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Winter-weary adults deserve spring breaks, too. Whether it’s relaxing on a beach, waxing skis or spending quality downtime with friends or family, consider options that cater to a variety of interests without maxing out your credit cards.
Texas in bloom
Spring is ideal for visiting Texas Hill Country, an hour’s drive northwest of San Antonio. Roadside fields strewn with bluebonnets await their close-ups. Quaint Fredericksburg is becoming a top wine travel destination: The area is home to more than 50 vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms. Locally owned Fischer & Wieser pours samples of Texas and international vintages and sells award-winning peach salsa and cooking condiments (the $7.99 roasted raspberry and chipotle sauce is a bestseller). Lodging includes the intimate, pet-friendly Hotel Kitsmiller on Main, where rooms can start at $75. History buffs can tour the National Museum of the Pacific War (adults, $24; 65 and up, $16; World War II vets free). It focuses on maneuvers in the Pacific theater in World War II. Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Allied Pacific forces, hailed from Fredericksburg.
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Rocky Mountain highs in Colorado
Boulder, a bustling college town in the shadow of the Rockies about 30 miles northwest of Denver, provides plenty of peak experiences. Get in your steps on more than 40 miles of hiking trails in the city’s vast Chautauqua Park. Founded in 1898, the Colorado Chautauqua campus also emphasizes continuous learning via affordable lectures and concerts. Two can stay in a historic lodge starting at about $121 nightly until May, when rates rise. Cottages cost more. Downtown’s centerpiece is the brick pedestrian portion of Pearl Street, lined with locally owned bars, eateries and coffee shops. Saturdays starting in April, a farmers market lures crowds with produce, fragrant flowers, free food samples, entertainers and crafts. University of Colorado students and alums bite into a $12.80 Sinkburger with Creole-spiced fries at century-old The Sink. Its most famous employee was a young Robert Redford. In April, skiers can schuss Eldora Mountain for less than $100 daily (half what’s charged at big-name Colorado resorts). About 21 miles west of Boulder, Eldora is served by buses that are complimentary on weekends.