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Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3051
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 6:46 pm: | 
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As a last ditch effort to get the frick outta here for a change of scenery for 5 days next week, I am desperately looking for a place to go that's warm, has some interesting things to do, where we can also take our 2-year-old? All the flights to any beach destination are pretty much full.
Was thinking Santa Fe, NM, but it doesn't seem much warmer than here. Heard good things about Austin, TX, but don't know much about it and I don't really want to be in a "city."
Would be great if there were an indoor pool to allow the little one some splash time, regardless of the weather.
Obviously not an ideal situation, but we just want to get away for a few days!
(and we promise not to let the little one wheel his own Dora the Explorerer carry-on bag!) |
redY67
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 4883
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 7:07 pm: |
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What about Arizona? There are a lot of places to go, outdoor activities, and it has been in the high 70s |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3052
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 7:34 pm: |
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Any particular place in Arizona you're recommending, or just throwing it out there? |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 1049
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 8:02 pm: |
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San Diego area - flights to CA are usually not bad - Lego Land rules, zoo, Seaworld, La Jolla is lovely...fish tacos
I have current San Diego guidebooks, as we just went again in Oct. for a wedding
wish we were going on a trip! Have fun, wherever you go. |
redY67
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 4886
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 8:03 pm: |
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Just throwing it out there. I was there last week and it was beautiful. There are a lot of different places to go; depending on how active you'd like to be. There are beautiful resorts with activites for kids; The Pointe in Phoenix or La Paloma in Tucson. There is a great museum in Tucson, The Sonora Desert Museum. There are also cool day trips, such as Old Tucson (don't know if it has been rebuilt since it burned down), Tombstone, has very cool "old west" activities. I could go on and on! |
Projects Dude
Citizen
Username: Quakes
Post Number: 81
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 7:53 am: |
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Santa Fe, NM is great! The outdoors will be fun for kids and the adults will love the restaurants. Don't know what the weather's like now but in Dec the air is cool/cold but the sun is strong so it's very comfortable during the day. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1299
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 9:11 am: |
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Santa Fe is wonderful - I've been there many times (my mother-in-law has a B&B there), but they experience the change of the seasons like we do, so it would not give you the warm vacation you're looking for right now.
Arizona is a great suggestion. I've heard great things about Sedona (for spas). I've only been to Tucson to visit family a couple of times and we didn't do much while there, but my sister (who lives in Tucson) sent me this info when a friend was planning on going there last year....if it helps:
The website for the Tucson Visitor’s Bureau is: http://www.visittucson.org/
Mt. Lemmon was pretty well wiped out by fire last year, and Old Tucson had the same predicament a few years ago-ravaged by fire.
Sabino Canyon, is a nice place to stroll and/or take a tram through the canyon. http://www.sabinocanyon.com/
One of the nicest walks/visits to go on here is through the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (website: http://www.desertmuseum.org/index.html ) There are a lot of people that go; I’ve been there several times-on personal strolls and field trips. Everyone from tourists to students to families stroll through there. There are indoor and outdoor exhibits and scenery galore.
One place in Tucson I’ve never been, but have heard rave reviews over is Tohono Chul Park. It’s a beautiful botanical garden with a “Tea Room”:...basically a restaurant, I believe. Tohono Chul website: http://www.tohonochulpark.org/
Desert Museum & Tohono Chul are both great combinations of leisurely and educational places to go.
Sedona could be a place to go if they're into art, although I’ve only driven through there. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1300
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 9:12 am: |
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BTW - My MIL's B&B in Santa Fe is wonderful if you do decide to go there (and she has an indoor pool).
http://www.delmarsantafe.com |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3061
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:11 am: |
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Thanks for all the great ideas LilLB. Somehow I don't see a B&B as a place to bring a 2-year-old? You say they experience the change of seasons as we do, but is it as bitterly cold as here. Or is it more comfortable, as Projects Dude suggests?
Also, how far is Santa Fe from the airport in Albequerque? Would we need to rent a car or is there transportation? One of the "deals" I looked at had us staying at the Hotel Santa Fe, which seems to get good reviews and be close to everything, but our flight home leaves at 6:30 A.M. If it were just my husband and I, I couldn't care less, but I don't know how fun that will be with the baby. When I tried to book it with a later flight, the price went up quite a bit.
Seems like you know the area well, so I'd certainly appreciate any insight you may have. I've been dying to go there for years. Maybe this is my chance? |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3062
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:15 am: |
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Just looked at your MIL's place and it does look great, but is it near town? |
Robert Little
Citizen
Username: Boblittle
Post Number: 323
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:16 am: |
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San Diego (full disclosure: my home town): Legoland is geared a little younger than Disney (which is not too far away anyway); the two zoos; Sea World; Old Town.
The Californian still in me has an anti-Arizona prejudice. It's filled with asthmatics who moved there (following in the path of mustard-gas victims) who became crazed by the unremitting sun.
The downside to the left coast is the long flight. But the Caribbean is very expensive now. |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3063
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:19 am: |
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O.K. since it's your home town, can you recommend a decent moderately priced hotel that has an indoor pool that's close to most of what we'd like to do while we're there? |
akb
Citizen
Username: Akb
Post Number: 392
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:36 am: |
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meand, I love the southwest and have been many times. I would not go in Feb if you want warmth, though. The weather is quite variable - we went once in March and had snow.
Go when it is warmer and you plan to be outdoors all the time. |
Mummite
Citizen
Username: Mummite
Post Number: 218
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:54 am: |
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If you're looking to find someplace WARM try north FL or southern GA - amelia island, st augustine, jekyll island, penascola on the panhandle? |
User58
Citizen
Username: User58
Post Number: 407
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 12:05 pm: |
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rain forest in PR |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1304
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 1:00 pm: |
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Downtown Santa Fe is approximately 1 hour from the Albuquerque airport. My MIL's B&B is about 45 minutes from the airport -- so if you stayed there, you'd be dealing with about a 15 minute drive into town (a very easy drive). We've always rented a car at the airport - I don't know of any public transport, but driving from Albuquerque couldn't be easier - you basically drive on the same road the whole way, and the speed limit is 75 mph on that highway...
I would say that they don't get as much snow as we do in the main areas, but they have great skiing at the Santa Fe Ski Basin. We probably also have slightly more extreme temperatures here, but it gets cold (I just looked at weather.com, and it's supposed to get to 23 degrees there tonight, but it's in the 40s right now.) So, it may not actually be that bad. We usually go at Christmas time when we visit, and we are able to do a lot of walking around town - I don't think the temperatures get as bitter as it does here. They have winter, but it's not as extreme I guess. In fact, come to think of it, aside from a visit one September, I've ONLY been out there during the winter time...so I guess it can't be that bad... It's just not the southwest "desert" weather that people think of.
Re the 2-year old at the B&B, I know when I mentioned that my friend at work was thinking of visiting out there, but they had a 6 month old, she said "no problem" (they didn't end up staying there, but she didn't hesitate at all about welcoming kids). BUT, I could understand not wanting to stay at a B&B with kids. The MIL volunteers and does so much around the area that she's very knowledgeable about what to do in the area and can be of great help when you're trying to decide what to do in the area. I swear it was like she was destined to be a B&B owner - she's really good at it. Oh - you should know they have a couple of dogs, FYI - but they're WONDERFUL dogs - they're so friendly and never get in your face. If you take a walk around the property (great views), the dogs will help herd you around (they're the sheepherding kind of dogs...)
We stayed in Downtown Santa Fe for one night a few years back because we were there on Valentines day. We stayed at the Inn of the Anasazi, which was AMAZING. It's probably more expensive than most places (I don't remember off-hand what it cost, but it was also about 8 years ago when we stayed there so it will have changed). If you don't stay there, at least have dinner in their restaurant - excellent place.
OK, now I want to go to Santa Fe again...
There really is a lot to do out there and it's so low key. Every time we visit out there, we keep saying that we'd love to retire out there - lots of activity without any stress...
Oh - and we did one of those early flights too - I think we left her place about 2 1/2 hours ahead of time, and returning the car was extremely easy. No issues.
Whether you do a B&B or Hotel in the downtown area, you would be sure to have a great time there. |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1305
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 1:21 pm: |
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BTW - I just looked at the site for the Hotel Santa Fe - I think I remember seeing that one right in the heart of downtown. Looks very nice - and they have a shuttle from the airport, which is nice. (I think you'll want a car though while you're there anyway, may be easiest to just get one from the airport for easy return.) |
redY67
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 4889
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 1:31 pm: |
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AZ is warm in February if your are still thinking of it. There are a ton of great resorts to choose from, not such bad prices. |
Purplebug
Citizen
Username: Purplebug
Post Number: 51
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 1:42 pm: |
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There are a myriad of places I can think of, yet a cannot make a cohesive suggestion. Might you want to try www.travelzoo.com or www.site59.com to find out some last minute deals? |
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