A Good Day for Vacay

July 4th marks the first of many long weekends you'll take this summer, some authorized, others not, but taken anyway due to your certainty that nobody will realize you're gone. To help your cause, Thrillist has rounded up these four accessible getaways where you can forget about work and sip yourself down some BACARDI® Mojitos.

Pacific Palms: 15 miles past Downtown, this resort hosts Golf Digest's only 4-star course in LA County. After a day of slicing, hit the upscale lounge/resto RED: abetted with a waterfall and a cobalt blue, bottom-lit bar, it's helmed by a former L'Ermitage sous chef, serving everything from a 22-oz porterhouse to blackened lobster tacos and "lambsicles" -- because why should ice have all the fun of getting impaled on a stick?

Thrillist - BacardiCasino Morongo: Sprawling alongside the 10 freeway, the Morongo's a monument to Vegas carousing (and, judging by the decor, UCLA), with a remodeled casino and poker room and, for mojito-tipping, a pool with a white sand beach, private cabanas, and a lazy river, plus a thumping nightclub. Bonus: every Friday, LA's Metal Skool plays a brain-rattling show, complete with sand-blasted, leather-and-fishnet-clad groupies. Just remember: In the desert, no one can hear you scream.

Mammoth: It's not just for skiing (think mountain biking, or in your case, mountain-watching), and it's got a new spot for imbibing: Whitebark, a high-end lounge and resto nestled by the gondola and themed after "our country's national parks" (river rocks, humongous bar carved from 200-year-old walnut tree). Grub highlights include venison osso bucco, quail empanadas, and a monster salad bar loaded with unhealthy toppings like pecorino and crispy prosciutto (like Bacos that ride a moped and still live with their mother).

Hacienda San Angel: A casually opulent private getaway just three minutes from Puerto Vallarta's raucous strip, with 14 regal suites, plus amenities like fountain'd pools, in-room massages, and a spacious patio on which to sip drinks and grub on fare like herb-encrusted rack of lamb or celestial seafood pasta -- loaded with shrimp, octopus, and scallops, it's a tribute to the ocean's rich pageant of killable deliciousness.