I will have an x0 birthday this winter. We are looking to go someplace warm. We are a museum family. We can easily spend 3 to 4 days at the Lourve when we visit Paris. Our only warm vacation desination was Kauai. We loved the fresh food and hiking Waimea Canyon. We really want a destination +1 or -1 from CST. It must have good fresh food. No buffets. Help please! Hubby say no Mexico, but Cabo has great restaurants.
Other than the Hemingway house, I don’t know if key West fits your description. I love it, cuz I like to snorkel and canoe, and walk. It use to be all mom and pop places, but now chain stores exist. I have never heard of a buffet there.
I was going to suggest the Yucatan away from Cancun, but with the no Mexico rider maybe San Pedro, Belize. It checks most of the boxes except you will have to replace the Louvre with snorkeling.
If you don’t mind a wicked long flight or two, how about Thailand? Lots to do in Chiang Mai. Food is wonderfully fresh. Nice and warm!
Second San Pedro. Add to that Grand Cayman (very nice restaurants), or (if distance not an issue) Lima Peru. Lima’s food scene is awesome, and your museum needs could be met.
New Orleans. Won’t be sunny and 80, but won’t be 40 either.
Palm Springs and southern CA? Arizona?
Buenos Aires. Torres del Paine. More adventurous - Huaraz (Peruvian Andes)
We are going here over Christmas:
https://www.melia.com/en/hotels/dominican-republic/punta-cana/royal-service-at-paradisus-punta-cana/index.htm
All inclusive, no buffet, top shelf liquors, beautiful beach, and easy flights, but museums.
Ah, museums. The Heard in Phoenix if you have interest in anthropology. Add the MIM, musical instrument museum in north Scottsdale, which is very well regarded. And Taliesin, if you are interested in architecture. The food scene in the Phoenix area is good, southwest oriented of course, though winter is a busy time. Phoenix is surrounded by mountains, and all sorts of trail networks. Sedona is two hours away, if you want to escape city.
Totally agree with Phoenix. The MIM, I believe, is in Phoenix on the north side…not in Scottsdale (@choatiemom)
Add the desert botanical gardens to your list if you go to Phoenix. Go on a docent led tour…it’s really like an outdoor museum. Fabulous.
The MIM is one of the best museums I have ever been too…and not just for musicians.
If you want a really really good Asian food experience…go to Nobuo at Teeter House in downtown Phoenix. It’s fabulous…but pricey…but if it’s a special birthday…go for it.
^^That is the reason I mentioned AZ. Fabulous museums in Phoenix, the botanical gardens are beautiful, and there is plenty of hiking through the deserts with giant cacti. Lots of good food, too. The Marriott resort in Scottsdale is quite nice, and there are more upscale options, too.
If you loved Kauai, are you interested in trying another Hawaiian Island. We really like both Maui and Kauai.
There are lots of different things to do on Maui. They have Haleakala, the Highway to Hana, lots of water activities, an aquarium - lots of options.
This thread is making me think of going to Arizona next winter. We love Sedona, but I wouldn’t recommend it for February.
I was in Sedona in February and it was absolutely gorgeous. I was there at the beginning of the month…and there were also no crowds as it was preseason.
@thumper1, you are right, MIM is north Phx, a few miles from the Scottsdale border. That area was all ranch and desert when I was a kid in Scottsdale so don’t know as well as the older areas.
I LOVE Arizona. My favorite vacation growing up was there, so I insisted our family go there when the kids were teenagers. They loved it, too! 
Maui may be a little further from the central time zone than the OP wants, though.
If you want to do the various things there, choose the location to stay carefully, because some places may be a long drive from everywhere else.
I’ve been to northern New Mexico three times in February and I count myself lucky! Santa Fe has good museums and galleries and you have lots of territory to explore archeaology. (dammit, how do you spell that word?). It might snow, but it will be a magical dusting, not an icy mess.
Southern Texas and Arizona would be great too. Has anyone ever toured Arcosanti in AZ? I’m curious about that place.
New Orleans would be great (and not a buffet in sight, lol), but be careful in the early part of January. For some reason, it tends to get freakishly cold on Elvis’ birthday. You don’t want to be here, shivering in the cold. Mardi Gras isn’t until March so the earlier months shouldn’t be crazy.
^^^Have toured Acrosanti in AZ. It’s an experimental community that is based on the ideas of the architect Paolo Soleri. It’s his idea of a future city. There are folks who live there and do the tours. I think tours keep the place going. The community also sells really cool bronze windbells (Soleri designed); I bought some. We went there on a trip to Scottsdale where we stayed at the Boulders Resort (which is in Carefree, AZ). We went in April and the weather was perfect.
If you can convince your hubby to go to Mexico, I highly recommend the Akumal area. We rented a home on the beach a few years ago and it was perfect for having some time to relax and enjoy the sun and relax as well as explore ruins, cenotes (under water caves), snorkeling, and more. Great mix of active adventures and beach.