Scenario 2: We're both retired (and getting around is getting harder)

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Road Scholar, which used to be Elderhostel, literally offers learning vacations with experts guiding you in-depth on Gullah culture, Texas history, following the real trail of the Alamo and more. Basically, you stay in perfectly OK hotel or motel rooms. The guides who take you around are experts in their field who can gear the learning to all sorts of levels, whether you want to take hikes or whether you don't. The programming is right there. You may or may not come back with a tan, but you will return with an experience and not just a T-shirt. (Details: www.roadscholar.org/programs/bargains.asp)

Another choice is the Chautauquas, which have been around for more than a century. They're like a theme park for the mind. The most famous is in Chautauqua, N.Y., but they're also in Boulder, Colo., and Ohio. Go there for lectures from leading experts in an incredible array of fields, from biblical history to economics to Victorian literature. There's constant programming throughout the week. (www.ciweb.org; www.chautauqua.com)