The Popcorn Stand: Bearing a new definition of Margaritaville

All that was missing was the pic-i-nic basket.

This bear would’ve made Yogi Bear proud because he did seem to be “smarter than the average bear.”

Mark Hough was recently preparing to have a relaxing time at his Altadena, California, home when he saw a bear in his Jacuzzi.

Hough took a video showing the bear having the time of his life in the Jacuzzi, soaking it all in so to speak. Hough left a margarita behind and the bear knocked it over and lapped it up. No word if the bear found his lost shaker of salt.

After his dip in the jacuzzi and the margarita, the bear could be seen napping in a nearby tree.

So the bear basically enjoyed his version of Margaritaville. I’m waiting for Jimmy Buffet to write a song about it.

Actually, this kind of thing is becoming more and more common as bears and humans keep encroaching on each other. During the hot summer, more and more bears are looking for cool places and it’s not uncommon to see a bear in a Jacuzzi — or a bear and its cubs playing in a pool also recently in the Pasadena area.

Of course those in the Lake Tahoe area know all about bear sightings and of course even those of us in Carson City have encountered bears.

But so far we stop short of offering a bear a margarita. We’ll give Hough the benefit of the doubt, though, and state the bear taking his margarita was nobody’s fault.

— Charles Whisnand