questions from a stranger

I'd let you wife choose the places to make her happy. Once there go online and find a car show/swap in the area. If you do roam around rural areas, car events can be few. The desert southwest in and around Tucson, AZ is very pretty and is a large enough sized city it has car stuff and interesting rural cities about an hours drive in any direction like Tombstone. It will be a bit hot if you travel here in next few months though.