Southwest. Gotta fly to Midway. I mean, what's the point?

Makes sense but you might get shot at.

You could just stay north and fly into Sacramento

Branson? :spock:

I'd hit one of the following:
Lake Tahoe/Reno area
Chicago
Florida Gulf Coast (Destin area)

All three have lots of shopping, sightseeing, eating, etc.

I would HIGHLY recommend San Diego. It's the bee's knees.

Also, I can't say enough awesome things about NYC and Chicago. Very, very fun places to be.

For a weekend I would probably go to Vegas.
If I could get away for a week or more, I'd go with the cruise.

my best friends have an empty nest. they go on short cruises a lot. when a cruise gets within a few weeks of the sail date they will cut prices like you wouldn't believe. maybe a couple hundred for 3 or 4 day cruise. since you don't have to worry about paying for plane tickets it oughta be super cheap.

The problem (for me) with the 3-4 day cruises is they are often a bunch of college aged kids that are out for a three day drunk. I'm not saying there is ANYTHING wrong with that, but it's not for me anymore.
5 day or longer ones (especially during the school year) will be a crowd more to my tastes.....not generally a bunch of geriatrics, but not a complete booze cruise either.

just my .02

If you are on a budget I'd suggest Las Vegas

Note: Even if you are not into gambling there is plenty to do. Kinda warm this time of year, easy to get around, lots of shows, free entertainment, and good dining options. You can get cheap ass rooms during the week. I've stayed at the Palms for 80 bucks a night. Nice place but the location sucks since the strip is on the other side of the interstate. You should be able to find cheap hotels on the strip like the Luxor or something.

I've also stayed at the Trump's hotel, which is really nice. One of my favorite spots is the Platinum. It's not a casino and is located just behind the strip.

If you are a real tight ass you could stay way off of the strip at a local casino like Arizona Charlie's or something. 25 bucks a night or something.

Grab a steak at Vic and Anthony's at the Golden Nugget. - That's not a budget place. Never mind but its really good.

Right now, someplace I can leave my jacket at home.

Piggybacking off of Hoovers comments, some of the places downtown (Freemont Street) aren't bad in Vegas either. I know they just remodeled The D (formerly Fitzgeralds).

GET A TIMESHARE IN BRANSON

/SPAM

Seattle is fun... plenty of stuff to do in the city, and there are plenty of potential day trips, such as Olympic National Park, Vancouver, etc. I went a couple of years ago... went to Bumbershoot, hiked up a mountain, ran into some crazies... good times.

I love Chicago... it's the perfect long weekend destination, since it's a 90 minute flight from KC.

I highly recommend Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Pretty relaxing and absolutly beautiful. If you plan out far enough, you can get tickets on Alegiant Air for $25-$50 each way.

LOVE is far and away the best show in Vegas. Zumanity doesn't come close.

O does, but it's just different.