IDENTIFYING SMALL TOWNS WHERE YOU COULD....

I don't know about Montreal, but if you fly into Toronto -- yes the airport is far from the train station, which is downtown. But there are direct shuttle buses from one to the other for very little money (less than $10 I think). Depending on time of day, the shuttle would probably take about 30 minutes. But, you could fly here, get a free hotel shuttle to one of the downtown hotels, stay overnight and maybe take in some sights (and maybe some local A2Kers :wink: ), then take the train to Kingston.

It's about 3 hours between Toronto and Kingston, probably a little less between Montreal and Kingston. I've never taken that train trip myself, but some friends of mine did and raved about it. Much more relaxing than driving.

Solvang, CA. - close to Santa Barbara
http://www.solvangca.com/1/photo/index.html

Saratoga, NY - close to Albany
http://www.saratoga.org/

Sedona, AZ - close to Phoenix
http://www.visitsedona.com/

New Hope, PA - close to Philadelphia
http://www.experiencebuckscounty.com/new-hope.html

La Jolla, CA - close to San Diego
http://www.lajolla.com

Newport, RI - close to Providence
ttp://www.gonewport.com/

Carmel, CA - close to San Francisco
http://www.monterey-carmel.com/

CJ, I like your list; it includes 3 out of 7 in California.

Yes, cicerone. Don't hate us because California is beautiful.

yeah, we know very well. We'll live out the rest of our lives here in the Golden State.

Pt, Reyes Station, or Inverness, California, near Point Reyes, and Tomales Bay. Should have a car for beautiful ride. This is all west of Petaluma, which is on highway 101 north of San Francisco.

San Juan Battista, small mission town, not much happening, good spot called the Mission Cafe for breakfast. All within fairly easy reach of Monterey or San Jose.

Ferndale, CA; Eureka, CA; Arcata, CA; Trinidad, CA - 4 snall towns that lie about 4 1/2 hours drive north of San Francisco; to get there you drive though the redwood forest for about 160 miles, and that starts in the northern part of Sonoma County. Each of the small towns has a different character. The first three have a lot of victorian houses. The last three all are right at the coast by the Pacific Ocean or Humboldt or Arcata Bays. Ferndale and Trinidad are probobly the most beautiful. There are many bed and breakfast places...
There is a direct flight from LAX to Arcata Airport, or one can catch a United Express plane from San Francisco, or Sacramento. Also flight access from Portland, Seattle.

I've heard nice things about Bend, Oregon, but haven't been there myself, and don't know where you fly into. There may be an airport closer than Portland.

I'm not big on Solvang, but even if it isn't your cup of tea there are other nice small towns in that area of California. Thinking of Los Olivos, for example. If you like wine, the whole Santa Inez valley area is good vineyard and winery country.

I like Carmel too, and also like Pacific Grove and Monterey. Beautiful area.

Then there's Sonoma County... don't get me started. I'd live there if I could.

If you have ever felt the need to travel to Alaska, I suggest Wrangell, Sitka or Haines, they are small and on the coast. Sitka and Wrangell are absolutley beautiful in the summer and Haines is connected to Canada and has a lovely fall.

Alaska is beautiful no matter where you look, but I just checked out
the towns you've mentioned, HungarianDances, and they are quite
breath taking.

Naperville is a nice place, I s'pose - if you go for urban - it sure as hell ain't a small town; its a fully-envelped bit of the Greater Chicago Megalopolis. Not far from Chicago's O'Hare airport, however, about an hour's drive or so depending on route and traffic, is Lake Geneva Wisconsin - a smallish town with plenty of stuff to walk around and look at, including a very nice lakefront. Nearby are numerous resorts, world-class golf courses, and a broad variety of museums. Not much further from there is the Kettle Morraine State Forrest, in which one will find Old World Wisconsin - purpose-built for a fascinating self-guided walking tour through the life and times of the Midwest's earliest settlers. Essentially, its several dozen acres containing a period village complete with surrounding farms, assembled on several acres from actual restored original structures - more than well worth a visit if one is anywhere reasonably near the area. If your visit is timed for the Christmas Holiday season, you'll see some outstanding topical exhibits and have the opportunity to attend an old-time Christmas Feast (not for free, of course, but priced quite reasonably for the meal you'll get).

I used to live in Naperville about three life-times ago, and it was a great place to live back then. I forgot which mag, but Naperville was rated number one of places to live in the US recently. I'm not sure how much its grown, but I think the small town feel will continue to exist. I used to take the Burlington into Chicago, and it took one hour. Our office used to be across the street from Union Station, but that building has been converted to condos. I walked into Union Station just to see if it still felt the same from over 30 years ago during my visit last year during the a2k gathering. The main waiting hall is the same, but other things have changed. The barber shop I used to use is also gone.

Wow, that's a cool idea. so where did you end up going? I noticed someone mentioned sedona, az. nice place. I hope you had fun.