Retreat

The American Redoubt: It lies in the rural high country of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, eastern Washington and Oregon. For a growing number of people, it's the designated point of retreat when the American economy hits the fan. When banks fail, the government declares martial law, the power grid goes down. When warming oceans flood the coasts and a resurgent Russia takes out targets on the Eastern Seaboard. Though white separatists for years have called for a racial homeland in the inland Pacific Northwest, an even bigger movement of survivalists, Christian fundamentalists and political doomsayers is fueling the idea of a defensible retreat in the high country west of the Rockies.

When he stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the famously reclusive Howard Hughes would have roast beef sandwiches left for him in a crook of a tree, go on 2 a.m. treasure hunts for freshly baked pineapple upside-down cakes that were hidden on the grounds, and keep a phone booth inside his bungalow. "They'd switch different booths in and out of different bungalows because he [Hughes] didn't want to go through the hotel operator," says producer Richard D. Zanuck, who was told about Hughes by his father, 20th Century Fox co-founder Darryl F. Zanuck, also a frequent visitor to the picturesque pink hotel.

Tips on creating an affordable tropical retreat In the last 10 years, Bob Ramirez estimates that he has poured about $500,000 into the construction of his home and grounds. Decorating it, however, was far less costly. Here are some of the clever ideas and affordable resources used to create a tropical but family-friendly retreat: FURNITURE Lisa Kline scoured flea markets, garage sales and EBay to find streamlined Midcentury tables and courtroom chairs whose clean lines helped to prevent spaces from feeling too busy.

Lumeria Maui started life in 1909 as a home for old plantation workers, built by one of Hawaii's big sugar families. In its 100-plus years, the North Shore property had been repurposed as military housing and then as dorms for a women's college. Now it emerges as a small, graceful retreat center that accents local culture and relaxation under the moniker "edventure. " Prices start relatively small too, with an introductory offer of $299 a night. The deal: Lumeria sits on six acres facing the ocean in Makawao on the island of Maui.

Beats there a modern-urban romantic's heart so cold that on finding a little slice of paradise, he hasn't thought, “I'm going to open a B&B” (and maybe an organic farm)? More than 25 years ago, Lee Roversi came to the North Shore of Kauai and did just that. And lucky you if you can wangle one of the two secluded cabins she has built at her North Country Farms , just outside of Kilauea. This is Hawaiian rustic at a high level: The windows are screened in, and there are showers outdoors.

This story has been updated to include comments from the Romney campaign. WASHINGTON -- Inauguration Day may be nine months away, but that's not stopping Mitt Romney from cashing in on the possibility that he could be president-elect by then. In a fundraising plea circulated by a Georgia supporter and obtained by Buzzfeed , the campaign was said to be “asking people who are able to make a $50,000 contribution to do so today and become a 'Founding Member' of Romney Victory,” a new joint fundraising committee that allows Romney to rake in larger donations than he had been collecting through his single campaign committee.

The former hunting retreat that Southern California Edison's first president, John Barnes Miller, built around 1918 is for sale in unincorporated Claremont. Three miles up Webb Canyon Road, Trails End Ranch offers a rare glimpse of early California from its nearly 51 wilderness acres, which include live oak, scrub oak, redwood, olive, peach and pepper trees, to name a few. Although the single-level U-shaped, hacienda-style home was built before Los Angeles County started tracking building permits, a 1918 announcement by Southern California Edison said the company would construct a number of rustic redwood residences.

On a remote ranch more than 70 miles west of Austin, Texas, top evangelical leaders from around the country assembled last weekend for a private two-day retreat. It wasn't a religious revival that drew the group of 200, which included luminaries of the Christian right; it was the chance to hear the personal testimony of one man: Rick Perry. Inside an air-conditioned tent, the Texas governor and Republican presidential contender was grilled about his beliefs and his record in extraordinarily frank sessions.

Hundreds of environmentalists, union members and liberal activists converged on Rancho Mirage on Sunday to rally against what they see as the influence of two of the nation's leading financial backers of conservative causes. The protestors waved signs condemning "corporate greed," chanted slogans and surged toward a line of helmeted police officers at the entrance to a resort where billionaires Charles and David Koch were holding a retreat for prominent conservative elected officials, major political donors and strategists.

A serene 10-acre retreat, set down like a paradox in the middle of Encino in a well-to-do-neighborhood. The grounds are lush with oaks and pines, roses and birds of paradise, fruit trees and isolated garden paths and duck pond.

In Washington, another scandal has broken over excessive spending during a business conference. But travel experts predict the effect this time around will be limited. Four years ago, it was insurance giant American International Group Inc.that was slammed for holding a lavish executive retreat at a Dana Point resort after taking billions of dollars in government bailout money. In the face of harsh criticism of excessive spending amid a recession, corporations dramatically cut back on business travel, dealing a blow to hotels and airlines across the country.

From the day he entered the White House, the biggest threat to Barack Obama's chances of becoming a two-term president has been the battered state of the U.S. economy. There have been new signs of trouble this spring: slower job growth, higher gasoline prices and fresh fears over the European debt crisis. Yet Obama's prospects on the economic front may be brighter than they now look. This past weekend brought encouraging signs that Europe is ready to take stronger action to confront its still-serious debt problems.

Beats there a modern-urban romantic's heart so cold that on finding a little slice of paradise, he hasn't thought, “I'm going to open a B&B” (and maybe an organic farm)? More than 25 years ago, Lee Roversi came to the North Shore of Kauai and did just that. And lucky you if you can wangle one of the two secluded cabins she has built at her North Country Farms , just outside of Kilauea. This is Hawaiian rustic at a high level: The windows are screened in, and there are showers outdoors.

This story has been updated to include comments from the Romney campaign. WASHINGTON -- Inauguration Day may be nine months away, but that's not stopping Mitt Romney from cashing in on the possibility that he could be president-elect by then. In a fundraising plea circulated by a Georgia supporter and obtained by Buzzfeed , the campaign was said to be “asking people who are able to make a $50,000 contribution to do so today and become a 'Founding Member' of Romney Victory,” a new joint fundraising committee that allows Romney to rake in larger donations than he had been collecting through his single campaign committee.

The Obama administration's consumer financial watchdog wants to undo a limit on some upfront fees on credit cards, prompting criticism that it could hurt borrowers with poor credit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is backing away from restrictions on what the industry calls fee-harvester cards. Issuers of these cards make such customers pay a large fee before they can receive cards with very low credit lines. The agency indicated that its decision stemmed from a court ruling saying the fee cap appeared to be barred by "plain and unambiguous" language in the applicable law. Lobbyists and the public have until June 11 to file comments or objections before a final decision is made.

The Rancho Mirage estate of the late President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford has sold for $1.675 million. The buyers are entertainment business manager John McIlwee and Dreamworks Animation executive Bill Damaschke, who announced their intentions to preserve the 6,316-square-foot midcentury home. They purchased the furniture, including sofas and desks, and some of the artwork separately. The Fords built the Welton Becket-designed home in 1979. The gated compound encompasses 1.37 acres.

A weekend human relations retreat for teachers, sponsored by the National Conference of Christian and Jews, is slated for March 12 at Camp Hess Kramer in the Malibu Hills. Participants will examine their own prejudices and do exercises aimed at helping them better interact with student populations of different races, cultures, gender or sexual orientations. "Our teachers are the first line of defense against racial conflict," said program coordinator Lecia Brooks, a former teacher.

Re "Sierra Club Back to Basics," editorial, April 26: Indeed, we must fight to preserve the environment in every corner of the globe. But given how the Sierra Club and the vast majority of its members are located in the United States, and its original mission was, in fact, to protect local flora and fauna, should it not be particularly concerned by the loss of our own wild spaces? It seems that the Sierra Club should not retreat from those issues that lie at the core of its being.

Baby boomers' snoring has breathed life into the sales of mouth pieces, clips, strips, nose sprays and specialized mattresses. Now home builders have heard the roar. A so-called snore room is the latest offering from Del Webb, which builds communities for people 55 and older. Buyers whose marriages are plagued by a spouse who snorts, grunts and wheezes while he or she sleeps can opt for an adaptable bedroom plan marketed as the "owners retreat" at Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio.

This is for those who don't mind traveling to Earth's edge to get somewhere extraordinary. Broome is in the Kimberley, a hunk of Western Australia the size of California but whose population is only 41,000 hide-skinned, Akubra-sporting (you know, the iconic hat) individuals. It also has some of the country's whitest sand, warmest waters, reddest cliffs and most outlandish geological formations. And those hide-skinned people are almost bizarrely kind. Without fail, if you pull over to look at a map, take a photo or argue with your navigator, they stop their car to ask, "Youse alroight?"