By Charlotte K. Jarmy
After the trauma I suffered when I read about the mountain lion who went for a walk about two blocks from our house, I simply had to go on vacation. Cats are my worst phobia, but very big cats make for paranoia.
I wouldn’t touch the garage-door opener until I was safely in my car and ready to go. Yet, neighbors walked the streets and bicycled with their children. I resisted the urge to shout at them, “Haven’t you heard about the mountain lion sighting?”
Would it show up at the Thursday farmers’ market looking for fresh veggies and fruit? Would it join the chatterers at Starbucks? Listen, a bear at Tahoe got into a family’s home, and sat down at the breakfast table to stare longingly at a plate of bacon. It really happened!
So we left soon after for our longed-for vacation at Oceanside near San Diego. I could almost smell the salt air, feel the cool breezes on my face, and taste the fresh shrimps and crab cakes. I started this column to get a jump-start on my task when we returned.
Well, this is what happens when I write my column early: We shortened our vacation and I need to share my experiences. We spent only two full days at the condo in Oceanside. It wasn’t a disaster, but what a long way to drive for a view of the Pacific, 350 miles away from the Northern California view. It was just as green and just as lovely.
The beach scene, however, was right out of my memory of the famous beach in Brooklyn, Coney Island, only I couldn’t smell Nathan’s hot dogs. Hundreds of sea-and-sand lovers in various stages of undress made for interesting viewing.
However, we fried indoors and out since the weather was very hot and our condo had no air conditioning.
Another “melody” we heard, besides the shouts of children in the pool, were train whistles. Th Amtrak line was about a block from us, and trains passed almost every half hour with piercing shrieks. I have a suspicion that the engineers were romancing one of the chambermaids at our condo.
We did enjoy some very tasty dinners, but like the ocean view, it was a long way to go to eat at IHOP and Hungry Hunter.
The best day was our last, four days after arriving. We drove back to Los Angeles and spent the entire day visiting with two separate sets of cousins. We relaxed, talked about family events, were treated to lunch by one cousin and dinner by the other.
Those hours spent with family that I truly love made the long commute worth while. We were able to sleep in a pleasant, air-conditioned hotel and return the next morning to our favorite place, Los Altos, where we could fill the trash basket with junk mail and sleep in our own bed.
Tomorrow I return to my aqua-aerobics at the “Y” and rave about our wonderful vacation … I lie. I discovered that I was more afraid of giant SUVs driving past us at 80 mph than the mountain lion who was only checking out Los Altos property.
