Gismo the cougar.

Sometimes, vacations don’t follow the plan. I’m on a mini-wander to “the Other Side,” referring to Klamath Falls and specifically, the Running Y Resort — a luscious property. The weather is lovely, a vulture just soared near and winked, and I get to recount another adventure. I should be enraptured.

On the way over, I was thinking how great it would be to escape the niggling issues that hover when I’m home. I pictured escaping responsibilities and people, yes, people for three days of pelican-watching, groundskeepers mowing, and maybe some gin rummy.

The parade of gnat-like irritations began with finagling the loaded luggage cart to the waiting elevator, where another couple had gotten there just ahead of us. No big deal. I was feeling free and easy and happy to wait in the breeze.

The door dinged, opened, and there they still were with their cart load of trumpery. They tried again. I smiled, and waited. Ding. Door opens, there they are. This happened in a four-segment rotation.

I mistakenly offered that perhaps the load was too heavy. Had they brought their anvil collection? The woman with a thick German accent quoted the weight maximum of 2,100 pounds. I was impressed. They suggested we give it a try. Though slightly nervous at the aspect of writing about being stuck in an elevator, we traded places, jockeyed our carts, and climbed aboard. I pushed button four and off we went. Had they even pushed the dang button? I mean, a woman who knows the weight maximum of her conveyance …

On this trip, I thought I’d remembered everything and was too smug about it, apparently. I’d forgotten my BP medicine. I’d never missed three doses before and wondered if I was living on the edge. The next morning, I phoned my doctor and easily got the prescription called into the local Walmart — my favorite place to go while on vacation. I made delicious buckwheat blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then phoned WM to see if the Rx was ready. The bot on the other end assured me it would be ready after 11:00.

I’ve seen a WM pharmacy line. I prayed for patience before leaving the car, which was probably a mistake. We landed in the interminable waiting line.

The woman behind the counter had placed at the head of her class in sloth lessons. There was a plaque. I finally made it to her only to discover that it wasn’t ready. She said 20 minutes more and I wouldn’t have to stand in line. I harumphed minorly, imagining the nature study I was missing by waiting with people at Wamart instead. We returned and waited some more before hearing, “We’re out of stock.”

I felt my BP rising as I said to Lane, “Just get me out of here.”

In leaving, I made a wrong turn and landed in a maze of fire escape doors and the outdoor section, which one can never exit because of chain link fencing. We had to go all the way back and pass the vile pharmacy again to find the escape route.

Determined to revive the jovial spirit, we headed for Malin — a peaceful little cow burg east of KF with friendly people and no pharmacies. By then it was 12:30 so we detoured to Merrill (Malin’s twin cousin) and stopped at Pappy Gander & Co’s cafe for lunch. Though the sign read open, we had our choice of any seat in the house. Becky served us good, simple food, and we endured the nauseating country-pop music. From where I sat, a handsome cougar someone had stuffed and named Gismo (with an S) looked on from the wall.

A stop at Polar Freeze for ice cream afterward and a walk around town taking pictures, and I had nearly reclaimed my good nature, checking Main Street in Merrill off my bucket list.

Next morning — by the sound of things, an elephant is vacationing on the floor above us, my irrigation has stopped working back home, I received an email that my auto insurance has lapsed (not my fault), and when I made coffee after just getting off the phone with Liberty Mutual, I forgot to put the pot underneath and came out to coffee percolating onto the floor.

I stepped outside to take a deep breath, and a magnificent red-tailed hawk made lazy circles above me. Today is a good day.