Day 6-Monkey Pox is the new pandemic

Bacara…

I had dinner at the O-Bar…the “villas” in the background are the hotel rooms.

8/9/22. Tuesday

6:30-My alarm goes off. I get up, turn it off, and go back to bed. No hiking today. Why did I stay up so late the night before?

10:00-10:30-I’m up and the dog is, too. We both go downstairs so she can go potty. Cheese for her; coffee for me. I go upstairs.

10:30-12:00-Shower. Lotion. I finish the last of my packing and change into workout clothes.

12:00-1:00-I do a 15-minute, Insanity Max-Ab workout and a 30-min, Insanity Max-Cardio workout. I change out of my workout clothes and into Athletic Housewife attire.

1:00-2:00-I check emails at College No. 1 and College No. 2. As a reminder, the semester ends for College No. 2 in two days. The Semester begins at College No. 1 in five days.

2:00-4:00-I leave for the Ritz Carlton - Bacara, in Santa Barbara.

Driving.

4:00-5:00 - I drive to Arroyo-Burro Beach first, to see if it’s better than Goleta Beach at Bacara. The parking is a nightmare - there are no empty spaces - and turning around in the parking lot is a disaster. I abort the Arroyo-Burro Beach and head straight for the Ritz.

5:00-6:30 - Check in. This is one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever stayed at. I’m just in time for free champagne because I’m a Marriott Rewards member. The Bacara Hotel is a beautiful resort (think White Lotus), spread across 78 acres of rolling hills. Staff members use golf carts to take guests and their luggage to their hotel rooms. Everybody keeps asking me, “Welcome. What brings you to Bacara?” When I respond, “Business” nobody says another word. What a great, polite way to shut the conversation down.

No masking because rich people don’t get Covid.

After checking in, I’m driven to my hotel room by a nice employee, who explains how Bacera is laid out and where everything is located. I also receive a map. My hotel room is right next to the pool - I like the location. The bellhop carries my bags up a flight of stairs, I tip out, and he leaves. This is my first vacation traveling alone and I, silently, ask myself the question: “What should I do now?” My inner voice exuberantly replies, “Whatever you want!” Slowly, it dons on me that I don’t have to consult with ANYBODY about what I want to do because it’s MY vacation!

Right outside my hotel room is a line of Adriondack chairs facing the ocean. I grab my book, walk a few feet across the “grassy knoll”, and collapse in the chair. Finally, some peace. I read my book and alternate between looking at the ocean and napping. I’ve had so much going on lately - Finally, I can sit here, decompress, and do absolutely nothing…on my terms.

6:30-8:00 - A few of the reasons I picked this place is A) activities and restaurants are on the compound which means I never have to leave the resort; and B) they rent bikes. I brought my biking gear so maybe I’ll go on a bike ride tomorrow. For now, I walk to one of Bacara’s restaurants, The O Bar, for dinner. The waitress is sooo nice and seats me on the patio, away from everyone, under a heat lamp. I have the Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese, an Artisan Turkey BLT, and champagne and…get this…I read my book while I eat. I’m not forced to listen to inane conversation and make appropriate responses, because it’s MY vacation! I don’t have to do ANYTHING!

8:00-11:00 - I wander back to my hotel room, unpack most of my things, and get ready for bed. I can see the pool through my floor-to-ceiling windows and I can hear the ocean. I watch a few Forensic Files episodes, but I feel very safe here…violent crime rarely happens to rich people [insert smile emoji here]. I fall asleep.