It's August. Do you know where your vacation is? 3 instant getaways: Whistler, B.C., San Diego, Santa Fe

Sunset, August, 2005 by David Zaitz, Abigail Peterson, Ken McAlpine

Beach Haven Inn. Located in Pacific Beach (four blocks north of Crystal Pier), a half-block from the beach. 23 rooms from $129. 4740 Mission Blvd.; www.beachhaveninn.com or 858/272-3812.

Catamaron Resort Hotel. One of the more upscale hotels on the bay. Easy access to kayak, sailboat, and jet-ski rentals from the hotel dock. Atoll restaurant's terrific Sunday brunch--fat shrimp, elegantly prepared sushi, champagne--draws tourists and locals to the outdoor patio and its view of the bay ($$$$). 315 rooms from $250. 3999 Mission; www.catamaranresort.com or 858/488-1081.

Where to eat

Cafe 976. Hefty breakfast burritos, fat sandwiches, and more, served in a foliage-shrouded clapboard house. $. 976 Felspar St., Pacific Beach; 858/272-0976.

The Landing Restaurant. A fisherman's joint. Wood tables laden with crisp bacon (breakfast starts at 5 a.m.) and some of the best clam chowder anywhere. $. 1729 Quivira Rd.; 619/222-3317.

What to do

Bike and board rentals. Hotel concessions and beachfront joints often charge twice what you'll find off the boardwalk. Kruiser King offers an innovative package. $45 per person buys carte blanche rentals for the week--bikes, surfboards, skateboards. 3830 Mission; www.kruiserking.com or 858/488-6341.

FlowRider. Righteous wave, small crowd. $20 for one hour (plus a one-time $10 registration fee for newcomers). Wave House, 3115 Ocean Front Walk, Belmont Park; www.wavehouse.com or 858/228-9300.

Giant Dipper. $5 per ride. 3190 Mission; www.giantdipper.com or 858/488-1549.

Kayak rentals. Seaforth Boat Rentals, 1641 Quivira; www.seaforthboatrentals.com or 619/223-1681.

SeaWorld. $51, $41 ages 2-9. 500 SeaWorld Dr.; www.seaworld.com or 800/380-3202.

BY KEN MCALPINE

SANTA FE

Blue skies online

A couple clicks their way to a romantic weekend

August in San Francisco is a peculiar brand of summer: foggy, windy, and cold. Eager for a sunny escape, my husband, Steve, and I surfed websites like Travelocity and Travelzoo to find weekend deals. There they were: cheap flights to Albuquerque, only an hour's drive from the culture and chile-spiked cuisine of Santa Fe. Its 82[degrees] August average fit our needs--and the price was right.

Santa Fe, an old Spanish outpost town in the high desert, is like a richly lit Georgia O'Keeffe canvas: Earth-toned buildings blur with baked soil, and a crystalline blue sky is dotted with steppingstone clouds. Rather than join the Plaza's souvenir-seeking throngs or rush through all of the dozen-plus museums in just two days, we select two must-sees--the O'Keeffe and the Awakening Museum--and hit them early, then head off the beaten path, free map in hand and sun on our shoulders.

Romantic side streets lead to tucked-away home and import stores and a less-traveled route to the Old Santa Fe Trail, where we get our history and architecture fix. Continuing on foot to Canyon Road, the epicenter of the high-end gallery scene, we find the galleries uncrowded. We linger, ogling artwork ... and price tags.

Relaxed and recharged, we make one last stop before heading home: a roadside roaster, tumbling fresh green chiles. With 10 pounds of smoky chiles in our carryon, we take Santa Fe's flavor with us.