<p>Hubby and I have a significant anniversary weekend coming up this winter. Because of work schedules and other complications we cannot do a big celebratory trip that weekend. I am looking for somewhere special 3-4 hours driving distance from Philadelphia, preferably south because of winter weather. I am open to any and all suggestions.</p>
<p>What is your timing?
Willamsburg VA is always nicely decorated for the holidays!</p>
<p>End of January.</p>
<p>The Charlottesville Virginia area is beautiful, historic (Monticello, Montpelier, UVa campus). Good restaurants, wineries.</p>
<p>Look at this resort in Connecticut: [New</a> England Luxury Resort and Spa | Romantic Getaways | Fine Dining | Winvian Resort](<a href=“http://www.winvian.com%5DNew”>http://www.winvian.com). Friend of mine went for her 30th anniversary and couldn’t stop talking about it. They stayed in the Secret Society Cottage.</p>
<p>I know this isn’t south, but consider the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY. It’s gorgeous.</p>
<p>Due to the chance of bad weather and bad weather driving, I would suggest something a little closer to home, like Cape May or even Lewes, Delaware. I don’t think you can count on any change in temps in January with less than a full days drive, say down to Florida. Check any suggestions here: [Trip</a> Planner | Weather Underground](<a href=“http://www.wunderground.com/travelplanner/index.asp]Trip”>http://www.wunderground.com/travelplanner/index.asp)</p>
<p>I was going to come on to recommend Mohonk Mountain House too. It’s fabulous. Should be easy to get to from Philadelphia, even in winter weather.</p>
<p>My mom and sisters and I spent four days at Mohonk in April. Fantastic food, beautiful old wood/stone building, great spa, wonderful hiking, miles of carriage trails so you could probably take a winter walk, cozy fireplaces in case the weather is bad, outdoor skating. I give it a top rating.</p>
<p>Drive to the airport - then fly to Hawaii :)</p>
<p>You can’t take a trip from Philly to Hawaii for a weekend! It would take the weekend just to fly there and back!</p>
<p>What about the Myrtle Beach area? It’s a little further than 3-4 hours, but not much.</p>
<p>I did think about Mohonk Mt but my husband has been there several times for work so the bloom is off the rose for him. We did the Charlottesville area in September so that is out. Myrtle Beach is too far. We spend lots of time in Lewes and Cape May. Love Lewes! Ct resort looks promising but I do worry about the weather. Should have listened to my mother when she said I was crazy to get married in January!</p>
<p>What about Annapolis? It has been a long time since I’ve been there but I recall it is a cute town and there are probably small boutique hotels.<br>
Of course you can always go to Washington and stay at a nice hotel, make dinner reservations at a really fine restaurant, perhaps see what is on at the Kennedy Center or another theatre venue and there is so much to do during the day. You can pick one or two places to visit so you don’t feel you are on a beat the clock kind of weekend to tour the city. DH and I have done this several times. We really enjoy DC and the city offers so much. Last time we went for a weekend, we had a nice dinner in Alexandra one night, we went to the Smithsonian American History Museum -hadn’t been in a long time… saw the Julia Child kitchen and next day we went to the Newseum. Another time I spent an entire day at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery. One time we spent a weekend and toured the National Building Museum with a stop at the National Gallery to see a Rembrandt exhibit.</p>
<p>New Hope?</p>
<p>How committed are you to actually celebrating on the date of the anniversary? If you’re open to time-shifting the trip, that might open up some more options…</p>
<p>Goskid attended a wedding at Holly Hedge, which is in New Hope. He raved about the romantic quality of the place…</p>
<p>I do want to do something close to our anniversary, so January it is. We have some other work/vacation travel planned for later in the year. We have never actually stayed in New Hope. Sounds intriguing. Thanks for all of the DC tips. Weekend there in two weeks so the advice is timely. The Newseum is on our itinerary. Annapolis is a great place to visit and we have done several day trips in the past. Any places to stay that you like in particular?</p>
<p>I second Cape May/ Lewes idea. The off season can be lovely…peaceful and serene and some of the restaurants are still open.</p>