Anywhere out here is better than Chicago in winter, even if it is raining incessantly. Moved here from there.

Palm Springs is golf city. Lots of sunny days, pools, shopping. You will be close by a few hours to drive to the mountains for skiing, Los Angeles for city stuff, Orange County for Disneyland and beaches but no beach warmth, San Diego for the navy ship museum and the aerospace museum to visit and to shop and to visit Sea World.

And check out the Palm Springs convention/tourists websites for events. Some weeks, you can't get a hotel room anywhere, because of major golf tournaments or other events. Palm Springs is also home to a number of Indian casinos.

What about Arizona? Either Phoenix or Tucson are great.

If you don't golf, shop or drink, then skip PS.
Arizona is perfect.

Palm Springs area is more than golf and the bluest skies and cleanest air.

Take the tram north of PS, up through the clouds to the top of Mt San Jacinto.

Spend a day at the Living Desert in Palm Desert..a combination desert botanical garden and zoo.
North of PS is a large wind farm...they have tours - fascinating.

Indian casinos - need I say More?

In the evening, try for tickets to the Palm Springs Follies...a great vaudeville-type show featuring a chorus line that requires a minimum age of 55. Their figures, legs and high kicks are the hit of this unique stage show.

Only a short day trip over to Joshua tree monument.
Shields date farm....see a film about how dates came to the Cochilla valley, and don't forget to shop for dates, date sugar and have a date shake.

There really is a lot to do there...and the above is just "off the top of my head".

We've pretty much ruled out the Phoenix area; seemed like a lot of sprawl and smog when we've visited there. Nice to hear PS has blue skies -- and clear air? Is it beastly hot in the middle of the day, or just 'nice'.

You know, it's not like we DO a whole lot on Maui, but there is the ocean, and beaches. And, well, it's Hawaii.

Oh, I don't know. I just want *everything*! Maybe we'd even take our Westie with us if we weren't going so far. I guess that brings me back to FL or CA, huh? NM? NC? I've never been to Texas except to go through DFW so I don't know about weather there in the winter. Not crazy about anywhere humid.

Thanks for all the info on PS. We don't golf or gamble. Or ski. (DH still thinks nickel slots exist somewhere!) We have been known to "gambol' though!

If you go to PS, just be careful it's not too late in summer or you may find yourself all alone (or so it seems) because of the heat. We've been there in August and it felt like we were the only ones in town, at least out and about. We spent a lot of time in movie theaters and the mall ice rink.

We've been going to PS and its surrounding cities for over 30 years as it's only a 1.5 hour drive from our home. We have only golfed out there once, in the morning, and it was nearly 100°. I dearly love the place but it may be a little too hot and/or too quiet for some folks (unless of course you go at spring break time, and then all bets are off).

We've been there at its hottest and at its coldest (it snowed) and it just didn't matter, we've always enjoyed our time there. It does help that we have several good friends out that way.

We were just out there a couple weeks ago and though I didn't take too many photos in PS, I took a bunch at Joshua Tree and will be posting some this coming week.

Jodi-

How about a month-long cruise? Seriously. It wouldn't hurt to talk to a travel agent to see what's available and the cost. You'd eat well, for sure!!

Or rent an RV in AZ or FL and move around if the weather wasn't to your liking. There are beautiful campgrounds in the state parks here in FL and I'm sure in AZ, too.

Nickel slots are everywhere. What about Tucson? San Diego? We were there in Feb, stayed in Del Mar at a Best Western that took dogs. Good price, too.

I loved Peoria, AZ. (NW Phoenix area) when we stayed there for February and March in 2007. We had lots of clear blue sky.
Leslie

looked at a couple of places to stay and were a bit above your $150 per day. and remember this is, like fla, high season...(also the couple i checked were already booked...)

san diego is nice but can be coolish, but for sure no snow! (unless you go up to the mts around julian) and while you can walk the beaches you can't swim...

fil used to head to brownsville, at the bottom tip of texas. (padre island is near by) before there, yuma az.

I live in LaQuinta just east of Palm Springs. Who else lives near by? Do we need to do a get together at the Cabazon outlet mall?!!!! I was in Placentia over the weekend. They were having June gloom. My mom has a list of rentals for condos at Palm Royale if you are interested I can get it and email you. I am pretty sure they are in the $2000-$2500 a month range. My email address is s.rous@hotmail.com. By the way I moved from McHenry, IL 4 years ago and will take the heat over the cold anyday.

Sheri

January and Feb is a good time to go if you want bargain prices. We spent a month in Panama City Beach in Jan and Feb years ago and it was wonderful for us. My whole family went. We used our motel as base and traveled all over the upper part of Fla. The Motel was old, but very clean. It was a kitchenette. At that time it only cost us $10 a night if we took it for 30 days. It has long since been sold because the owner's built a new one. We were told the owner just wanted to make his winter expenses and that it would go up in price shortly after we left to almost $200 a day.

I live here in Palm Springs!
You'll think you've died and gone to heaven in the winter...died and gone to hell in the summer months. There are lots of ways to keep busy if that's what you're looking for. And after you've gotten the running around out of your system, well, coffee on the veranda in the morning, birds singing like crazy, surrounded by bouganvilla, poolside with a good book. It's pure heaven.
We came here from Portland Ore. for a 3 month reprieve. I got a call from my daughter one February morning, she asks what I was doing and I told her I was on the patio, the birds were chirping and the temps were in the 80's. She said "you're never coming home are you Mom"?, I replied "I don't think so sweetheart"...been here 10 yrs. now.
My neighbor rents her place out for a super price...Mid century modern, clean and walking distance to downtown. Old Las Palmas area.
Don't hesitate to call me out if you're interested :)

Sheri,both my husband and I were raised in placentia.Lived there until we got married and moved to Yorba linda.Wow.

Shelley

I believe Key West was where we took fantastic glass boat cruises. And no hurricanes in those first 3 months of the year! :)

The weather is fantastic in KW, except in the hottest months. And February is the busiest month I believe. Never been that early in the year. There's all kinds of activities going on around sunset... arts and crafts, food carts... musicians, comedians, dog acts, clowns, fortune tellers... the list goes on and on. I love KW! But wouldn't go again in September. Too hot!

I've been trying to get Tom sway from winter vacation in Florida, and switching to PS. The're no comparison, and I can get my Disney fix in Anaheim, less than 2 hrs away.
It's been 5-6 years since i've been out there.
Maybe next year (fingers crossed), he's weakening.

After reading and replying to this post yesterday I went off to our spare room to unpack some boxes that have been stored there for a while. I found a letter dated 1991 to me from some an older couple who used to live in Schaumburg, IL. They wrote to tell me they had just returned from a trip to La Quinta and Palm Springs where they enjoyed the Palm Springs Follies that Monica mentioned. I had never heard of the follies until then (or at least don't remember them ever being mentioned by our friends). What a coincidence.

By the way, I posted my first photo from Joshua Tree national park on the daily I'll Show You Mine post.

Jodi-

My sister owns a timeshare at the Marriott Maui. If you are ever interested in renting it send me a email. It's a 2 bedroom.
Donna

Have you thought about Puerto Rico? We were there a few years ago and had a wonderful time. We stayed about 1/2 hour outside San Juan, in a little cottage.

We found PR to be a great alternative to Hawaii (my favorite destination). Lots to do: historic forts, rainforest hikes, beaches, sailing/snorkeling, casinos. There are some photos linked below.

The advantages of Puerto Rico: relatively close to US (and closer than Hawaii for you); it's a US territory, so you don't need a passport and PR follows all our health rules (like drinking water); use US money; most people speak English; nice warm weather all year (avoid hurricane season of course, but winter is beautiful); close enough to other islands for a weekend trip.

Disadvantages: food isn't very good (most restaurants are Tex-Mex or fast food); not many condos available like in Hawaii, that's why we rented the cottage. There may be condos on the west side of the island.

I became friends with the owners of the cottage we stayed in, so if you want more info about condos to rent, I can ask her.

Here is a link that might be useful: Puerto Rico

WOW! You ladies are a *goldmine* of information and ideas! I'll get DH to read through all these great posts.

Donna -- Thanks for the offer. Do you get out to Maui to use the timeshare sometimes? We own a 1 BR 2 bath vacation rental at Maui Kamaole in S. Kihei. If we decided to go elsewhere we'd rent that out instead of using it ourselves. Cost-wise, it would probably be a wash; we might even come out ahead if we could take our Westie and didn't need a pet-sitter for 4-6 weeks.

We're going to Maui next winter; already bought flights. I'm looking for alternatives for winter 2011.

Maybe I'm dismissing Florida out of hand -- judging by old memories. My mother and her RI pals used to go to Pompano Beach. I remember crawling along the highway behind some old geezer, but now WE are the geezers! DH, DS and I spent some unpleasantly cool days in Orlando, but that was December/Christmas Break. The North Shore of Chicago moves en masse to the Gulf over school breaks. (How do you get away from it all when it comes with you? LOL) A long-time friend and her DH bought at Atlantis (Ft. Lauderdale) a few years ago and are spending more time there -- but he *lives* on the golf course.

I have to laugh at the mental picture of DH piloting an RV *anywhere* -- good suggestion, just not for him!

You've all been so nice. I was a little leary of posting. This is a very trivial 'problem' given the state of the world.

Sue,
I wouldn't go to Maui for free! Hawaii and the beach are not my thing. I love Chicago winters, the more snow the better. I'm happy right now because our spring has been really cool.
If I did travel Lake Como Italy or the Greek Islands would be more to my taste. I love good food.
I am not a fan of Puerto Rico. I used to fly there all the time. The food is awful and I think it's boring. A lot of people like it but it's not for me. Costa Rica is nice. I don't know a lot about it but the food is good and you can go kayacking.
Donna