White sand and warm waters are closer than you think. When winter's chill sets in, escape to one of these laid-back, sun-drenched spots—no passport needed.

Buzzards Bay Escape

For a seafront site on Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, Robert A. M. Stern designed a striking Shingle Style house for a Boston family. It stands at the tip of a peninsula that extends two and a half miles into the bay, with incomparable views in all directions. The low rise it sits upon is, in fact, the bunker of a World War II U.S. Navy surveillance station that remains buried on the site.