest Lake for a BBQ, swim & party boat on Saturday, then do some geocaching along the Natural Bridges hike down to the river (where I hear there's a cool cave you can swim into). We'll be staying with family but I thought I'd add in some hotels for other Users because we're familiar with this area. A fun, extended weekend in the sun!

Follow the Gold Rush and discover the "days of old".

From Amtrak: http://www.amtrakvacations.com/index.php?id=588&PHPSESSID=38911d2e7a12d48ee9bdf232843364a7

Two small towns in Mendocino County offer up a relaxed atmosphere surrounded by ocean & woods! Spend one day exploring the beach, the other hiking in the redwoods!

Enjoy this 7-Day stay on the quieter island of Kauai (a Top US Destination!) where you'll spend one full day at the gorgeous Na Pali Coast Park.

Bodega Bay, Mendocino, Fort Bragg, less than half a day's drive from most San Francisco Bay Area locations, are great destinations for nice weekend escapes.

This trip includes 12 popular hikes throughout Yosemite Valley. Either camp out in tents or stay at one the tent cabins... just make sure you're well-rested for the next day's hikes!

Celebrate the start of a great life together by vacationing at one of the Top US Destinations! Miami, Florida has a wonderful array of activities, from nature to culture, that allows couples to relax one day in leisure & be adventurous the next.

This 3-Day Trip includes a Horsepack trip with Bar Diamond G Outfitters. A fun one for a family with older children.

Explore Middle America! This 8-Day Road trip has you visiting 3 states, 8 cities as you travel in a loop. Some legs are 5 hours long so this is a better trip for families with older kids & teenagers. By starting this trip on a Saturday, returning Saturday, you'll save $ on the hotels, making this an affordable road trip.

Enjoy this 4-Day trip to Kihei & Lahaina, Maui where you'll cruise, snorkel, swim, and whale watch! A spectacular array of sun & surf, sure to keep the whole family active (active kids during the day = sleeping kids at night = a romantic evening stroll along the beach for Mom & Dad ;>)

This weekend is built around the Jazz Festival, but you'll also enjoy going on the Mississippi River Tours, take a Historic Driving Tour...and more!

From Amtrak Vacations: http://www.amtrakvacations.com/index.php?id=829

This 3-Day teaser trip will introduce you to the Joshua Tree National Park & 29 Palms. The Joshua Tree grows only in the Mojave desert. The area has only two entrances: In the north in Twenty Nine Palms, and in the south in Cottonwood Springs, 25mi/40km east of Indio. Both entrances have visitors' centers, where you can obtain maps of this national monument and other information, before setting out to explore this beautiful desert landscape at an altitude of 1,000 to 6,000ft/300 to 1,800m.

This weekend trip to Topeka, Kansas includes the Lake Shawnee Intertribal Pow Wow, where you'll enjoy traditional Native American food, crafts, entertainment, cultural sessions, Native dancing including Gourd Dancing, and educational seminars during this 3-Day festival.

Enjoy this spring weekend in Narrangasett & enjoy an ocean view while staying at the Lighthouse Inn.

This weekend getaway will treat you like royalty! Gorgeous beaches, fine dining, luxurious accommodations, and shopping to do in between. This trip even stretches 2 days into 3 so you can enjoy 2 nights at your hotel!

Long-time friends turned the 40s corner & ran smack into their 50s! So...we're turning this corner in style! As new inductees into the Red Hat Society, we're gathering in Las Vegas for something more than "tea & cookies"! 4 Days, 3 nights where we'll paint the town red...and purple!

This 5-Day trip to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, includes a stop at the UNM Meteorite Museum, showcasing meteorites collected from around the world...actually from around the solar system! The Mesa Verde National Park is a Top US Destination!

This wonderful 3-Day getaway includes The Music in the Mountains summer concert series. All of the events are held outside at the Meadow Village Pavillion, one of the finest venues in the state.

While you're visiting Ottawa, include the Ottawa International Busker Festival! Ottawa is a stately city that houses the country's business of government and diplomacy. During the August long weekend, however the Sparks Street Mall, a pedestrian-only street, is inhabited with buskers of all stripes, including storytellers, jugglers and fire-eaters. The acts, starting at 11 a.m. and ending past midnight, are fun, and only cost what you want to pay.

This is a great trip for young couples or a group of friends who want to be surrounded by memorials & museums, but don't necessarily want to spend their time in them. Rather, this itinerary is filled with... PARTIES! Nightclubs, jazz lounges, and special events like the DC Carribean Carnival, which has the parade on 6-23 and the Savannah Concert on 6-24-07. This is one party-packed vacation!

Enjoy this wonderful weekend trip with your younger children. Stay at the Tradewinds Island Grand Resort, play at St. Pete Beach, meet the resident Captain Redbeard, and enjoy a few hours at the spa while you drop your kids off at the KONK Club. It's a thoroughly enjoyable trip!

Enjoy this overnighter, coming in Saturday for the annual Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival, then heading down to Highway 1 to stay at a hotel near the harbor or beach! The next day, after a nice breakfast at the harbor, head a bit north to the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve for some immersion into the marine life there. A thoroughly pleasant weekend getaway!

Besides visiting the zoo, the Old Market, and the Planetarium, you'll have a great time at the River City Roundup, an annual event, normally staged in late September, which celebrates Omaha's rich western heritage and interesting history in a carnival-like atmosphere that will appeal to the entire family.

The original creator of this trip to San Antonio, Texas already had everything planned (see individual Day Notes), making for a grand family trip with visits to Sea World, The Alamo, an IMAX Movie, a cruise, a river walk, gardens, zoos. With San Antonio being a Top US Destination, it's nice to find a nicely laid-out trip like this.

This 3-Day packed trip is a fun one for the family because it includes the Annual Sandcastle & Sculpture Day. This event, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, takes sand castle building to the highest level, but still manages to remain a fun, family affair. Every year teams converge on Jetties Beach, just outside Nantucket Town, to create art out of beach sand.

I'm staying local & heading to Sausalito for my anniversary. Sausalito is a cute little bayside town with a great waterfront area. There's houseboats & flower-lined side streets, quirky stores & plenty of places to eat. It's also very near the Redwoods (Muir Woods, about 8 miles), 3-4 beaches within 20 minutes, Angel Island & Tiburon just a tad north, and of course, San Francisco about 15 minutes south.

Savannah Music Festival is a 10-day celebration in March, which celebrates music and art at various venues throughout historic downtown Savannah.

This 3-Day trip includes Shakespeare in the Park. This year, there's a free performance of Moliere's "Tartuffe" on the Meadow Village Pavilion stage.

Enjoy this romantic 4-Day Weekend getaway to the charming village of San Juan Capistrano (& then add another day to check out Coronado Island & the gaslamp district in San Diego!). Each March, the swallows return to the old mission. And people, in turn, celebrate their arrival. The Swallows Festival or "Fiesta delas Golondrinas" is a two-month long celebration of the return of the swallows (Cliff Swallows) to San Juan Capistrano on March 19 of each year. The festival begins in late February with the "Taste of San Juan Reception". In mid-March, Swallows Week is kicked off with the President's Ball followed by a week of events such as the Hairiest Man Contest, Pets on Parade, Hat Contest, Hoos'gow Day, pancake breakfast, and the annual Swallows Day Parade & Mercado.

Surprise my hubby with a good rib-eye steak, some cold beers, a couple of cool action-packed movies, and bring his dog along for the ride... figure that's a pretty good present from the wife (unless she stays home & lets him go off by himself...but THAT's not going to happen... it IS Valentine's Day after all :>)

This 5-Day luxury trip includes staying at the full-service, all suite Embassy Suites in Northwestern DC., all the while enjoying the International Horse Show! On other days, you'll be visiting a lot of parks and gardens.

Take a weekend and just get away! In the Melbourne/Palm Bay area, there are 33 miles of uncrowded, clean and sandy Atlantic beaches, such as Spessard Holland in Melbourne Beach and the Boardwalk/5th Avenue in Indialantic. Melbourne is a center for water sports such as boating, fishing, sailboarding, scuba diving, surfing, water & jet skiing. So choose a beach, relax, enjoy, then head back to the town & check out some museums & zoos.

From Amtrak info: http://www.amtrakvacations.com/index.php?id=589

Enjoy 4 "most excellent" days in Estes Park, nestled on the Northeastern edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park. The air is crisp, the views are gorgeous, the choice of activities are varied. This one is geared to the Western theme, including the Rooftop Rodeo, horseback riding, and other Cowboy activities like the Lazy B Chuckwagon (dinner/music/comedy).

This week-long vacation to Vancouver includes the Festival of Lights, an annual festival at VanDusen Gardens & a must-see local favorite. 5 acres of the massive 55-acre gardens are transformed every December evening into a magical holiday light display for all ages to enjoy. Let the kids visit Santa and get yourself in the mood for enchanting holiday beauty.

This winter weekend trip takes you to the Winter Sports Expo. This unique event, held annually in November, offers a variety of fun activities, entertainment, giveaways, and educational demonstrations that the whole family can enjoy.

This weekend trip includes the World Championship Barbecue Contest! This event has gained nationwide prestige and is often featured on TV shows, such as the 'Today Show', 'Good Morning America' and 'Prime Time Live'. More than 90,000 people attend the festival each year. Called the "Superbowl of Swine", this festival offers cash prizes to a winner that is more than $61,050.