June 2, 2020

The Stay in Place Order looks like it will be lifted in Monterey County on May 31, 2020. But wait a minute! What do I see? Tourists from around the World and Day Trippers from the Bay Area, by the thousands! Everywhere in Carmel by the Sea for the Memorial Day Weekend!

Sophie, the fairy dog and I cruise down Cliff Drive to see the view of the surf and the empty beach almost every day. But, as we pull onto Cliff Drive which follows along the sea cliffs and beach, I do not see the view of the crashing surf and the empty beach. Instead, there are Day Trippers and World Tourists playing in the surf with their dogs and children.

“The beach is supposed to closed!” I thought to myself as I watched in surprise the parade of humans frolicking in the sea.

“Hey…wait a minute…where are their masks? It’s a misdemeanor in Monterey County not to wear a mask outside. Didn’t they get the text? We’re supposed to wear masks!”

I didn’t get out my car. I drove back through the village past the once empty local restaurants. To my astonishment the travelers were sitting at the tables very close together and being served lunch!

“What happen to our ‘curbside only’ ordinance where you pick up food and stay six feet apart?”

Discouraged, I drove through town turning on Fifth Avenue to go home.

“I guess we’ll stay home and hope that all the unmasked visitors leave on Monday, after Memorial Day,” I said to Sophie whose reaction was to scratch behind her ear.

“People want to go back to their lives as they once were…”

But, I’ll miss the empty beach with just a few locals and their dogs off-leash and the silence…. The hustle and bustle is back in our lives, because of summer or the need to work or the need to play. Humans are back.

The pandemic isolation appears to be over. It’s summer. It is hotter and folks need to get out with their kids and dogs. Let’s hope the virus doesn’t like the heat! Anyway, I hope so. Otherwise, there are going to be a lot more COVID-19 victims.

I heard the rumbling of a car engine gunning up one of the meandering single lane roads in the village below my street. I looked up. “That means the pollution will be back soon.” I sighed.

The sky was still blue and the clouds were pristine white enjoying the time off while humans isolated. The pandemic is still upon us, but it is human nature to test the waters. “Carmel by the Sea is closed,” I yelled over the surf and opened my French door to enter. Once inside, I closed the doors, leaving the noise behind to enjoy the last few days of my isolation.