Day 7-Monkey Pox is the new pandemic
I had breakfast at The Bistro…
The Seaside Hiking Trail at Bacara…
8/10/22. Wednesday
8:00 - 10:00 - I get up when I feel like it, make coffee, and take a shower. L. made a reservation for me at The Bistro, on Open Table, for 10:30, so I leave at 10:00 and walk across the grounds to the restaurant.
10:00-12:00 - I opt to sit outside at a table with an umbrella and a view of the ocean. I will say that the service absolutely sucks. I’m one of the few customers on the patio and it seems like they keep forgetting I’m here. Having said that, who cares? I’m sitting at my table, with my Mimosa (of course), looking at the ocean and reading. Over the course of around two hours, I eventually order and eat the Croissant-Wich, and it’s really good.
I can’t believe that I’m able to just pick up and go to a luxury hotel, in the middle of the week, whenever I want to. I’m so grateful I’m retired (with a pension).
12:00-1:30 - On the way back to my room, I come across the Chumash Nature Trail. I don’t remember seeing this on the map, so I “hike” it (I’m using the term hike loosely) and read the various placards along the trail. Apparently, Bacara sits on land that belonged to the Chumash Indians (of course it does - what a surprise - I wonder how the white man cheated the Indians out of this particular parcel of land?) and I learn about Chumash culture while I’m on trail. It’s hot and humid here.
The Chumash Nature Trail isn’t very long and it empties out onto the fairly short Seaside Hiking Trail so I take that, too. This is a steep hike that eventually levels out with incredible views of Bacara and the ocean. I love it.
1:30-2:00 - Return to my hotel room, change into my bathing suit, and grab my beach bag that I store in my trunk during the summer months. I brought it up with my luggage and it contains my portable chair, beach blanket, flip flops, sunscreen, etc.
2:00-5:00 - I walk a few feet down to the beach and set up camp, where I lay on my beach blanket, read my book, and nap off and on. This is Bacara’s private beach so there’s not too many people around. At the same time, it’s not an isolated beach - it feels safe.
5:00-6:00 - I eventually meander back to the room. I’m not hungry so I decide to skip dinner. Another perk with traveling alone…I don’t have to listen to someone whining about how hungry they are and that they must eat NOW or, conversely, someone suggesting we skip a meal, after I’ve had nothing substantial for 7 hours, because that person “filled up on beer” and doesn’t want to eat for another 14 hours, i.e., until breakfast tomorrow.
7:00-8:30 - I go to the pool, sit in a lounge chair, and order a couple glasses of champagne and…I don’t do a damn thing. I just…sit there, looking at the pool, and it’s great! Hardly anyone is here.
8:30-10:00 - Back to my room and I eat my leftovers from The O-Bar last ight and watch Forensic Files. B. is currently on some biking trip with his friends at Huntington Beach - he left several days ago. I didn’t bother telling him I was coming to Bacara as we haven’t had much contact lately and I really don’t think he cares what I’m doing as he’s on his own vacation right now. Surprisingly, B. calls me and we have a conversation. Towards the end of the call, B. doesn’t like something I said (I have no idea what set him off this time…did I say something negative about law enforcement again? We weren’t arguing…) and hangs up on me as I’m in mid-sentence.
I dismiss this exchange entirely and am completely unaffected. I return to watching Forensic Files and, after 10 minutes, forget I was ever on the phone. I move to the patio and listen to the ocean for a few minutes. Then, nighttime routine and bed. I sleep better than I have in years.