Carnival of Souls
By Tony Hall
(349 words)

If I had only one wish for my dream vacation, it wouldn’t be a place but rather to relive the memory of a very special moment in time.

21 years ago, my best friend and I spent our July 4th holiday vacation at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, located 75 miles south of San Francisco.

When we arrived, it was a warm Friday morning. The park was already crowded, with festivity brimming in the air! We rushed past the carnival games, arcade galleries, and snack booths, laughing like two giddy kids in a toy store. We didn’t care - because this was BETTER than a toy store– there was also an amusement park on this 24-acre boardwalk! To ride the Giant Dipper roller coaster was our very first intro to the park.

Fun was the name of the game. We’d already experienced the horrors of 9/11 less than two years prior. In fact, we were in Manhattan when the terrorist attacks occurred. We desperately needed a break from the barrage of war. This was our celebration of life.

After our fill of amusement rides, we couldn’t resist the lure of snack booth corn dogs, BBQ, and slushies. We were both forty-somethings, savoring our second childhoods. LOL, I can tell you - on this day - we were the happiest kids in the park! We swam in the frigid ocean to cool off, then napped on the beach.

At sunset, just before the fireworks celebration, we walked hand in hand far down the shoreline along the beach until we were alone. The cold waves washed gently over our bare feet. The warm salt breeze brought the faint aroma of popcorn and the distant echoes of the calliope from the loudspeakers.

With the deep red sunlight shimmering upon the water, I got down on one knee and popped the question.

She said YES!

While the crowd oohed and awed at the fireworks reflecting over the Pacific Ocean, me and my new fiance made our own private fireworks celebration.

The end to a perfect day. My perfect dream vacation.

(end)