Rain, Rain Went Away : Weather: Southern Californians flock to beaches and parks, enjoying clear skies for the first time in a week. Another storm is expected to bring more showers today.

Many Southern Californians learned to appreciate sunshine again Monday, flocking to parks and golf courses, fixing leaking roofs, and trying to return to daily routines interrupted by last week’s torrential rain.

Vendor Hugo Vizuet spread out bottles of perfume and nail polish on a small table in the heart of Pico Union, hoping that the sunny skies and crisp air would lure customers who stayed indoors all last week.

“Even when it rains, we come, but the merchandise gets wet and business is not good,” he said, adding that he is concerned about what will happen to him and his family if another storm hits the Southland this week.

“We are worried, but what can you do?” Vizuet said. “You can’t try to fix it.”

The latest storm, developing just north of Hawaii, is expected to reach the Southern California coast today, according to National Weather Service, drenching the area with an inch of rain.

Los Angeles County health officials allowed surfers to enjoy the brief respite Monday by opening beaches, except those in Marina del Rey.

Last week, county officials closed 25 miles of shoreline after 4 million gallons of partially treated sewage spilled into the ocean because of heavy storm runoff in the sewer system.

At the Silver Lake winter day camp, 11-year-old Caroline Chavez spent the afternoon playing on the swings and dreading the next storm.

“I was getting really tired of the rain,” she said. “I don’t like to be outside and get wet and then get sick.”

Meanwhile, her friends Theresa Brostoff and Anna Acerol were delighted to be able to splash in the puddles and wait for the neighborhood dogs to come for their afternoon walks at the park next to the Silver Lake reservoir.

“We usually wait for these cute little dogs, and we chase them around the park,” Brostoff said.

But Sandra Abrantes’ dog, Riquita, snarled, not a bit thrilled about the three cooing little girls.

“The dog’s getting a little crazy because she hasn’t been able to get out in days because of the rain,” Abrantes explained, as she and her 3-year-old son tried to calm the animal.

“This is my one day off this week, and it’s great when the weather’s like this,” Abrantes said. “It’s rejuvenating. It really makes you appreciate the sunshine.”

For roofers around Los Angeles, Monday definitely was not a day off. They were working extra hours, patching up leaking roofs before the next scheduled storm.

“We’ve got jobs waiting that we can’t start,” said Jeff Gregory, sales manager at L.A. Star Roofing Co. “When it’s not raining, we go for weeks without a job. But last week, the calls (for help) really started picking up.”

Richard Antillon, a Pacific Bell maintenance worker, said the reprieve from the rain was nothing more than an opportunity to work long hours fixing damaged phone lines. More than 17,000 customers lost phone service during the last storm, he said, requiring him to put in more than 16 hours last Sunday.

“We’ll try to take care of as much as we can today . . . because it takes much longer (to fix phone lines) when it’s raining,” he said, climbing up from a manhole on Angus Street. “I’ll probably end up working 16 hours today too.”