If you want to leave the US, I have two suggestions.
Iceland is a good place to visit once in your life. Unfortunately, the aurora season is over, but there's still plenty to see. Most of the places you'd like to see are accessible via tour buses (book the tours with the Iceland Air flight for cheaper rates). The economy there is doing poorly, so prices are much cheaper than when I went there. Alternately, you can fly to Europe via Iceland, and then stop for a couple of days in Iceland (on the way back from Europe).
The other place to visit is Seattle and then Victoria, BC. Seattle as lots of things to see, and from there, you can take a ferry (get a ferry and B&B package) to Victoria. In Victoria there are a couple of good museums, but most importantly there's the Buschart Gardens (accessible by public or tour bus).
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Iceland is a good place to visit once in your life. Unfortunately, the aurora season is over, but there's still plenty to see. Most of the places you'd like to see are accessible via tour buses (book the tours with the Iceland Air flight for cheaper rates). The economy there is doing poorly, so prices are much cheaper than when I went there. Alternately, you can fly to Europe via Iceland, and then stop for a couple of days in Iceland (on the way back from Europe).
The other place to visit is Seattle and then Victoria, BC. Seattle as lots of things to see, and from there, you can take a ferry (get a ferry and B&B package) to Victoria. In Victoria there are a couple of good museums, but most importantly there's the Buschart Gardens (accessible by public or tour bus).