Soak your way to serenity at this natural retreat center
There’s a getaway, and then there’s a getaway. The kind where you find yourself totally unplugged, cell phoneless, surrounded by beauteous nature, and getting a little closer to a place of pure calm. This is the type of getaway you can expect with a visit to Harbin Hot Springs.

Located way up in the middle of nowhere (also known as Lake County, Calif.), Harbin was, once upon a time, a gathering place for Native Americans, and then became Lake County’s first resort when it opened as a developed destination in the 1860s. Harbin as it is today—a nonprofit retreat center run by the Heart Consciousness Church—was founded in 1975.

Which is why I relished the refreshing surprises that awaited me during a recent stay at Monterey’s Portola Hotel & Spa. I had lived in Monterey for a time years ago and I was always curious about what it would be like to stay at this portal. Now that I live in Santa Cruz, I decided it could be an ideal destination for a Staycation.

And it was.

It’s called “A Santa Monica Retreat By The Sea,” and for good reason. The Channel Road Inn, right off Highway 1, in the Rustic Canyon area of Santa Monica is a gem of a bed and breakfast. If you’re going to the Los Angeles area, and you’re looking for high-end service and accommodations, without a severe price tag, then the Channel Road Inn is exactly where you want to stay. It’s quite possible that this charming inn is located in the best possible place in all of the Los Angeles area. At one side of the inn sits an ocean view, with a two-minute walk to the beach and the well-known bike path. To the other side is a drive through Rustic Canyon, a beautiful area laced with luxurious but original homes, windy roads, sweeping vistas, and the Will Rogers State Park practically in the backyard. And in addition, commerce at Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, and the famous 4th Avenue stairs are just around the bend. This is a centrally located inn whose location is exceptional.

More than 100 years old (the original cottage was built in 1887), the house retains an old-fashioned farmhouse feel, with cozy common areas and roomy, charming suites. Proprietor Kris Sheehan was sure to embrace the house’s original features when she bought and renovated it in the late ’90s. Managing to capture its antique allure while polishing it with top accommodations, Sheehan opened Sand Rock Farm for business in 2001.

Try a secret getaway in Gualala
What’s one sure way to enjoy a breather from town and all the usual suspects? Head to a place you’ve never heard of before. Better yet, head to a place you can’t even pronounce upon first (or second) try. When you want to trade in Santa Cruz’s bustling beaches for an untouched oceanfront view, and you want an alternative to the usual Big Sur minimalist camping trip, it pays to venture into the unknown.

The “lost jewel in the crown” of Mendocino County, Gualala (say it aloud as “wa-LA-la”) churned out one surprise retreat when I recently made my way to the North Coast Country Inn located in the more remote part of the Pacific Coast Highway. How remote? Gualala hosts a population less than 2,000, lies just below Point Arena on the map, and is about four hours from Santa Cruz. Most people are used to taking Highway 128 to drive around it, missing this pristine spot off the beaten track.

How one Napa stay is giving mobile homes a good name
A visit to a region of world-class wine and indulgence doesn’t have to mean stuffy hotels with cramped elevators and fancy rooms packed as tightly as a patron’s overly chic set of Versace luggage. Enter the RiverPointe Napa Valley. Transforming small mobile homes into quaint cottage-style getaways with private wooden decks nestled along the Napa River, RiverPointe has taken a unique approach to pampered living. And it works.

A luxurious and tasty stay in Paso Robles
I’ve been on a red wine kick lately (and if you aren’t, also, I recommend picking up the habit). I’m also always on the lookout for easy weekend getaways—and considering my recent wine fetish, where better to visit than Paso Robles, Calif., where the wine flows like water? Centrally located between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, the sleepy Old Western style town has a booming wine industry that’s giving Napa a run for its money. So, armed with an extraordinarily low wine I.Q. but some eager taste buds, I headed to Paso (as the locals call it) for a wine country staycation.

One bed and breakfast gives a Santa Cruz local a new perspective on home
No one has to explain to me the magnetic beauty of Santa Cruz’s West Cliff Drive—I consider myself a lucky local for living around the corner from one of the world’s most romantic, scenic walks. In fact, I sometimes feel so lucky that there are times when I catch myself sympathetically nodding my head (at least in my mind) at the many visitors I dodge past during some daily errand. ‘Poor touristy tourist, lugging your bags into a hotel for a momentary intake of the utopian beauty that I consider home,’ I think to myself, letting run wild an inner condescending voice. Really, what can a hotel in town show me that I don’t already know? Apparently, as West Cliff Inn proved, a lot.