Palm Springs: day 5

On Wed we had breakfast at home again, then went downtown to the Michael Weems Gallery.  We were introduced to Michael Weems' art on our last visit by our friend Peter who knows Michael personally.  Unfortunately Michael wasn't in the gallery when we stopped in, but his assistant told us how Michael's newer work is moving away from the AutoErotica theme and going in a less racy but still fun direction. While I liked the AutoErotica stuff, I found his new stuff to have a wider appeal.

I love the color and contrast in this piece

Same with this one

These are 2 car parts onto which photography has been transferred.  Very cool!

This piece makes me smile

This piece is very Palm Springs

These coasters are a scream!

These would make a great gift for the person who has everything. Order online at the website.

This one had me laughing out loud in the gallery!

I almost bought one of these trays with the mid-century homes but I was afraid of transporting it home, so I'll order one on the website.

Next we drove over the mountains to Joshua Tree National Park.  I didn't know that much about it before we went so I had no real expectations.  One thing I knew for sure is that we were NOT going hiking!  So we stopped at the visitors' center and got a map that showed a great driving route threw part of the park.

I was really struck by how peaceful it felt there.  No homes, no buildings, no power lines, just the sun and the breeze.  It was 25 degrees cooler there (60 degrees) which was a surprise, since the 3 of us were in shorts and flip flops.

I found this sign to be comical.

Spouse & Carl at Keys View overlooking the Coachella Valley

From Keys View

From Keys View

You can literally see for miles

The Keys View observation area

 On our way back from Joshua Tree we passed a Jack in the Box and Carl's enthusiasm was wildly apparent.  For those unfamiliar, Jack in the Box is a burger chain (that also sells tacos) that used to exist where we grew up, but has been long gone, kind of like Shakey's.  So we stopped for a late lunch at Jack in the Box which delighted Carl.

The balance of the afternoon was spent at the house by the pool and spa.

Carl relaxing near the pool

That evening we took Carl to dinner at Lulu.  We enjoyed our meal there so much during our previous visit that we made it a priority to bring Carl here.  We had a very talkative waiter who was very nice but sort of held us captive when Carl needed to sneak out for a cigarette!  It was a great meal.

Carl at Lulu

Afterward we hung out for a while at Hunters and Streetbar before calling it a night.