Weekend Special : A Year’s Worth of Ideas for Perfect Weekends : Here’s a connoisseur’s choice of smart destinations for every month.

I didn’t used to do weekends. In college, I had enough free time to simply drive across the continent every six months. That era was followed by my artiste period, during which I held “day jobs” for only a few months at a time and so would plan trips in between. After that came a number of years during which my only travel destination was New York.

And then the kids came (not to mention the cat and the dog) and the serious jobs, and here I am, the Happy Weekender. Now my passion is trying to find perfect weekend getaways that don’t cost too much.

The following are weekend getaway ideas for each month of the year, arranged around a calendar, because I’m convinced that timing is a key component of truly enjoyable weekends. The ideas are either based on my own experiences, or drawn from the suggestions of friends or travel professionals.

February

Jumping the gun on the desert wildflower season (which isn’t usually until March/early April) I’d head again for 29 Palms Inn (619-367-3505) and Joshua Tree National Monument (619-367-7511). Operated by the same family since the late 1930s, the inn is cherished by a loyal, often artsy clientele, but it’s not the place for those who expect the amenities of glitzy Palm Springs-type resorts. I love the rustic style of the adobe bungalows (there are 12, plus rooms in other buildings) with their whitewashed walls, refinished furniture, Mexican tile floors, wood-burning fireplaces and small black-and-white TVs. This year I’d bring Louis L’Amour novels to read and an appetite for meals, including Sunday brunch, in the tiny restaurant, which features vegetarian and fish dishes. Since I was there a few years ago, they’ve added a hot tub to the pool area, and massage is available by appointment. The inn is situated in one of the four palm oases of Joshua Tree (only the eastern portion of the oasis is actually on monument land) and a drive into the adjacent monument can include self-guided tours of the cholla cactus garden, historic mining sites and geology tour road through some of the monument’s interesting landscape.

March

The eighth annual Santa Barbara Film Festival is March 5-14, which gives me two possible weekends to try out my as-yet-unfulfilled fantasy of using a cozy bed-and-breakfast inn as a winter-proof base for a marathon of film-going. There will be 100 movies, plenty of celebs (Michael Douglas is honorary chair this year), and Santa Barbara’s compact city center (films will be shown at the Arlington, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and other downtown theaters). Last year, there were 25,000 attendees. Recorded festival information, only in service during the festival, is at (805) 689- INFO; tickets and other information at (805) 963-0023 (weekender ticket options range from single-film tickets at $7 to a package of eight selected movies at $50). For lodging, consider the well-known downtown inn, The Upham, (805) 962-0058; research B&Bs; (Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers Guild of Santa Barbara, 800-776-9176), or check out film festival/ room packages (Travel World, the festival’s official booking agency, 800-678-8785). April

I go to Del Mar when the horses aren’t running and the horse people aren’t there (the racing season is July through September). In off-season, it’s like a tiny, uncongested Beverly Hills by the sea. You can get great room rates at places like the estimable Del Mar Inn, (619) 755-9765, a beautifully landscaped motel within walking distance of attractive shops, restaurants and the beach. Six days a week, complimentary tea and freshly baked cake is served by Phyllis Elliott, who also bakes the cakes (a different kind each day). Standard rates are $80-$99, but there have been bring-this-ad-in special rates as low as $59 per night. Third-floor ocean-side rooms have views over rooftops to the sea. My two children, my mother and I were there last year during the children’s spring break from school. We took a pleasant drive from Del Mar through horse country to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but my favorite part of the weekend was the long sunset, viewed from a spacious public veranda at the tony Del Mar Plaza on Camino Del Mar Drive, the town’s main street.

May

I’ll try to cheat the weekend definition a bit and persuade my husband to take a mid-week break so we can get the mid-week golf package at the Temecula Creek Inn, (714) 676-5631, in an inland valley about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles. I think he might agree to the plan because getting a morning tee-time on a municipal L.A. course at this time of year means frustrating early-morning hours on the phone trying to get a reservation. There are 27 holes at this luxurious resort, so the unlimited golf included in the package won’t get boring. For $125 per person per night, we’ll get a room, the above-mentioned unlimited golf, a golf cart, dinner and breakfast. The resort’s restaurant is highly-rated and features locally-produced wines. It should be pleasant golfing weather here in May (it’s seldom mentioned that Temecula can be breathtakingly hot in the summer).

June

It’s cloudy in June at Ventura County beaches, so the higher summer rental rates don’t go into effect until July. And even then, houses for a weekend or a week at one of the Oxnard beach areas (Hollywood, Silver Strand or Oxnard Shores) were more reasonably priced than in any other Southern California community when I drove up and down the coast looking for a summer rental two years ago. Today, rates in Oxnard for a three-bedroom, sleeps-seven house on the sand with an oceanfront deck begin at $100 per night with a two-night minimum (Wertenberger Realty, 805-985-5190). The Young Company’s (805-985-8811) quote for a slightly larger 3-bedroom plus den that sleeps 10 is $1,300 a week. This compares with an oceanfront house in Newport Beach, starting at $1,500 a week with at least a one-week minimum (many properties have two- or four-week minimums; Waterfront Homes, 714-631-1400). In Oxnard two summers ago, we shared our house with another family and cut expenses even further. The kids romped on the sand and in the water (though it was cloudy) and we strolled the nearby Ventura Harbor and visited the Channel Islands Visitor Center, actually a small natural history museum. And, thanks to the area’s fabulous roadside produce stands, we ate fresh corn on the cob every night.

July/August

Be a tourist, book a package. I think the best way to attend the Laguna Festival of the Arts (of which the most famous part is the Pageant of the Masters, which recreates famous paintings and sculpture using live models) is to join the out-of-towners staying at the Hotel Le Meridien (714-476- 2001) in Newport Beach. The festival runs July 8 through Aug. 29 (information: 714-494-1145; tickets: 800-487-FEST). For a hotel price (last year it was $195 per couple per night) that is actually less than it would cost you to book a room and buy tickets for the pageant and a souvenir program, you get all three. While others are hassling with parking and driving, you can be relaxing in the comfort of a hotel shuttle that drops you, tickets in hand, at the festival grounds. This package is offered only on Friday and Saturday nights. For Sunday through Thursday festival-going, the Surf and Sand (714-497-4477) in Laguna offers a non-refundable package that must be reserved by June 1. The price is $285 for an ocean-view room, two tickets to the pageant, champagne on arrival and continental breakfast.

September

It’s apple and grape harvest time in the Santa Ynez Valley and a more felicitous combination is hard to imagine. North of Santa Barbara and bordered on the east by the Los Padres National Forest, this is my favorite wine country, truly scenic, truly civilized. There are lots of motel rooms in nearby Solvang, but I usually skirt the faux Scandinavian town by driving up California 154, and, after touring a number of hotels, have decided, next time, to stay at the Ballard Inn (805-688-7770). The Ballard, in the hamlet of Ballard, is a B&B; with pleasant vintage furnishings that offers guests samples of local wines with afternoon hors d’oeuvres. Last time, my husband and I toured wineries,tasting as we went. Next time, we’ll bring bikes, because the country roads really are quiet.

October

Autumn is my favorite season and there’s not much of it in Southern California, so I keep looking for classic tree-watching possibilities. Last year, I discovered that the fall colors in the San Bernardino mountain areas such as Arrowhead and Big Bear were very satisfying indeed, so I could head back that way. On the other hand, I might return to Oak Glen, an apple farming and curio shop community east of San Bernardino near Yucaipa (Oak Glen information: 714-797-6833). If I haven’t had apples enough in the Santa Ynez Valley, I’ll find them in Oak Glen. And I’ve heard that stands of red oaks, sycamores and box elders mean a showy display of turning leaves. Then I’ll drive 20 minutes or so south to Redlands to stay at the the landmark Morey Mansion Bed and Breakfast (714-793- 7970), where weekend rates range from $125 to $185 per room. I haven’t stayed there yet, but its Victorian architecture and furnishings are so esteemed that the local Y raises money for Redlands preservation efforts through twice-monthly tours of the mansion.

November

When I first discovered weekends, I first discovered San Diego and it was my favorite destination for a long time. I went with a woman friend to see plays and museums; I went with my mom and the kids to Sea World--there were lots of combinations of people and attractions. But my favorite trip was when we took Amtrak (800-USA-RAIL) to the downtown San Diego station. From there we caught a cab to the U.S. Grant Hotel (800-334-6957), a gracious 1910-era hotel that’s been restored and anchors a downtown area of restaurants, shopping and business. In November, I’d set aside time for Christmas shopping at Horton Plaza across the square from the Grant, and I’d make sure to have reservations for the symphony or theater, both within walking distance of the hotel and plaza.

December

I’ve summered in Claremont, site of the esteemed Claremont Colleges, and there’s a reason all those professors leave town--it’s hot and often so smoggy you can’t see Mt. Baldy rising on the edge of town. But in the winter, Baldy, about a 30-minute drive “up the hill” from Claremont, is popular for local skiing (714-547-3311 or 714-981- 3344) and just plain pretty. The ski season begins in December and the winter school vacation would be my target weekend time. Since most of the skiers are day-trippers, lodgings in the area include mostly freeway- or airport-adjacent motels. So why not stay at Griswold’s (714-626-2411)? Although it’s had some financial difficulties and is currently up for sale, Griswold’s, now calling itself Griswold’s Entertainment Center, is a local institution, known for its smorgasbord. The center is composed of a reasonably priced 250-plus-room motor hotel, three full-service restaurants, a deli, a murder mystery cafe. Ski packages priced at $199 for two people, double occupancy, offer two nights’ lodging at Griswold’s, two days’ skiing, breakfast at the center and lunch at Baldy.

January

The three-day King holiday means major crowds at the ski and snow-play resorts, but I’ll be headed for Dana Point. I like the Orange County beaches in the winter--gray skies and surfers and good deals on hotel rooms. We tried the Dana Point Resort (714-661-5000) and found it, like most of Dana Point, almost humorously clean and pristine, considering the area’s pre-development past as a surfers’ and tide-pool mecca. But when we asked, we were offered an upgrade on our room to a floor with a lobby area featuring complimentary buffet and bar, and we loved the views. Although the hotel’s regular rates are $270-$280, it frequently advertises getaway specials at less than $100 per room.