SUMMER HEAT

What do you do to retreat from the heat?

With the temperatures hovering around 100 degrees in the West, we look for cool escapes.

A quick trip to Carmel helped. We went kayaking on Elkhorn Slough at sunset on Sunday. The water was calm, the light breeze kept us cool. We watched as otters frolicked with each other, cormorants tended their babies on nests on top of tall posts in the middle of the harbor, and pelicans swooped up and down across the breakers out on the beach. The fog rolled into Carmel the next day just before the mid-morning temperatures rose. We sat in the shade of a lovely garden filled with hydrangeas, fuchsias, and bumblebees. We walked the Carmel streets, took photos and painted what we saw from the inn's small patio. We stayed cool.

Now back home, I'm thinking of more ways to escape. I know that in our shady backyard the temperature drops by at least 5 degrees in the shade. We don't have humidity or bothersome bugs so we can sit outside for awhile. I think of portals I would seek as a child. trees and bushes create natural tunnels that provide respite from the heat. The ground in those tunnels stays cool and the air even cooler.

Take a walk on the cool side.

We have a favorite bookstore in Carmel where I restocked my supply of mysteries and memoirs. Several of you have recommended some good reads too.

Have fun reading and stay cool!

Linda:  Elizabeth Berg's The Pull of the Moon

Sue:  Ivan Doig, English Creek, Dancing at the Rascal Fair, & This House of Sky 
         Frederick Bachman novels
         Rick Bragg, Ava's Man
        Annie Proulx, That Old Ace in the Hole

Bill: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me

Me:  Elizabeth Alexander, The Light of the World
         Edward de Waal, The Hare with Amber Eyes
         the Dr. Siri mysteries set in Laos by Colin Cotterill

Terrific Carmel bookstore:  http://www.riverhousebookscarmel.com

Check out Elkhorn Slough:  http://www.elkhornslough.org

Rent kayaks at Kayak Connection:  http://www.kayakconnection.com/elkhorn-slough/

Great place to stay in Carmel:  Carmel Cottage Inn  https://www.carmelcottageinn.com