Usually we go snow skiing in early December but my girlfriend wants to save a few bucks and since I'm considering a home I am down with it. I will be flying out of Chicago and she from Tampa. The two ideas we came up with are New Orleans or Seattle, but thats with no research at all. Any ideas? Outdoorsy/good food is a big plus. 3-6 days starting December 7th.
Savannah GA. Has a good downtown, lots of places to eat, and you can drink on the street. Can get a hotel in the downtown and not need a rental car. Of course she is close enough she might be able to drive if she has a car. If you like history it's a pretty neat place to visit.
Second suggestion is Vegas. Usually cheap hotel/flight options and you don't have to gamble to have a good time. It has the added bonus of making your friends think you might be running away to get married.
Vegas
I love New Orleans. Great drinks, great food, fun. Chance of getting at shot at is a bonus. 
I didn't really love Savannah but I would also suggest Charleston. I enjoyed visiting Charleston.
New Orleans sucks unless your idea of a good time is waking up in a gutter full of vomit and feces. I've lived there, done Mardi Gras, bayous, blah blah, it sucked.
Seattle is great in December, it's cold and there's a bazillion outdoors things to do. Many mountains close by for skiing/snowboarding, good food, lots of sights to see.
Honestly though, Portland is better (Oregon). The mountain is closer and cheaper, the food is out-berkeleying-standing, the beer will make you want to never leave, and less people.
Javelin wrote: New Orleans sucks unless your idea of a good time is waking up in a gutter full of vomit and feces. I've lived there, done Mardi Gras, bayous, blah blah, it sucked.
New Orleans doesn't suck. It is an awesome place to visit.
Javelin wrote: Seattle is great in December, it's cold
That's all I needed to know, won't be coming to Seattle in December.
I've also never had problem waking up in the gutters of N.O.
New Orleans is a great place. Stay away from Bourbon St. to avoid the vomit.
The Florida Keys are also pretty darn nice in December.....but keeping costs down may be a challenge.
Tuscon AZ is pretty darn fun in the Winter. Lots of outdoorsy stuff to do, junkyards are fun (no rust) and there's a decent music scene. The weather is nice that time of year too.
Go racing at Road Atlanta. I even know about a team you might be able to buy into:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/arrive-drive-little-lamb-orghini-challenge-car-road-atlanta-dec-8-w-chumpcar-700/55319/page1/
Cruises are cheap in December (at least until the kiddies get out). And you could leave from Tampa and save at least one airfare.
jg
In Vegas you can rent a C6 Corvette for $200/day from Thrifty. Or at least could a few years ago. Make a nice long day trip, say to Valley Of Fire, out of it and it's a relatively cheap day. Pack a lunch. Sources say there are very few cops clocking you in and out of the park and the streets are really long with good sight lines. Don't speed too badly in the park though.
Vegas is stupid cheap right now. I went in the spring of 2011 and got a great deal.
93EXCivic wrote:Javelin wrote: New Orleans sucks unless your idea of a good time is waking up in a gutter full of vomit and feces. I've lived there, done Mardi Gras, bayous, blah blah, it sucked.New Orleans doesn't suck. It is an awesome place to visit.
I watched a guy get shot in a drive-by right in front of our military base entrance my first night there. It most certainly does suck. It smelled like a sewage plant with rotting food mixed in pre-Katrina.
The old-school in Louisiana are pretty nice; good people, great food, lots of hospitality. I'd visit the smaller areas in a heartbeat.
But not Nola, that place should have stayed underwater.
Javelin wrote: But not Nola, that place should have stayed underwater.
Edit: Removed my comment to keep this thread on track.
If you are looking for somewhere in the Southeast. My recommendations would be 1. Charleston 2. New Orleans 3. Nashville
We went to Cozumel for diving last November. It was great. We're going back.
I'd say Moab. Stunning scenery that's made even better if there's a dusting of snow, cheap cheap cheap at that time of year and it'll be deserted.
Did you know that Vegas has a massive influx of people between Christmas and New Years? Neither did we until we went. It's just down the street from us (well 500 miles, but there's nothing between here and there) so it's a more casual visit for us than most.
The Keys and Savannah are out, as next weekend and 1 month from now we already have road trips planned there.
Nashville has been done.
Vegas isn't my style. Though its on my to-do list, its not very high up there.
Need to look into Moab, whatever that is.
Portland is interesting....will have to look into that. I'll be in Chicago for training the week before and I can expense 1/2 my flight where ever we go next so might as well fly somewhere.
If we go to Seattle/Portland it wouldn't be to ski, because that defeats the purpose of a cheap trip. Mostly explore, maybe hike and eat/drink.
Thanks everyone!
If you go to moab, rent an SUV and get the insurance. You'll have lots of fun.
How about Chattanooga? Tons of outdoor/indoor things to do good food and some nice roads.
In reply to Enyar:
Portland just got named one of the top 10 beer cities in the world (with Dublin, Munich, etc) so you know that drinks will be epic. Lots to explore (Powell's books, the breweries, waterfront park, sternwheeler up the river, 4T trail hike, etc).
dculberson wrote: Make a nice long day trip, say to Valley Of Fire, out of it and it's a relatively cheap day. Pack a lunch. Sources say there are very few cops clocking you in and out of the park and the streets are really long with good sight lines. Don't speed too badly in the park though.
+1. Valley of Fire is awesome. Beautiful place to visit and hike. But it is definitely in the middle of nowhere. Make sure your car is full of gas before you leave. Ours wasn't, and we had to turn around before we got to finish exploring for fear of running out of gas. There's no gas station within 30 miles. I don't remember what the highway is that runs between Vegas and Valley of Fire, but it's wide open...and fast. We were in a V6 Mustang convertible, cruising at about 90mph, and we got passed...a lot.
I also used to say Vegas isn't my style...until I went there the first time. I quickly realized you can make Vegas any style you want it to be. I think most people imagine it as a drinking/gambling binge. It can be if you want it, but it definitely doesn't have to be.
If you're ruling out Vegas, I'd definitely say desert southwest would be a great place to go.
somewhere with a good amusement park.
edit: scratch that...They'll probably be closed in December. All the other posts have me thinking Portland would be nice, but I doubt flights are cheap from FL.
Enyar wrote: Need to look into Moab, whatever that is.
Moab!
Hiking.
Mountain biking. Some of the best out there.
Off-roading mecca.
Camping.
It's a fantastic place. If the high point of Vegas is Valley of Fire, then go to Moab.
Cotton wrote: somewhere with a good amusement park. edit: scratch that...They'll probably be closed in December. All the other posts have me thinking Portland would be nice, but I doubt flights are cheap from FL.
They're cheap enough the other way! (We're flying from Portland to Orlando and back this December)
Pheonix(and the adjacent areas ie Sedona, Grand Canyon, etc)
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