Palm Springs: day 4

On Tues we had breakfast at home, then drove to Desert Memorial Park, the cemetery where many celebrities are buried.  It was an earnest request of Carl that we go there since he is fascinated with the Gabor sisters. Ava and Zsa Zsa aren't buried there but Magda and their mother Jolie are, as well as Frank Sinatra and Sonny Bono.

Next we pulled up a website that listed the addresses of several celebrities who once had homes in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood in Palm Springs and created our own driving tour. I absolutely love the mid-century modern homes so I snapped some photos while driving.  Sorry I wasn't able to edit out all of the car parts, but the homes are worth seeing.

Marilyn Monroe's home

Clark Gable's home.  Yes, its pink.

One of Elvis' Palm Springs homes.  Rather tame in my opinion compared to Elvis' homes elsewhere

An example of a Swiss Miss style home

I love the patterned concrete block fence on this home

I love the pattern of the gate/door on this home

Again I love the patterned concrete block fencing!

Although my photo is poor, and doesn't really show it, this is a butterfly roof home

Next we stumbled upon a Shakey's Pizza!  All 3 of us grew up with a Shakey's near us, but we all thought the chain was long gone until we saw this one in Palm Springs. While I didn't feel any need to go inside, Spouse talked me and Carl into going in and having lunch.

It was certainly a blast from our past.

Then we went home, spent some time in the pool and spa, then went to happy hour at Streetbar. Happy hour is really when most people are at bars here, which is the opposite of what we're used to.  Go to a bar or club here around 11pm and there will only be a handful of folks remaining.  After happy hour we walked over to Las Casuelas Mexican restaurant for dinner.  On our previous visit to Palm Springs Spouse & I ate at 2 Mexican restaurants, neither of which we found to be particularly great.  So when we were getting our rental car I asked the Latina woman assisting us for her recommendation and she said to go to Las Casuelas.  We sat in the large open air courtyard, there was a band and funny white people dancing, and the food was absolutely amazing!  We really enjoyed it and appreciated the spot-on recommendation.  After dinner we walked back over to Streetbar for karaoke. There was a very cute bartender I couldn't resist capturing for you:

Karaoke was well-attended and there were quite a few singers.  Carl and I both sung too.  It was a lot of fun and we met some other vacationers to hang out with the rest of the night there.

Carl captivating the crowd!

We left about 12:30 and stayed up until after 1am, which is really unusual for us!

Palm Springs: day 3

On Mon we had breakfast at home, then went to the Sunny Dunes Antique Mall to look at around.  Since our AirBnB didn't have a cocktail shaker or shot glass (we had to make due when making pink grapefruit crushes the day before) Carl decided he'd buy vintage ones to use at the rental house and would also make great keepsakes from our trip.  This place was big and there was so much really cool stuff that after awhile it became a bit of sensory overload.  But Carl found a charming vintage shaker and a cool cocktail shirt!  Here's Carl with the shaker:

You'll see the shirt later.

Next we had lunch at Del Taco.  Now, its not like we go on vacation to eat at chain restaurants, but we don't have Del Taco where we live, and we'd become familiar with it from watching episodes of "Grace & Frankie" on Netflix.  Frankie has asked people to pick her up something from Del Taco, she was late for something because she stopped at Del Taco, and our favorite reference was "I always seem to do my best thinking at Del Taco".  So we had to give it a try!  For being fast food it really was good; better than Taco Bell.

Excited Spouse at Del Taco

"I always seem to do my best thinking at Del Taco"

Next we parked on Palm Canyon Dr and toured a bunch of cool vintage shops.  To our surprise, we saw these 2 serving bowls, displayed together, in the window.

What's so strange about it is that Steven & Thad have the bowl on the left and Spouse & I have the bowl on the right!!!  Only we both have the matching dip bowl and metal clip which make ours' more valuable.

Then we spent some time at home in the pool and spa.  But the sun is so strong here that sometimes you just have to get a break.  I would move from a lounge chair in the sun to a regular chair in the shade.  Spouse decided to seek refuge under a couple of towels instead.

A little later the 3 of us showered and headed out to meet The Dicks.  When we lived in the DC area we had 2 friends named Dick who were a couple.  Once they arrived at our Christmas party and said "The Dicks are here!"  A couple years after we moved to DE The Dicks moved to Rancho Mirage, just outside Palm Springs, so we planned to meet up with them for dinner at Kaiser Grille.  It was nice to see them and to hear about their life here in the desert.

From left to right:  The Dicks, me, Spouse, Carl

The cocktail shirt Carl is wearing in this photo is the one he bought earlier in the day at the Sunny Dunes Antique Mall.  Besides The Purple Room, this was our only other indoor meal the entire week.

Beardy boy

Palm Springs: day 2

On Sun we had coffee at home, then went to Elmer's for breakfast.  "Kathy" from the plane had recommended Elmer's and we soon found out why.  It was a Sun so there was a 20 minute wait for a table even though its a huge restaurant.  But at least there was a beautiful mountain view to look at while we waited.

The only bacon they offer is Daily's smokehouse bacon with which I was not familiar, but I'm here to tell you it was DEE-licious!  

My breakfast was SOOOO good!

All 3 of us really enjoyed our breakfasts.  We saw so many good looking lunch items on the menu we made a mental note to come back for lunch at some point during the week.  We spent the remainder of the day enjoying the pool, spa, and cocktails at home.

Spouse in the pool with wearing his hat and sunglasses

Me in the pool wearing my sunglasses

Spouse enjoying the spa

I don't remember why I was making this silly face.

Because the sun is so bright we literally wore sunglasses all the time. These are my extra dark sunglasses I bought in Seattle

I liked the way the 2 chairs reflected on the calm water

I made pink grapefruit crushes for happy hour by the pool.  We may have enjoyed a few of them!

Later we showered and headed to The Purple Room, a Palm Springs icon where the Rat Pack once played which is now owned by the infamous Judy Garland impersonator Michael Holmes. Spouse & I had wanted to see "The Judy Show" on our last visit but it was sold out, so we purchased tickets in advance this time.  We started with cocktails and appetizers in the dimly lit dining room which features a sparkling ceiling (hard to see in my photo).

The sparkling ceiling in The Purple Room

Spouse & Carl

Me, Spouse, and Carl

The food was really good and the service was impeccable.  Once everyone had finished eating and the dishes were cleared away, the show began.  Michael Holmes does a hysterical impersonation of our favorite Judy, Drunk Judy, as if she's hosting a dinner show in 1963.Of course he sings live and sounds a LOT like Judy.

Drunk Judy

There was plenty of audience interaction, including Judy coming directly up to Carl and taking his iPhone from his hand as he was taking a video.  It was all in good fun though.  One of Judy's friends Bette Davis dropped by too.

Bette Davis

We enjoyed the dinner and show very much and laughed ourselves silly!  Judy was kind enough to pose for photos with everyone after the show.

I would highly recommend seeing this show when you're in Palm Springs.

After the show we had drink or two at Chill Bar before heading back to the house.

Just because

Palm Springs: day 1

We had an awesome time in Palm Springs!  We did so much and I took so many photos I want to share that I've decided to split everything up into several daily posts.

Sat morning our brother-in-law dropped Carl, Spouse & me at their airport and we headed directly to the TSA security check-in.  It was there that we discovered Spouse's ticket/boarding pass had my last name on it!  Since his ID didn't match is boarding pass, we weren't allowed to proceed.  We went to the airline's ticket counter and explained the situation to the agent.  Somehow during the online booking process Spouse's last name got changed to my last name and although he showed ID to verify his last name, their ticketing system does not allow name changes.  They had to cancel both of our tickets and re-book them again with his correct name.  This meant we lost our seat assignments for both the first flight and the connecting flight, although they were able to re-assign our seats to us for the first flight. This whole process took up an inordinate amount of time so the ticket agent phoned the gate agent to advise them to hold the plane door open for us.  We rushed back to the gate and were literally the last 2 people to board the plane before they sealed the door.  I'd texted Carl several times to let him know we WERE getting on the plane.  Once we arrived at the next airport we immediately got different seat assignments for the connecting flight.  Fortunately it wasn't full so we had an empty seat between us.

Once we arrived at the tiny Palm Springs airport we checked in for our rental car and got a great restaurant recommendation as well.  Then we unpacked our stuff at our charming AirBnB house (more about it later) and headed downtown, just 3 miles from the house.  It was about 3pm local time, but felt like 6pm to us and we were ready for some food since neither of our flights included food.  We decided to go to Trio since we'd enjoyed it so much on our last visit.  

Carl, Spouse, me

We opted for cocktails and small plates since it wasn't really dinnertime yet.  I got blue cheese filled figs wrapped in bacon which were absolutely delicious!!  Next we walked down the street just a little way to Shag, an art store Spouse & I had enjoyed on our last visit.  Carl fell in love with it like had. Spouse & I posed for this photo

Oct 2018

because we'd posed in the same spot on our last visit

Feb 2018

Next we went to the Super Walmart for groceries, toiletries, and a bathing suit.  Yep, despite my expert packing abilities and not being rushed at all, I managed to forget to bring a bathing suit.  After unpacking our stuff we smartened up and headed to Chill Bar for happy hour.

Then walked over to Blaze Pizza for dinner.  A woman I'd talked to on the plane (we later decided she looked like a Kathy so we called her Kathy the entire week) recommend Blaze pizza and we were not disappointed.  Mine was possibly the best pizza I've ever eaten.  The concept is that you can pick from their multitude of toppings to create your own custom pizza.  We liked them a lot!  Then we walked around a little before heading back to the house.  We sat outside in the backyard for a while with the pool and spa lights on and talked and listened to music.  Despite it being 1am our time, we stayed up until 10pm local time to try and get on track.

Just because

Beardy boy

Just because

Beardy boy

Just because

Getting ready

Tonight Spouse & I are leaving to drive to his sister's house in northern VA.  We'll have a brief visit, go to bed, and then our nephew will take us to the airport tomorrow morning.  We have a plane change in Chicago, then will arrive in Palm Springs about 2:30 local time.  We're very excited!

But there's still lots to do.  Spouse & I both have to pack, but fortunately we don't need any fancy clothes or shoes since Palm Springs is a warm, casual environment. I'm taking even less clothes than last time.

I have to make sure I have the dog sitter's money and instructions ready.

I need to check-in for the flights.

I need to make sure the guest bedroom and bathroom are tidied up since we had guests last weekend.

I need to empty the recycling into the bin in the garage so it can be picked up while we're away.

I need to strip our bed so clean sheets can be put on when the housekeepers come next week.

Yikes! 

A joke among realtors is if you want to increase your business, plan a vacation.  This is always true for me.  Clients and prospects seem to crawl out of the woodwork the week before I go on vacation, so this week has been busy doing as much as I can to tie up loose ends AND get assistance from my colleagues in covering appointments for me this weekend.

Fortunately it will all be worth it to spend a fun week in Palm Springs.

Beardy boy

Super lazy

I saw this on Facebook and it made me laugh out loud AND think of Sean who loves super heroes.

Just because

Bugsy & Roger's visit

Bugsy & Roger arrived Fri around 10pm, and kindly brought us some goodies from Trader Joe's: traditional Jo-Jo's, maple leaf cookies, mixed nuts, and a beautiful mum.  So thoughtful of them!  We visited for about an hour then went to bed.

Sat morning we had bagels and coffee for breakfast and enjoyed some nice conversations on the porch.  We had lunch at a local diner, then Spouse went to get his hair cut while Roger and I checked out an arts & crafts show.  Bugsy's stomach was bothering him so he stayed home and took a nap. Later that afternoon we had cocktails on the porch before heading to dinner with Steven & Thad at Michy's. Then I headed to the Blue Moon to paint my face for my Legends performance as Boy George.  Since Bugsy's stomach still wasn't quite right they stayed home and watched TV with Spouse.  Too bad they missed the debut of a new Legend: Elvis!

Sun morning the 4 of us met Steven & Thad at the Crystal for a late breakfast, then went for a little drive.  There was more talking, catching up, playing with dogs, and listening to music on the porch.

That evening the 6 of us went to dinner at Iron Hill Brewery before Bugs & Roger headed home.

As always, we had a great time with Bugs & Roger and look forward to seeing them again.

Friday fragments

On Tues evening Spouse & I met Steven & Thad for flu shots.  The local LGBT community center hosts a free flue shot clinic in conjunction with the local hospital, so we go there together for flu shots and then have dinner afterward.  For many years I didn't get flu shots.  Then about 8 years ago my doctor told me that thousands of people die every year from the flu, so why not get the flu shot and reduce the chances that I'd be 1 of them.  Since then I've gotten a flu shot every year, and thanks to the hospital/LGBT community center its free.

Bugs & Roger are coming this weekend!  Well, technically they're coming tonight, and will be spending the weekend with us. They usually come at least once each year but last year they didn't, so it will be about 2 years since they're last visit.  Fortunately I was able to take off work Sat & Sun to be with them.  We'll probably visit the local arts and crafts festival tomorrow, go out to dinner with Steven & Thad, and then see the Legends show at the Blue Moon.  I'll be performing as Boy George. The weather forecast for the weekend lots great so we'll likely spend a fair amount of time talking and sitting on the screened porch.

We're going back to Palm Springs!  Yes, we were just there in Feb but we had such a good time we decided to go back Oct 13-20.  In Feb it was about 80 degrees during the daytime, a bit cooler than we expected, so this time it should be closer to 90 degrees during the daytime.  We've rented a chic mid-century modern home with a pool and hot tub.  We should get more use out of the pool this time.  Also, our friend Carl is coming with us.  I went to school with him but we lost touch after graduation.  Then we reconnected about 5 years ago, thanks to Facebook.  He's never been to Palm Springs.

Beardy boy

Exercise

Just because

Weekend recap

The weather was so beautiful on Sat that after work Spouse and Steven & Thad and I went for a drive. We ended up in Ocean City, MD and had dinner.

Sunday's weather was more of the same mild temperatures, low humidity, and lots of sunshine.  Spouse & I had coffee and talked on the back porch for about an hour, then decided to get busy.  We donned our gardening gloves and trimmed some scrub trees that had grown out from our big holly and from the lace hydrangea that cover the back fence.  Then we trimmed the 'crazy' roses and sprinkled a bunch of Preen on the beds which had just been weeded by a school kid I hired.  The yard looks really good!

We both showered and dressed, then went out for a little lunch.  Spouse's idea was to get food from Taco Bell and take it to the beach parking lot and eat it in the car, overlooking the beach.  (He's a little weird about some things like this.)  Then we went for a little drive near the beach, got air in 1 of the tires on Spouse's car, and then got his car washed.  He never gets his car cleaned so I was happy to do it for him.

We relaxed with the dogs and watched a little TV, then met Steven & Thad for dinner. The weather was still so nice out that we opted for an outdoor table at dinner.  I love to eat outdoors, as long as its not really hot or super humid or buggy.

Friday funny