Working for the ideal weekend

In an ideal world, ROUTE 1 would embark on a memorable retreat every weekend.
Instead, after watching an early morning soccer match, we're usually giving the bathroom its weekly cleaning.
Below, readers discuss their perfect weekend plans by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What is your ideal weekend retreat?"
KERI M. -- The lake in the summer.
ANNIKA H. -- A beach... in Jamaica.
RICK T. -- A short drive to Chicago and enjoying the weekend sight seeing.
KERSTIN H. -- England!
BRIAN M. -- My ideal retreat takes place in summer, because all good retreating takes place in summertime, and that's when minor league baseball (at any level) is in season. You can see three different games in three different cities, if you start on Friday night. You can explore the nightlife in your Friday city, enjoy the afternoon and evening in your Saturday city, and enjoy the spectre of a day game on Sunday... with lots of romantic freeway driving in between... and still make it home in time for work Monday morning.
INGER H. -- Going down to Monterey/Big Sur is probably my ideal. It's close enough that you're not exhausted by the time you get there, far enough that it actually feels like you've gone somewhere, and different enough from the Bay Area that it seems like a real vacation. Besides, when is the chance of seeing sea otters in the wild *not* the recipe for a good time?
MIKE M. -- I'd take a cue from John Lennon and Yoko Ono and stage a Nonviolent Bed-In for Peace for Parents of Small Children. No kids allowed, of course.
ERIK H. -- A beach along the Pacific Coast. The sound of the waves would soothe away the stress of the previous work days.