Whether you’re happy since you’ve been with your kids for 85 straight days or sad because this is your favorite time of year, it’s time to say goodbye to summer.  Don’t worry though; it’ll be back next year.

What you need is a last-minute family Labor Day getaway to help ease the pain.  Since you won’t want to drive or fly too far for just a few days, here are a few of our favorites from around the country.

Atlanta, Georgia
Highlights: Southern cooking, Civil War history, and really big fish
Stay: Homewood Suites Atlanta-Buckhead

It might be a little early to expect cooler temperatures in this charming southern city, but as long as you confine your outdoor activities to morning and evening, you’ll have a blast.  Take a day to explore the Georgia Aquarium and stroll through one of the city’s many parks or cool off in the Centennial Olympic Park fountains.  If you’re not cynical, check out the World of Coca-Cola.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon. Photo via Ilikethenight/Flickr

Portland, Oregon
Highlights: Breathtaking scenery, gourmet food, and microbreweries
Stay: Homewood Suites Vancouver-Portland

If you haven’t spent a weekend in this pretty and livable city, come see what all the fuss is about.  Day trip to the Columbia River Gorge or Multnomah Falls or stay in town and stroll the Japanese Garden then sample some coffee, locally grown produce, and microbrews.  Don’t miss Powell’s books, the largest used and new independent bookstore in the world.

Charleston, South Carolina
Highlights: Antebellum mansions, plantations, and Fort Sumter
Stay: Homewood Suites Charleston-Mt. Pleasant

Take a carriage ride through the South of Broad neighborhood, explore the Old City Market, and then take an architectural walking tour of one of America’s prettiest cities.  If time permits, go see some of the plantations east of the Ashley River or plan a side trip to Savannah, Georgia.

Baltimore Inner Habor. Photo via meg21210/Flickr

Baltimore, Maryland
Highlights: Delicious crab dinners, the Inner Harbor, and baseball
Stay: Homewood Suites Baltimore

You can have a lot of fun in Baltimore by approaching it without a plan.  Wander around the Inner Harbor neighborhood, gorge yourself on some of the country’s best seafood, and grab tickets to an Orioles game at Camden Yards if they’re in town.  Itineraries are totally overrated.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Highlights: 17^th-century architecture, world class shopping, and Mexican food
Stay: Homewood Suites Santa Fe-North

Don’t come to this art mecca expecting schlocky western paintings on black velvet.  Santa Fe is known for its galleries, boutiques, and gourmet restaurants (so much so that you might wind up wishing you’d left your wallet at home!).  When your kids get sick of art—as all kids do—strike off for a day trip to the Northern Pueblos for a glimpse of how the Native Americans lived before the Spanish colonized this area.