Weekend Escapes - latimes.com Forty-eight hours of fun? You've got it. Here are weekend escapes that offer rest for the weary and restoration for the body and soul. California Weekend Escape: Paso Robles a classic vintage September 30, 2012 California Weekend Escape: Lone Pine a cinematic slice of Old West Hollywood loves Lone Pine, Calif., a dusty town in the Eastern Sierra. Since 1920, crews have been making the 3 1/2- drive to shoot hundreds of movies, TV shows and commercials with the majestic Mt. Whitney and the knobby Alabama Hills as backdrops. Visitors can walk in the footsteps of Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas and John Wayne and relive the heyday of western filmmaking. September 9, 2012 Weekend Escape: Historic Benicia, Calif., a Bay Area artists' haven Benicia, a small waterfront town in the Bay Area often overlooked by travelers, is an elixir for big-city angst. Less than an hour from Oakland and San Francisco, this charming hamlet gives visitors a chance to relax as they stroll the compact downtown's boutiques and antiques stores. This one-time state capital (1853-54) and location of the first Army post on the West Coast is dotted with historic sites and is a haven for the creative set - about 500 artists make Benicia their home. September 2, 2012 Weekend Escape: A coastal backyard in Yachats, Oregon Yachats. Say it YA-hots. This tiny dot on a map of the central Oregon coast had been on our list of places to see for its bountiful beachcombing and dramatic vistas. My wife and two sons, ages 11 and 8, stopped for two nights in August during a Northwest motoring loop. Downtown Napa's West End is reinventing itself The long-neglected west end of downtown Napa is undergoing a resurgence, sparked by a stylish hotel that has blazed a trail for new restaurants, wine-tasting rooms and retail shops. No need for a car; you can walk to everything in this six-square-block area. Adding to the buzz is the Uptown Theatre, a restored Art Deco gem that is now an intimate concert hall featuring such name acts as Chris Isaak, Mother Hips and "Weird Al" Yankovic. August 5, 2012 Fresh food, thoughtful history hold sway in Petaluma While working on an update to a Napa and Sonoma guidebook, I realized that Petaluma, 15 miles west of Sonoma Plaza, might merit its own itinerary. In early June, I drove 40 miles north of San Francisco to figure out whether the small, historic town is worth recommending. Petaluma might not have the public relations clout of Sonoma County's fancier towns such as Healdsburg, but it's rife with hidden treasures, not least of which is a devotion to excellent food. Catalina calls from across the water Ferrying to Santa Catalina Island - just you, that special someone and an upper deck brimming with buoyant kids, chiding parents and assorted Jimmy Buffett look-alikes - isn't exactly a secret on any summer Friday. L.A.'s fabled leisure isle hosts more than 1 million visitors each year, and by the looks of those lines at the waffle-cone place, the throngs at the Green Pleasure Pier and the buzzing golf carts in downtown Avalon, many of them are hitting it right now. Should that deter you? Nah - it's all fun. But it might inspire a little solitude strategizing without resorting to hiding out in Two Harbors or (more drastic) hiking the Trans-Catalina Trail. When I'm traveling to Avalon, here are some of my favorite escape hatches beside, above and beyond the bay. Weekend Escape: Trout fishing in Mammoth Lakes This isn't one of those cushy Fish-Carltons like those über-expensive Montana trout resorts. Hot Creek Ranch in Mammoth Lakes has nine no-frills cabins whose biggest amenity is one of the sweetest spring-fed creeks you'll ever see, right out your front door. You and other guests will have a two-mile stretch of it all to yourselves. Isn't that the ultimate VIP perk, anyway? Plus, it's an easy five-hour drive from L.A. Weekend Escape: Yreka is a capital place to relax The 51st state. The closer you get to the Oregon border along the 5 Freeway, you begin to see signs announcing the State of Jefferson. After a quick Internet search, you discover that this is a grass-roots movement begun in 1941 to create a state composed of counties from Northern California and southern Oregon. The capital of the proposed region is Yreka, a mining town with a population of about 8,000. With Western-style architecture and turn-of-the-last-century homes, Yreka is more than just a place to sleep on those long drives to the Pacific Northwest. California: Take it slow at historic Hanford About 55,000 people call Hanford, Calif., home, but the town is filled with enough history to accommodate a city of millions. Downtown is a must-see thanks to the Hanford Civic Auditorium (1924), the Kings County Courthouse (1896), the Hanford Fox Theatre (1929) and a 1920s ice cream parlor named Superior Dairy Products Co. There's also the China Alley Historic District from 1882, as well as a 1922 building now used as the Temple Theater. This history gives visitors a glimpse of the past, as Hanford's slow pace of life exemplifies the way things used to be. Weekend Escape: Sonora, Calif.'s antiques, eateries and train ride Sonora, Calif., the county seat of Tuolumne County, has a charming downtown full of antiques shops, clothing boutiques and restaurants. Start the weekend by heading to the Sonora Farmers Market on Saturday morning. The market, at Theall and Stewart streets, sells not only fresh fruits and veggies, but also pastries, crepes and locally roasted coffee. A swell time in Gig Harbor, Wash. Let's get lost in the Pacific Northwest, and I don't mean in Seattle or Vancouver, Canada. Little Gig Harbor - for most of the last century accessible only by boat - is a working fishing village ringed by tall pines on the ragged western edge of Puget Sound. Think sailboats, beachcombing, art galleries, a blessing of the fleet festival, fresh salmon, Washington state wines and the occasional glimpse of Mt. Rainier on the eastern horizon. At the far end of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge - famous for the collapse of its first incarnation four months after it opened in 1940 - Gig Harbor isn't easy to get to, about a 45-minute drive from Sea-Tac Airport. But it's worth it, as I discovered recently. Weekend Escapes: Wine, root beer and rolling hills in Temecula Intro: Let wine snobs snicker when they hear you spent a weekend at a vineyard in Temecula. I took a friend for an overnight stay at the South Coast Winery Resort & Spa (34843 Rancho California Road; [951] 587-9463, http://www.wineresort.com), a 39-acre slice of nirvana where relaxation is inescapable. Twenty-four hours wasn't nearly enough time to enjoy the premises. Weekend Escape: The small-town charms of Arroyo Grande The sleepy Central Coast town of Arroyo Grande, population 17,000, is the ideal place to shut out the mayhem of city life for a few days. There's not much to do except relax, drink wine, read your book and take sunset strolls. Portland, Ore., is a smaller, cleaner, wetter alternative to L.A. The Portland Hop. I know, it sounds like a dance craze in 1937. But really, it's what you do when Southern California gets you down and you need to drink small-batch beer, eat Northwestern locavore meals and see bike commuters in the rain. My wife, daughter and I hit Portland, Ore., for a few days last August. Here's the report. In San Francisco's Mission District, touring Clarion Alley murals The fantastical murals of San Francisco's Mission District are an intriguing dialogue between artists and their city that you can easily experience on foot. On any given day in Clarion Alley, tourists from all over the world mingle with field-tripping students (and the homeless). Start at the Mission Street end of Clarion Alley, then exit at Valencia Street and head south (turn left). Check out the murals all the way to 20th Street. Typically, walk one or two blocks (east or west) to view. Murals include "Vamos Gigantes" (19th Street between San Carlos and Lexington streets), "MaestraPeace" (18th between Linda and Lapidge streets) and "Mission Pool" (Linda Street at 19th Street). Or take one of four mural tours offered by Precita Eyes ([415] 285-2287, http://www.precitaeyes.org; no tour more than $15), a mural arts organization in the Mission. Tour luxurious Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage Sunnylands, the 200-acre Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage that hosted five decades of political and Hollywood luminaries behind its pink walls, opened to the public for the first time in March. Consider this 20,000-square-foot dwelling, set in a far-as-the-eye-can-see expanse of golf course green, as a latter-day incarnation of the Gilded Age mansions of Newport, R.I. Inside the house, digital reproductions of the Annenbergs' $1-billion-plus Impressionist art collection compete for space on the few walls not made of glass. Old California and good grub in San Juan Capistrano What an appealing slice-of-life California town, an easy day trip by car or train. Come for the history, stay for the food. This restaurant-intensive ranch town is the oldest community in Orange County. If San Juan Capistrano - or SJC - had a dating profile it would say: "Self-deprecating, authentic, still likes a good time." Dog-friendly Del Mar a relaxing getaway outside of race season If you know anything at all about Del Mar, it's that the seaside town north of San Diego is the place to play the ponies. The horses aren't the only thoroughbreds in the track's history; you'll hear it connected to such names as Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, jockey Willie Shoemaker and, my favorite, Seabiscuit. But I'd encourage a Del Mar visit any time except the July 18-Sept. 5 racing season, just for the peace and quiet.