Six years ago, Carl Anderson’s life went...

Six years ago, Carl Anderson’s life went to the dogs. A computer specialist, he was burned out, a victim of the corporate world with all its stresses. Playing with pets, he decided, beat punching keys. So he took over the operation of an agency called Critters Sitters that watches over cats and dogs. Or anything else that crawls, slithers or flies. With his wife Cristina and several associates, Anderson services up to 1,000 pet households a month. And although Critters Sitters is based in Irvine, Anderson will refer you to other members of the Pet Sitters Assn. of Southern California, which he serves as secretary-treasurer. PSA makes calls, Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. Or as far north as Monterey. In most cases, sitters visit homes daily to feed/soothe the absentee owner’s pets. In some instances, 24-hour service is available.

While Anderson and I were exchanging pleasantries, his wife excused herself and slipped away on an assignment to feed a rat. Yes, by golly, a rat. “We look after all pets--snakes, horses, sheep, birds. I even water plants occasionally for a lady,” said Anderson.

Is he content as a runaway from the world of computers? Anderson smiled. “Happy as a kitten,” he purred.

Carl Anderson, Critters Sitters, 9361 Hudson Drive, Huntington Beach 92646, (714) 964-5884. Referrals to pet sitters in other areas.

A Whale of an Inn: Happiness is an inn north of San Francisco with goats and ducks and rabbits, a vegetable garden and a path that leads to a wild and wonderful beach where sea lions bark and seals sun themselves on the rocks while guests study tide pools with sea anemones, sea stars and an occasional sea otter. This is a Cape Cod-style inn that rises on four beachfront acres. Wood-planked flooring. Country decor. Scattered about the inn are the works of local artisans. Whales are spotted in a nearby cove. Appropriately, the inn is called The Lost Whale. Four suites with private baths and balconies/alcoves, plus two rooms with shared bath. Ocean views. The thunder of waves carried by the wind. Rhododendrons, azaleas and fuchsias blossom on the bluffs. Strawberries ripen in summer and fresh raspberries, blackberries and huckleberries are served at The Lost Whale in the fall.

Hosts Suzanne Lakin and her husband Lee Miller prepare breakfasts featuring casseroles, quiches, fresh fruit, smoked salmon. Their children (7-year-old Megan and 3-year-old Amara) are companions to the offspring of their guests. Says Suzanne: “We’re a B&B; designed and built to accommodate families and children of all ages--children that are not just tolerated but heartily welcomed.” They have a swing and a two-story playhouse with loads of toys. Guests are awakened by the barking of sea lions, and afterwards they visit the beach to collect driftwood and agate and jade. Twenty minutes away others listen to the silence of a redwood forest and the roar of waterfalls in Fern Canyon or else ride bicycles loaned by the inn along coastal roads overlooking miles of rock and driftwood-strewn beaches. In late afternoon the inn serves cappuccino and wine, along with home-baked pastries served at sunset on a deck outside the the old home. Besides families, Suzanne and Lee welcome honeymooners. Champagne and roses in the room. Complimentary dinners at a nearby cafe. Currently it’s salmon season, and Katy’s Smokehouse nearby prepares and mails your catch.

To reach The Lost Whale, follow Highway 101 approximately 295 miles north of San Francisco to Trinidad. Often full in summer. Fall months are the best (no fog). The Lost Whale, 3452 Patrick’s Point, Trinidad, Calif. 95570, (707) 677-3425. Rates: $90/$120.

Alaska: A. J. of Santa Clara asks about B&Bs; in Seward, Alaska. In her paperback, “Bed & Breakfast Alaska Style,” Cass Crandell suggests the Swiss Chalet. Open through Labor Day. One block off Seward Highway. Hosts Charlotte and Stan Jones provide three guest rooms (one with private bath). Rates: $40/$60. The Swiss Chalet, P.O. Box 1734, Seward, Alaska 99664, (907) 224-3939.

More than 130 B&Bs; in Alaska are listed in Crandell’s fine little paperback. Recipes from host homes are included. Travelers have a choice of accommodations from log cabins to a Swedish long house. Crandell was born in Alaska, knows the land well.

“Bed & Breakfast Alaska Style” ($14.95) is available at your bookstore. Other details from Kachemak Publishing, Box 470-NR, Homer, Alaska 99603.

Meanwhile, proprietors of a dozen Vermont inns have banded together to provide inn-to-inn treks. Groups stroll along a 100-mile stretch of Vermont’s famed Long Trail. Others use local trails/back roads. Country Inns Along The Trail was developed by the Churchill House Inn of Brandon, Vt. Hikers incorporate biking/antiquing/fly fishing into their trips. Season extends through late October. Summer rates ($599) for five days include lodging, breakfast, dinner, a shuttle van for your luggage, taxes.

Your travel agent or Country Inns Along The Trail, RR3, Box 3115, Brandon, Vt. 05733, (800) 999-6865. (Country Inns also offers self-guided tours, $59/$116 daily per person.)

Austria for Lovers, Bikers, Golfers: Without fail, romantics fall in love with Austria. Particularly Vienna with its magnificent opera house, museums, coffeehouses and hotels that perpetuate Europe’s Old World charm. I have fond memories of the Bristol Hotel and the Hotel Sacher. On earlier visits I would lounge in the lobby of the Bristol, studying the faces of guests who dropped by from around the world. At the Sacher, couples escape to small, intimate, curtained booths in the hotel’s snug restaurant. Others romantics bicycle outside the city, carrying picnic lunches into the forest or to private glens along the Danube. For the latter group, the Vienna Tourist Board has prepared an information flier listing 230 miles of bike paths inside/outside Vienna. At the same time, the Austrian National Tourist Office is mailing copies of a 120-page booklet prepared for golfers. Names dozens of hotels/clubs with golf facilities. Chalet-style hotels for romantics as well as golfers. Carriage rides, candlelight meals, waltz music. The smallest four-star inn in the Tyrol (the hotel Prachenskyhof in the village of Seefeld) features barbecues, fondue parties, indoor-outdoor swimming pools, a sauna.

Copies of both the bicycle/golf publications from the Austrian National Tourist Office, 11601 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2480, Los Angeles 90025-1760, (213) 477-3332.

Europe for Yanks: A new booklet that’s packed with helpful information on European travel is ready for mailing. Details on weather, packing, trains, driving (keep to the right of the road except in Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta). Other information on time zones, receiving mail overseas, senior travel, currency (“arrive with a small amount of foreign currency for taxis, tips”). The booklet discusses U.S. Customs/gift mailing from foreign countries. One section provides “ideas for stretching budgets” in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey. Contains a map of Europe with highway distances between cities. A calendar of events. Addresses/telephone numbers of foreign government tourist offices.

Write for copies of “Europe 1991,” P.O. Box 9012, East Setauket, N.Y. 11733.

Reader Recommendations

California--Annette and Bob Cooper, Newport Beach: “Carlotta Hotel, 138 Central Ave., Carlotta 95528, is a late 19th-Century logger’s hotel (no mints on your pillow!) in Humboldt County. Rates: $45 for two includes a logger-sized breakfast.”

Oregon--Hal Gregroy, San Dimas: “Coos Bay Manor B&B;, 955 S. Fifth Street, Coos Bay. Close to deep-sea fishing charters, bay recreational areas. Rates: $55/$60.”

Canada--Vaughn Hart, Beverly Hills: “A wonderful B&B;, Dashwood Seaside Manor, One Cook St., Victoria, B.C. V8V 3W6. Rates from $75.”

England--Nat and Else Stein, Canoga Park: Enjoyed the Mill Hill Cottage B&B;, Glemsford, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 7PU. Rates: about $23 per person. Dinner: about $15.

Tahiti--Dave and Jan Mintz, Hermosa Beach: “The Blue Lagoon Restaurant, BP 164, Bora Bora, has wonderful French food with generous servings. Dinner without wine, approximately $55/$70.”

We regret that only a select few recommendations can be used. They must be brief (typewritten or printed). Only one recommendation per reader, please. Note: Recommendations will not be used unless prices and addresses are included.