Trying to Plan a Low-Cost Trip..

[Neuqua]

So I want to surprise my ladyfriend with a weekend get away sometime in the later Summer time. She's a special person, who has had to deal with a lot of immaturities on my behalf and I want to kind of give her a "thank you." I am not a rich guy by any stretch, and so I am going to be hitting the cheap services (priceline, hotwire, etc) pretty hardcore to find a decent Plane + Hotel Ticket. Ideally I won't have to spend more than $600 combined on them so that leaves enough spending money for once we finally get there. I am trying to plan as much as I can in advance so that I can find the best deal. I am looking to leave anywhere from Mid-July to Mid-August.

Interests:
We both have a sense of history, so having sites to check out during the day which may have some sort of strong influence would be great. Also, would ideally love to check out a baseball game while I am there (though it isn't necessary.) We have a pretty active night life as well, so hopefully we can go somewhere which doesn't necessary shut down in the early evening.

Key Notes:
- Mid-July to Mid-August
- Not expensive :)
- Sights to see
- Decent Night life

Any suggestions offhand? Any good experiences that you can tell me about? Maybe even the ladies of the board can help me out from a girls' perspective. Come on FOFC, help a guy out!

[Neuqua]

By the way, I'd like to go some place the weather is decent as well. Especially in the late summer months, I do not necessarily do too well in insane heat. Nor do I want to go somewhere too chilly, we live in Chicago after all.

:)

[Young Drachma]

I hear Hollywood is the place to be these days...

[path12]

Seattle is beautiful in August, but I don't think it's all that cheap.

[Neuqua]

Hah, never fails.

While I know you weren't being serious, I am trying to stay away from places that are going to cost too much money. I want any expenses to be reasonable. I don't want her to spend a time so I am taking full responsibility of it.

God I hope she doesn't stumble onto this thread.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Help us help you.

Flying out of Midway/O'Hare I'm assuming?
Some insight on places she's visited & enjoyed?
Any chance of shifting the trip off the weekend, maybe Sunday/Monday or something? (non-weekend can sometimes be cheaper)
Any other insight into interests other than history/historical significance that you could offer?

If you were in my region I could probably knock out several things (active nightlife requirement probably the toughest criteria for me to meet) but I'm afraid airfare would kill most of the options I know best.

[Young Drachma]

Here's a serious one, though it won't be cool as some of the other suggestions and for some reason I just thought of it and wanted to suggest it:

You could stay at a bed and breakfast in Galena and then hit the restaurant Fried Green Tomatoes, which is kitch, but was nice the only time I was there well...it's been well over eight years now. But go with it. There are historical sites there, most notably President Grant's home.

Go see the Swing of the Quad Cities in Davenport (Single-A) which are about an hour or so to the south.

It's a driving trip, to be sure. But if the weather is good, it could be a fun little adventure, without breaking the bank and would give plenty of time for chatting.

St. Louis would be cool too. The Missouri Botanical Gardens are AWESOME and I never got tired of going there when I lived down there. And of course, new Busch stadium and such. And good places to eat there, as well as a decent nightlife, which my first suggestion lacked.

Good luck.

[st.cronin]

Here's a serious one, though it won't be cool as some of the other suggestions and for some reason I just thought of it and wanted to suggest it:

You could stay at a bed and breakfast in Galena and then hit the restaurant Fried Green Tomatoes, which is kitch, but was nice the only time I was there well...it's been well over eight years now. But go with it. There are historical sites there, most notably President Grant's home.

Go see the Swing of the Quad Cities in Davenport (Single-A) which are about an hour or so to the south.

It's a driving trip, to be sure. But if the weather is good, it could be a fun little adventure, without breaking the bank and would give plenty of time for chatting.

St. Louis would be cool too. The Missouri Botanical Gardens are AWESOME and I never got tired of going there when I lived down there. And of course, new Busch stadium and such. And good places to eat there, as well as a decent nightlife, which my first suggestion lacked.

Good luck.

St. Louis came to mind for me, too. I think that might be off peak for Denver or Boulder, so that might be somewhat affordable.

[MrBug708]

I heard Naperville is kinda cool :)

[adubroff]

New Orleans might be a decent choice. I think you could make/be close to your price point there. Hot in the summer though.

Washington DC is a possibility. DC is really hot/sticky at this time of year. Really strong on the site seeing front.

Baltimore is a great town that is often overlooked. Really good food/restaurants. Camden Yards is a great place to see a baseball game. Also very hot and sticky in the summer though.

[Peregrine]

You might consider Memphis, I've always had a good time when I've gone there, there's a lot of smaller museums in addition to the big ones and the MLK memorial museum. Beale Street is a bit touristy but there's a lot of fun nightlife there, plus there's a great AAA ballpark for the Memphis Redbirds in the downtown area. It's definitely the nicest minor league stadium I've ever been to, the thing cost like $80 million to build.

[Mustang]

She has never mentioned where she might want to go?

[Mustang]

Oh.. and you mentioned baseball game. Does she REALLY like baseball or is that something you are wanting to do? I ask because you said.. 'something when I'm there' not 'something when we're there'

:D

[14ers]

If it value you want try heading north of the boarder.


Toronto

http://www.excellent-romantic-vacations.com/images/may-vacations-in-toronto.jpg Toronto is a great multi-cultural city, and has lots of things to see and do for romantic getaways.
There's sights like the CN Tower, wonderfully diverse restaurants, and daytrips to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

[NoSkillz]

If it value you want try heading north of the boarder.

Word. I was just about to say Toronto.

You get a bit of bang for your buck with the exchange rate (although not as much as usual anymore)...you could DRIVE from Illinois but flights shouldn't be too expensive.

Toronto has a great nightlife and obviously, the Blue Jays are in town so you're covered there. Temps aren't much different from Illinois. Shopping is amazing there and there are plenty of sites to see in the city.

Then, as 14ers said, you can hit Niagara Falls to do the tourist thing and Niagara-on-the-Lake is an absolutely gorgeous, romantic town. They are both about an hour away from Toronto by car. Do dinner down there and take a walk along the Lake and you're set for the night for sure. There is also the world-famous Shaw Festival in town so you can take your lady to a play, if that's your thing.

I live here in the Niagara Region so I can definitely help with suggestions for both Niagara or Toronto.

[Klinglerware]

I would consider a B & B as well, since they tend to be a little cheaper than a standard hotel (step above budget). You'll have to do your research on this, but if you choose right, the experience/ambiance at a B & B can be much nicer than what you would get at a budget hotel.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Kansas City and Denver would both be good places to go. You could likely get round trip tickets on Southwest Airlines for less than $100 to either place. I've been to see the Rockies play in Denver. Nice place. You could easily drive up into the mountains for a nice dinner or there's plenty of sites to see in the Denver metro area.

Kauffman Stadium in KC is a great stadium as well with relatively low ticket costs (you can get seats in the first 20 rows around the dugout area for around $25/ticket). KC has a wonderful shopping/restaurant district called The Plaza. Great steak and BBQ restaurants everywhere. Also, there are 4 casinos less than 10 miles from downtown if you're into that kind of thing. For a cheap but interesting sidetrip, you can head about 20 miles north of town and visit lots of historic sites surrounding Jesse James. There's a couple of banks he robbed, a jail he was held in, his farmstead where he lived with his brother and family. You can also visit his grave (yes, it's been confirmed via DNA that it is him and he was shot).

[Logan]

When you say "surprise her" do you mean, "Honey, guess what? I booked us a beautiful weekend in Toronto next month!" or "Honey, make sure you come straight home from work today...we're going to Toronto for the weekend!"

If it's the latter, I strongly suggest you make sure your girl is the kind who is okay with dropping everything suddenly and spending a weekend away. I have a buddy who basically had his relationship ended because his girlfriend wasn't that type.

[Mustang]

Of course, make sure that whatever place you pick, she will say..

TORONTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and not

TORONTO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Dr. Sak]

I would suggest Toronto too. You can go to a Baseball game during the night, visit the Hockey Hall of Fame during the day. There is plently of night life there from what I remember.

[Logan]

Of course, make sure that whatever place you pick, she will say..

TORONTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and not

TORONTO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Another good call. You might want to figure out a creative way to gauge whether she'll be interested in whatever place you choose. I had never thought of Kansas City, for example, as a wonderful city with plenty of cool things to see (and I'm not doubting that it's true). But as someone who is less cultured and hasn't traveled as much as others, my first inclination to a trip to Kansas City wouldn't be favorable.

[ctmason]

I second Toronto if the airfare works for you. My gf and I were planning a summer trip either there or Seattle. Ultimately we had to abandon both because of the coast, but we're flying from Phoenix and really had no cheap options in terms of airfare.

[FrogMan]

Interests:
We both have a sense of history, so having sites to check out during the day which may have some sort of strong influence would be great. Also, would ideally love to check out a baseball game while I am there (though it isn't necessary.) We have a pretty active night life as well, so hopefully we can go somewhere which doesn't necessary shut down in the early evening.

Key Notes:
- Mid-July to Mid-August
- Not expensive :)
- Sights to see
- Decent Night life



dude, Quebec City has a lot of that. The Old Quebec area is an amazing place for sightseeing and historical value, and the Grande Allée has a great night life. You'd have said you wanted to come up right now, I'd have told you the weather is not all that warm but Mid-July to Mid-August is usually perfect.

FM

[Peregrine]

I was going to recommend Montreal or Quebec City, both great places, but the airfare looked out of his range.

[Klinglerware]

dude, Quebec City has a lot of that. The Old Quebec area is an amazing place for sightseeing and historical value, and the Grande Allée has a great night life. You'd have said you wanted to come up right now, I'd have told you the weather is not all that warm but Mid-July to Mid-August is usually perfect.

FM

I was going to say Montreal, if baseball wasn't a must-have--a beautiful (and inexpensive) city with plenty of nightlife. It was the first long weekend I took with my fiancee...

I hear that Quebec City is even better when it comes to "historic-ness", but I've also heard that it's a bit more difficult to navigate if you don't know French (that's the rumor, anyway...).

[FrogMan]

I was going to recommend Montreal or Quebec City, both great places, but the airfare looked out of his range.

yeah, realized afterwards that the airfare may be a problem, although, it could be said that a trip to Quebec City is about the same as a trip to some old European cities, at a fraction of the cost ;)

FM

[FrogMan]

I hear that Quebec City is even better when it comes to "historic-ness", but I've also heard that it's a bit more difficult to navigate if you don't know French (that's the rumor, anyway...).

it is indeed much, much better. Montreal is nice, but Quebec's got so much more history to it. The Battlefield plains, the Citadel, the Old Quebec, these are all place where you can really get a taste for how the continent all started.

As for the difficulty of navigating, it tends to be easier as you get closer to the center of the city, the Old Quebec, as it's really set to host tourists. We visited it for a whole day with a couple of American friends of ours maybe 4 years ago and every place we went, we kept speaking English with our friends and waiters and guides kept on helping us without a hitch.

FM

[FrogMan]

dola, and yeah, well we only have a minor league baseball team :)

FM

[FrogMan]

dola, which is now better than what Montreal can claim for :D

FM

[DanGarion]

If you are going to go to Canada make sure she has a valid and up to date passport. :)

[SackAttack]

"Ooh, sorry, honey. I'll pick you up inside security later this week so we can go home."

[Neuqua]

Help us help you.

Flying out of Midway/O'Hare I'm assuming?
Some insight on places she's visited & enjoyed?
Any chance of shifting the trip off the weekend, maybe Sunday/Monday or something? (non-weekend can sometimes be cheaper)
Any other insight into interests other than history/historical significance that you could offer?


O'hare and Midway are indeed where I am flying out of. I have no problems shifting the trip to a non weekend if need be. We are both currently working part time and so scheduling off a few months in advance should be no problem. However I should let you know I am in the process of seeking a fulltime job and so thats why I would ideally like to go over a weekend, just in case I get lucky and find one.

Hmm, interests we share. She loves to try out different kinds of food. We both love animals. As I said before we love historical significance pieces. I love sports and would try to check out a game wherever I go (should there be a game.)

Can't really think of much more offhand. I'll add to it as I think of it.

[Neuqua]

Oh.. and you mentioned baseball game. Does she REALLY like baseball or is that something you are wanting to do? I ask because you said.. 'something when I'm there' not 'something when we're there'
:D

Ok, so the baseball game is more of a selfish thing :D

Right off the bat, when I was planning the trip I had Washington DC in mind. It was a place we have talked about wanting to go to before and from what I can understand I can knock off my checklist there as well. Plenty of places to see and the tickets are reasonable (quick search found some round trip+hotel for under $550.)

Toronto is another interesting suggestion. I've already been there a few times and really did enjoy myself. I know Niagara Falls is something that we could both enjoy. I guess I should find out first if she has ever been, or would ever want to. :)

I'm enjoying all the suggestions guys, every single place offered up here I plan on doing a little research on. St. Louis, Quebec, Montreal, Memphis, etc. I really do appreciate all the suggestions and hope to hear some more.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I had never thought of Kansas City, for example, as a wonderful city with plenty of cool things to see (and I'm not doubting that it's true). But as someone who is less cultured and hasn't traveled as much as others, my first inclination to a trip to Kansas City wouldn't be favorable.

After just moving back to Kansas City after a year in Baltimore, I would firmly state that your views (along with most east coast residents) on midwest cities are not unique. I was pretty surprised at the number of people who actually thought that we had cow pastures in the city. They were also shocked to find out that we have an actual downtown with large skyscrapers and that Kansas City now has nearly 2 million people in its metro area.

As a sidenote, I had preconceived notions about your state (New Jersey) as well. Thankfully, I put aside those preconceptions and visited some sites in New Jersey while I was out on the east coast. While I can't say much for getting lost in the bad part (not sure if there is a good part) of Newark, overall, the people in New Jersey were very nice (especially in the smaller towns)and I got to head out to Atlantic City, which was a lot of fun.

[Ragone]

Problem i can see with Toronto is.. Wouldn't you both need passport's to go there.. that would require alot more planning and would be hard to surprise :)

[MikeVic]

Fill a bathtub with water and spill a bunch of sand on the bathroom floor. Turn on the lights, add a fake plant and voila. You have your own beach.

[weegeebored]

If you want a more relaxing, romantic kind of trip I also suggest a bed & breakfast. My wife and I have been going to the same one a couple of times a year for 10 years. The food is great and it has some small town charm, but it's only 30 minutes from Springfield and five minutes from New Salem (where Abe Lincoln set up shop).

Here is their website: http://www.theoaksbandb.com/

Their murder mystery weekends are very cool but they don't run them in the summer. This year's was fantastic. Well, that's a shamless self-plug as I wrote it. :)

The main reason that we go there is for the food. It is excellent, and Susan will make dinner on the weekends if you let her know.

[JonInMiddleGA]

After seeing you mention food as a favorite activity, I'll go ahead & add my endorsement of Montreal as a good possibility (pending current travel & lodging costs of course). I recall the restaurants being very good in both variety & quality.

edit to add: I would also caution just a little about Memphis, as it's the hottest place I've ever been in my entire life (Vegas notwithstanding since it's a "dry heat").

[DanGarion]

So when you say "ladyfriend" are you planning on getting laid?

[Neuqua]

So when you say "ladyfriend" are you planning on getting laid?

Well yeah, you didn't hear me say the word "wife" did you?

[DanGarion]

Well yeah, you didn't hear me say the word "wife" did you?
Hahah funny! Cause that would imply married men don't get laid... Wait, I'm married.... :mad:

[DanGarion]

Dola,

When are you coming back to the RWBL? We want to get you and Smoot back in the league. :)

[NoSkillz]

Problem i can see with Toronto is.. Wouldn't you both need passport's to go there.. that would require alot more planning and would be hard to surprise :)

If you're travelling by air, yes, you would need a passport. However, you can cross the border by car with a driver's license and birth certificate for about another year.

Oh yeah, Niagara Falls has two Casinos as well, with the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort being the posh one and Casino Niagara being more the 'gaming' casino with a nice sportsbook too.

[Lathum]

I'll throw my hat in there with San Antonio. Nice scenery and some historical sights to see, good restaurants and you may be able to find a cheap southwest flight.

The only problem is it could be prety warm.

[Lathum]

dola- you may need to factor in rental car/ cab fair into your expenses.

[Mustang]

Fill a bathtub with water and spill a bunch of sand on the bathroom floor. Turn on the lights, add a fake plant and voila. You have your own beach.

... and get a verbal beatdown from the wife for 3 hours while she pisses and moans about how there will be sand everywhere in the house for weeks.

:)

[Neuqua]

Anyone know anything about Wilmington, North Carolina? The lady's favorite show of all time has always been Dawson's Creek and I had the idea the other day to possibly visit the place the show was filmed. I heard a lot of Wilmington's tourism is due to people wanting to visit sites where the tv show was filmed. Anyone in the area know if that is true or if I am making that up?

[Logan]

Anyone know anything about Wilmington, North Carolina? The lady's favorite show of all time has always been Dawson's Creek and I had the idea the other day to possibly visit the place the show was filmed. I heard a lot of Wilmington's tourism is due to people wanting to visit sites where the tv show was filmed. Anyone in the area know if that is true or if I am making that up?

Is this for real?

[Neuqua]

Well, yeah.

I want the vacation to be focused on her. And I'm thinking maybe a nice B&B in a small town might do the trick. Wilmington popped into my head because of what I mentioned earlier, about her maybe finding the whole concept to her liking.

[MrBug708]

You can usually find last minute things on the discount sites

[14ers]

Kansas City
I am going to have to stop you right there. The original poster mentioned booking a trip in Mid-July. Kansas City in July is definitely not a pleasant experience outdoors. July is the hottest month of the year in Kansas City with temps regularly hitting the 100 degree mark, not to even begin to mention the humidity factor for Kansas. This would be a nightmare experience for me if you were planning to do anything away from an Air Conditioner.



Kansas City would be a nice place to go before or after summer, but not right in the middle of summer, unless you really like to sweat.:)

[Neuqua]

After some research, it looks like I have settled on Washington DC and will be visiting in the second week of August. One question for those who have been there before, is there enough to do for a 4 day-3 night stay? Or should I go with a 3 day-2 night stay instead?

Too bad the Nationals are on the road that week :(

[Tyrith]

After some research, it looks like I have settled on Washington DC and will be visiting in the second week of August. One question for those who have been there before, is there enough to do for a 4 day-3 night stay? Or should I go with a 3 day-2 night stay instead?

Too bad the Nationals are on the road that week :(

You could easily spend three days in the Smithsonian if you're into museums at all, especially if you include all the other museums and stuff around the city. There's plenty to do, don't worry about that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

After some research, it looks like I have settled on Washington DC and will be visiting in the second week of August. One question for those who have been there before, is there enough to do for a 4 day-3 night stay? Or should I go with a 3 day-2 night stay instead?

Too bad the Nationals are on the road that week :(

Use the train system as much as possible. Very affordable and you'll save yourself a lot of time and angst in regards to driving and especially finding parking.

[gottimd]

Use the train system as much as possible. Very affordable and you'll save yourself a lot of time and angst in regards to driving and especially finding parking.

The Metro will get you in walking distance to everything you want to see at a low price. Taxi's are an extreme waste of money, don't even bother. Here in DC, its not like other places, they have zones that they charge you for. If the Taxi driver crosses a zone, the price goes up a decent amount.

www.wmata.com

http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm

The metro uses the Color coded system like Chicago's, very easy to use.

[DaddyTorgo]

plenty to do in DC and TONS of interesting/unusual ethnic food (because of the immigrant population, the embassies and such). My father and brother went a couple years back and ate food from a different country for every meal all week (excepting breakfast of course). And there's obviously tons of historical things, and the zoo.