The last few weeks before a vacation are the worst, especially if you haven’t taken a break in a while, and more especially when you’ve been going to work in weather that seems to encourage everything but work.

Maybe the heat is making you crazy, or it’s finally warm enough but you’re stuck inside. Maybe you’re desperate for the sun to set a little earlier so you can a little more sleep. Maybe your town is full of annoying tourists, or half your office is on vacation and you can’t get anything done. Maybe there’s an underoccupied kid bouncing around your house, watching too much TV and forgetting too much school. Or maybe a vacation isn’t in the cards this year at all.

If the world is too much with you by the end of July, you’re not alone. This week, four stories about getting away from it all—or at least getting away from some of it—ready to read here on TMN or in an e-book you can export to your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, etc.