On Sunday, friends (and former colleagues) Joyce and Sheila arrived, coming from the monsoons in Vancouver to the glorious sunshine in Palm Springs. After a brief stop at home
... and then on to the lovely grounds (a tour of the house is available only with a hard-to-get reservation)
....which still left us enough pool time to make the day complete.
....our always smiling waitress...
...Joni and Jim.....
...and their golfing buddies Earl and Gary (????)
...below, Wagner's Ring of Fruit (no, I'm not kidding)...
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After absolutely stuffing ourselves, we walked through the grounds and lobbies...
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After taking leave of old (and new) friends, the girls and I headed to the tram, for the views ((see prior blogs - I left my camera in the car), and, for them, the hike (I have found that I can't hike in the cold any more. Yes, I said cold. At 8,600 feet, the top of the tram is 30-40 degrees colder than the valley floor. And yes, there was snow.)
After that, it was back to the pool, and our newly-minted evening ritual of freshly squeezed citrus fruit and a salute to another successful day.
On Tuesday, we were off to some city (relatively speaking, of course) stuff, like the Galen Art Gallery and the Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden in Palm Desert...
...and nearby El Paseo (Palm Springs answer to LA's Rodeo Drive)...
...followed by lunch at a (nameless) Mexican restaurant on El Paseo, and, of course, the pool.
On Wednesday, we were off to Joshua Tree National Park for a closer look at the "real" desert.
(and no, that wasn't us climbing those rocks...)
It really is a magical place. By the time we got back we were starving, and by popular request, went Mexican again, this time to La Tablita, one of my local favourites.
Thursday (their last day, already) we opted for a walk through town and the Palm Springs Art Gallery. It was too hot, though (98, according to my car), so we gave town, at least, short shrift, and opted for home, and the last of the citrus while sitting in my always cool garden. (I am not sure I have given you pictures of the garden - more next time...)
And then it was off to the airport, and the last goodbyes (until I see them in 6 weeks in Vancouver....is it only 6 weeks? OMG.....)
Friday, almost back to routine, but not quite. The Palm Springs Sectional Bridge Tournament is being held this weekend, so Art and I were off, in quest of points again....
Well, no points yesterday....maybe today.
(I do love the oohs and aahs of people seeing a manufactured home for the first time)
....we went off to Sunnylands, the home and grounds of the famous Annenbergs (where Obama and the rest of the dignitaries stay when Air Force One flies in to Palm Springs (a relatively frequent sight, considering). I had never been before either, so it was a treat for me too..
We stopped at the cafe first, for some badly needed sustenance....
... and then on to the lovely grounds (a tour of the house is available only with a hard-to-get reservation)
....which still left us enough pool time to make the day complete.
Jim and Joni (see previous post) had arranged for a brunch at the Parker on Monday morning, after their round of golf. The Parker has not been previously mentioned in these pages, mostly because I never knew about it. This, in spite of the fact that it is literally around the corner from my place. It is truly old Palm Springs, a spa/resort, with beautiful rooms and two wonderful restaurants. We chose breakfast, mostly because it only required the mortgage of first born to pay for breakfast (dinner required the sale of souls).
Below, the banana, mango and pineapple smoothie a "complimentary" appetizer (trust me, we paid for it....)
....our always smiling waitress...
...Joni and Jim.....
...and their golfing buddies Earl and Gary (????)
...below, Wagner's Ring of Fruit (no, I'm not kidding)...
After absolutely stuffing ourselves, we walked through the grounds and lobbies...
After taking leave of old (and new) friends, the girls and I headed to the tram, for the views ((see prior blogs - I left my camera in the car), and, for them, the hike (I have found that I can't hike in the cold any more. Yes, I said cold. At 8,600 feet, the top of the tram is 30-40 degrees colder than the valley floor. And yes, there was snow.)
After that, it was back to the pool, and our newly-minted evening ritual of freshly squeezed citrus fruit and a salute to another successful day.
On Tuesday, we were off to some city (relatively speaking, of course) stuff, like the Galen Art Gallery and the Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden in Palm Desert...
...and nearby El Paseo (Palm Springs answer to LA's Rodeo Drive)...
...followed by lunch at a (nameless) Mexican restaurant on El Paseo, and, of course, the pool.
On Wednesday, we were off to Joshua Tree National Park for a closer look at the "real" desert.
(and no, that wasn't us climbing those rocks...)
It really is a magical place. By the time we got back we were starving, and by popular request, went Mexican again, this time to La Tablita, one of my local favourites.
Then, off to the pool again, where I left the girls, opting myself to go to the Ice Cream Social being given in honour of the Snowbirds, now starting to leave for their respective northern climes...
Thursday (their last day, already) we opted for a walk through town and the Palm Springs Art Gallery. It was too hot, though (98, according to my car), so we gave town, at least, short shrift, and opted for home, and the last of the citrus while sitting in my always cool garden. (I am not sure I have given you pictures of the garden - more next time...)
And then it was off to the airport, and the last goodbyes (until I see them in 6 weeks in Vancouver....is it only 6 weeks? OMG.....)
Friday, almost back to routine, but not quite. The Palm Springs Sectional Bridge Tournament is being held this weekend, so Art and I were off, in quest of points again....
