Clocked Out: Coconut clouds, cold tonics, your friend's pool and other things to quell summer heat (and sickness)

Did you miss me? You didn't receive my column last week because I was singing I've got that 🎵summertime, summertime sickness🎵.

I was taken out by a bug so nasty that it rendered horizontal in my muggy bedroom for days on end. Stuck in bed?! In the summertime heat? As a Leo born in July, this felt like cruel and unusual punishment.

There is, indeed, a summertime bug flitting its way around town, not to mention FLiRT — which is NOT a new hyperpop album — but it is yet another (another!!) COVID variant.

Whether it's the heat, a lingering cough, or a horrendous hangover that's plaguing you today, I've got a few ideas on how to combat them all.

This week, Clocked Out will be your little Long Beach guide on all things wellness and relaxation. We're going to talk about how to keep cool, where to get frothy-heavenly-fizzy beverages, where to get wellness shots and more.

But remember, stay your butt home if you're sick; have a saintly friend bring you one of the tasty items I've listed below. So, crack a cold one (a juice that is) and let's get this party started.

Shots, juice and hangover cures

We begin with shots, shots, shots, shots — shots, shots.

Look, I'm no doctor, but a Sucker Punch "wellness" shot from Salud certainly won't hurt you. Well, it might hurt you a little, but you will feel as good as new afterward.

Long Beach has a ton of juice shops, but arguably the city's most popular is Salud, which has one location on Retro Row and another in Belmont Shore. They've got everything from a Summer Detox pack to a Flu Fighter bundle to a Hangover Cure. But you don't need to spend $200 on a cleansing pack to feel refreshed.

Drank too many appletinis last night? Grab a Liver Tonic with grapefruit, green tea, honey, turmeric and lemon. Recovering from a cold? Have someone bring you that Sucker Punch shot I mentioned above (ginger, lemon, cayenne and honey). Or one of my favorite juices: Summer Nights with orange, carrot, lemon and muddled mint; Shroot Farm with beet, apple and lemon (I like to add ginger).

If Salud isn't your bag, there's always the Starbucks of juiceries — Pressed. (Psstt! sign up with your email and they'll give you a free shot on your first visit.)

But there are plenty more local juice shops to explore in town. Try one of these places: Rainbow Juices (another fav), Tru Nature Juice Bar, Earthly Juices, VIDA JUICE.

Alright, enough with the healthy stuff. Onto something a little sweeter.

Coconut clouds, coffee tonic and fizz

Have you ever had a coconut cloud? How 'bout a matcha cloud? No??? I'm not talking about that $17 Erewhon smoothie that made headlines in 2022.

You can experience this fluffy new obsession of mine right here in Long Beach for as little as $6. This week, I wandered into Mini Monster Cafe in Belmont Shore for the first time and spotted the Matcha Coconut Cloud on their menu. Looking for relief from the heat and still fighting a lingering cough, this drink's ingredients sounded like they might just fix me: Water cracked from young Thai coconuts topped with a cold, creamy, lush matcha topper.

Next, I walked up Second Street and headed for Holey Grail. I know you all judge me for paying $4 for a donut — but have you even tried their taro-based dough? When I arrived I noticed the menu offered a coconut cloud add-on to any cold drink for $1.50. How long have I been sleeping on the coconut cloud phenomenon?

Anyway, I made it a coco-cloud double-feature by ordering one of their Fizz drinks (essentially just soda). The Big Island Ube ($6) is a Hamakua Coast ube housemade soda topped with a cloud. All four of their Fizz options are topped with such. In case you are still in the dark about ube, it's a purple yam native to Southeast Asia.

While we were there, Michael ordered his own cloudy drink: Forbidden Tonic ($6), a fizzy coffee extract with, of course, a coconut cloud.

I apologize for not having any coconut cloud recommendations outside of Belmont Shore. What other cafes in Long Beach are offering this delicacy? If you're in the know, do share.

Visit a friend with a pool or rent your own

On a warm July day, there are fewer things more satisfying than, say, an ocean plunge, a run through the sprinklers, a dip in your friend's pool (or your own, sheesh) or screw it, a cold shower. Water is healing.

If a pool day is really what's on order for your condition and you don't have a bestie in Long Beach who has one, there are still options. Did you know you can rent a private pool in town for as little as $25 per hour?

Swimply is the Airbnb of residential pool rentals. Listings range from a "party pool with a rock slide and waterfall" for $38/hour to a secluded saltwater retreat for $85/hour to a no-frills "fun family pool" for $25/hour.

And then there's always Resort Pass, which offers "daycation" deals and options to get a pass to multiple hotel pools in Long Beach from the Hyatt Centric's rooftop pool for $27 per DAY to a $163 cabana pass at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Carson.

You're welcome and I wish you a speedy recovery from whatever ails you.