TravelBlog: 6/3/18

When I think Palm Springs, I always think Vintage.
All photos are mine except the Vintage Photos of the Day.
Those were provided by my good friend Mr. Google.

Our timeshare management company gave us a Bonus Week. It wasn't exactly free but it was still a good deal. We have a two bedroom condo for the week for about the price we would have paid for two nights in a regular hotel room (based on the room rates when I was there in February).

~A little TravelBlog within the TravelBlog~

I went to Palm Springs in February with my sister Diane and her boyfriend Jay. My dear friend Janet from California met us there with her dear friend Carrie. Paul didn't go with us because we were only going overnight and he doesn't like those quick trips. We were there exactly 24 hours! We went for the Vintage Trailer Show during Modernism Week. We arrived at noon on Saturday and went directly to the trailer show. It was $25 per person and there was nothing there except vintage trailers to walk around and admire. No food vendors or food trucks, no entertainment. It was nice but we all said we wouldn't do it again.

We left there and checked into the Vagabond. We took a drive out to Cathedral City to go to The Alley. The Alley used to be a funky shop Downtown Palm Springs with all kinds of great JUNK! We always said "No trip to Palm Springs is complete without a trip to The Alley". They opened two other stores over the years. Now they are going out of business. They are closing as their leases are up so the only one still open was in Cathedral City. We mowsied around there and bought a couple of kitchen gadgets, but the store was nothing like it was back in the day. We left there and had an early dinner at Babe's BBQ. It was very good. Back to the hotel for a little while. My CK friend Lacey from Wisconsin (no longer CK so now my FB friend) was also in Palm Springs that week for vacation with her family. We met Lacey and her husband for a cocktail that evening.

In the morning we went to Elmer's for breakfast. Then we headed to the Palm Springs Swap Meet which has always been a favorite. We walked around there for a couple of hours, supported the local business people, left at noon on Sunday. We actually jammed a lot into those 24 hours!

Fast forward to June.
Paul hasn't been to Palm Springs since we moved his mother to Phoenix about eight years ago.
Not much on the agenda except shopping, eating, lots of R&R.
Janet and her friend Chris are planning on joining us Wednesday afternoon. Thursday I thought we'd go to Idyllwild for the day. It’s about an hour drive into the San Jacinto Mountains. It’s a beautiful little gem of a town, nestled in the pines, with antique stores and locally owned shops and restaurants.
Stay tuned.

Saturday June 9, 2018

We didn’t arrive until 9 p.m. last night. We checked in, dropped off our stuff, went to Stater Bros. to pick up essentials. Wine and beer…coffee, water, a few snacks. Met the sweetest little old man in the store on his scooter with his adorable Yorkie “Joey” in the basket. He told me my smile made his heart happy. My trip here is now complete!

The condo is nice. Well laid out. The only negative is the patio. Its typically where we spend our time when we are not out and about. I like to sit outside in the early morning and have my morning coffee and update my blog, usually before he even gets up. He’s a cigar smoker so the patio is his happy place. We actually have two patios, if you can call them that. One outside the kitchen, one outside the master bedroom. They are each about a 4’x4’ concrete slab. The one outside the kitchen as one plastic chair and a small low table. The one outside the bedroom has nothing. Just a lonely slab. I saw a staff member by the laundry across the way so I asked her if we could get another chair somewhere so we could sit outside together. She said she couldn’t think of anything, BUT there are a couple of folding chairs in the front closet. We shall survive!

It was absolutely beautiful here last night. A slight, warm breeze in the air.

I slept pretty well.

I got up this morning to the S L O W E S T coffee maker ever! I could have gotten dressed, gone to town for coffee, been back by now. Seriously it’s been over 40 minutes and its barely reaching the 6-cup mark. It’s not the kind of pot where you can pull out the carafe to pour while it’s still brewing.

Patience Grasshopper

Patience my @$$, I nEEd my cup-a-joe!

I’ll check with the office later to see if they can replace it.

Today’s agenda is kind of sketchy. He wants to go out to breakfast and I want to go to the Palm Springs Swap Meet. It’s only open on the weekends, and the summer hours are 7 til 12. If sleeping beauty doesn’t get up soon we might have to do the Swap Meet tomorrow. No biggie.

As my Father-in-Law (may he RIP) used to say “it’s another beautiful day in the Springs”. Right now its 73* and sunny and clear.

Oh, 65 minutes later my coffee is FINALLY ready. Thank goodness I only made 8 cups instead of the 12 cup capacity. It probably would have taken another hour...

Later gaters

Sunday June 10, 2018

Yesterday we skipped breakfast and headed straight to the Palm Springs Swap Meet (aka Street Fair). A lot of vendors leave for the summer so it was about half the size as it was when we were there in February. Still plenty of opportunity to leave some money to the locals. I wasn’t surprised that there were no produce vendors with the heat, but I was surprised there were no food vendors. Last time they had a whole row of them and a bunch of picnic tables with benches set up. First stop was the hat man. With all my hats I forgot to pack one. It’s a much needed accessory (for me) walking around in the sun. I put on a black floppy hat with a big black bow. I liked it. The hat man said “oh that looks good on you”. Then I wandered over and tried on one that was straw color with a black band. The hat man said that one looked better. I liked them both. Paul did too so I decided on the black one. Paul decided he needed a hat too. We started walking away and I said “you know, I have a big black hat at home, I should have gotten the other one”. I went back and asked if it was too late to change my mind. Of course you can. I switched to the straw, paid the extra 5 bucks and he said “that hat looks really good on you”. I said “I have a hat head”. He said “when you are beautiful, you can wear any hat”. Dude, you’ve already made the sale, no need to suck up now. That being said, this town is good for my ego!

When we left there we decided to take Hwy 111 and check our options for a late breakfast/early lunch. We ended up at Manhattan in the Desert (New York style deli). It was after 11 so definitely acceptable time to eat lunch. I was debating between, are you ready? Carrot Cake French Toast! French toast made with carrot cake, are you kidding me?! Of course there was picture of it on the menu and it looked amazing. Or my standard deli pick, a pastrami sammy. I ruled out the CCFT because wow, how heavy is that? I think I gained a couple of pounds and my blood sugar shot up just looking at the picture. Long story longer, I ended up picking a Cobb Salad. We were going to be walking around downtown and everything else sounded like belly bombs. The salad was good and everything was super fresh. Paul got a deli combo sandwich with pastrami, corned beef and his favorite chopped liver. After lunch we went Downtown Palm Springs and walked around the shops (just one block), supporting the local businesses.

In Palm Springs the lady palm trees wear hula skirts.
Interesting how they don't cut off the dead fronds.
They leave them and trim them even at the bottom.
Paul said they looked like hula skirts.

Temp said 103* but it felt hotter. We stopped for an ice cream before heading back to the condo. We have plenty of time this week to check out the rest of the stores.

Happy to report – the nice lady at the front office took good care of us. There was a second chair on the patio and a brand new Mr. Coffee. Thank you ma’am.

We decided to take a quick dip in the pool. It was CROWDED. Paul said he had never seen so many people using the pool at a timeshare before. And lots of younger people too. Not the typical middle-age to seniors that we usually see on our timeshare weeks. He thinks the youngsters will clear out after the weekend. Dunno.

I took a short nap, he took a long nap. We went to dinner about 8, which is late for us. All the restaurants were crowded since Californians eat later plus you know, it was Saturday night. We ended up at the Fish Market. After his heavy lunch, he wanted a light dinner. I had their World Famous Fish Tacos and he had grilled Mahi-Mahi. My tacos were great. His was good but he thought the fish was a little bland. He should have gotten it Cajun style. Next time.

Fish Tacos
(Fried Cod served with coleslaw)

We got back to the condo and went for a walk. It’s so beautiful here at night. As the sun is going down, a breeze moves in and drops the temperature. That’s the difference between this desert and our desert in Phoenix. In the summer when the sun goes down, it does not cool off. If it’s 112 during the day, its 110 at night. Plus, we get monsoon activity in the summer which cools down the temp but brings in the humidity. They don’t experience that in the Springs. These warm winds remind me of the Santa Ana Winds that I loved so much growing up in Southern California. We used to call them the Santanas. And that’s your weather update for the day!

This morning – the new coffee maker works like a charm. I’m out on the patio doing my favorite thing. Enjoying morning coffee while updating the blog. Its not the greatest view we’ve ever had but the weather is beautiful out and its very quiet. It’s 7 a.m. and I think the only vacationers who are up are me and an older couple circling around for their morning walk. They are so cute. He walks about five feet in front of her but he carries both of their coffee cups. He walks like he’s on a mission and she follows behind looking like she’d rather be in bed. It must be love.

We have no plans for today except Sunday Brunch.

I’m sure we’ll be up to something.

Vintage Photo of the Day
Synchronized Lounging

Monday June 11, 2018

Yesterday we went to Spenser’s for Sunday Brunch. My hair magician recommended it and as soon as we drove up I recognized it for past trips. We’ve had dinner there a couple of times. We sat on their garden patio which is beautiful and added bonus, air conditioned. Adilson had told me they have the best Bloody Mary so of course I had to try one.

It was pretty good. They had some great menu options.

I had Banana Stuffed French Toast

He had Classic Eggs Benedict

Everything was really good. Afterwards we walked around the grounds a little where their resort is nestled into the mountain side.

After brunch he wanted to drive by his Mom’s old condo and take a picture for her. It looks exactly the same except no hanging plant at the front porch. We did not see even one person as we drove around the property. If it wasn't maintained to perfection, you'd think it was deserted.

We went back downtown and walked around another block or two of the downtown area.

Backing up to 2011. We were on the Big Island of Hawaii and Paul bought me a charm bracelet at a jewelry store where I custom picked charms that represented things we saw on the trip. It has a Gecko, Palm Tree, Plumeria, Turtle, Sand Dollar and my favorite island (and at home) footwear Flip Flops.

Forward to 2014, I broke it and lost some links. I was getting in the car and it caught on something and broke. I couldn’t find the missing links, they must have flown into the bushes or something.

Anyhow, I couldn’t find a place to get it fixed in Phoenix. Every time we go on vacation I take it with me (even when we went back to Hawaii) hoping to find someplace that does silver repair.

Time travel to Palm Springs 2018. Saturday I went into a store that had “repair” on their storefront window. “Do you do silver repair”. No. :grump: Yesterday when we were about to head back to the car, I saw a jewelry store in a plaza off the main highway. I went in asked and he said “what do you have”. I pulled out the bracelet and showed him where it broke right at the latch. The latch was there but the five links to the first charm were gone. Hmmmmmm, he says. We need to wait for the jeweler to look at it. Jeweler was fixing someone’s watch. We waited a bit and Paul asked if they would need to take links from another bracelet. I said sometimes they have extra links so if someone has a larger wrist they can add links to it. Lightbulb moment for the helpful man. He went over to the end of the counter and low and behold he had a piece of chain, the links almost exactly like my bracelet links. He asked if that link was okay. I said I couldn’t imagine getting any closer. He snipped off five links, attached one to the open end, attached the end to the clasp and wah-la. Perfect. 10 bucks. Bargain of the day. I thanked him profusely.

(I know its voilà but I'm don't write in French!)

*Don’t*Cha*Just*Love*A*Happy*Ending*

*It’s*The*Little*Things*

We wondered our way back to the car but not before stopping for a photo op with my long lost second cousin twice removed.

Back to the condo for a dip in the pool. Not as crowded as it was Saturday.

This is not your Vintage Photo of the Day but check out those vintage looking umbrellas at our pool! I think they provide more shade than the current canvas version.

A quick nap for me followed by a movie, while he took a longer snooze.

We had dinner at Venezia Italian Restaurant. Bottom line, the food was good but the service sucked. On their website it says “Genuine Food, Italian Hospitality”. I’ve been to Italy, that was NOT Italian Hospitality. I call false advertising!

The bread basket came with a little dish of olive oil and spices. No bread plates and the bread delivery lady disappeared. I finally got up and got two bread plates off another table. Paul was embarrassed. Whatever. The bread and oil were really good.

We split a Frisse Salad (with glazed walnuts, pears, goat cheese, grape tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette). Everything was nice and fresh but it only had a tiny drizzle of balsamic over the pears. The server was MIA. His helper was MIA. The bus boy was MIA. Finally we flagged down the bread delivery lady and asked if we could get some more salad dressing. Eventually our server came back with the dressing, but it wasn’t balsamic and it had no flavor whatsoever. I was over it by then. Too bad because the salad would have been great. I had Tagliatelle with Bolognese and he had Veal with Mushrooms. Both were good. Again, absenteeism when Paul was ready for a second glass of wine. For dessert we shared the Crostata of the Day which was Apricot Marmalade and that was good too. So, like I said, food was good, service sucked. I doubt we’d ever go back.

I was checking out their FB page and saw this caption under a photo of her with the owner:

“Yesterday, Saturday June 9, at Venezia Italian restaurant, we had the pleasure to have the famous chef, Giada De Laurentiis and her family enjoy our authentic Italian cuisine.”

I’m glad we missed her by a day. She’s my least favorite Food Network celebrity. I’ll guarantee she was waited on hand and foot.

Not sure what today is going to bring. Shopping? We might do the tram and dinner later. TBD.

Vintage Photo of the Day.
Fashionistas!

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

This morning the birds certainly have a lot to chatter about. I haven't heard them so active since we arrived.

Yesterday we started out with breakfast at Elmer’s for Paul’s favorite for German Pancake. I had a skillet.

Afterwards we ventured to Palm Desert to the indoor mall.
Indoor = Air Conditioning = Smart thinking. It was only 102* but it's a hot heat.
Paul bought a new wardrobe of shorts. Six pairs. He rarely goes shopping. We walked through the mall. He bought me a pair of shoes. Hot pink sandals. Oh La La.

Back to the condo for our usual M.O. **POOL*TIME**. When we arrived there were about six adults in the pool. As we were leaving a family with four adults and six kiddos were entering. The kiddos had water guns. Good timing! It's definitely thinned out from the weekend.

We did the Restaurant Week tram/dinner combo special. There is smidge of discount on the tram ride and a prix-fixe dinner with appetizer, entrée, dessert. The prix fixe price is about the same price of a regular entree. The “World’s Largest Rotating Tramcars” takes you 2.5 miles to 8500 feet elevation in about 10 minutes. It was beautiful rock formations and lots of foliage.

and away

Apparently there is a lot of wildlife there (rams, squirrels, rabbits, eagles and other birds) but we didn’t see any as we zipped by. The observation decks are nicely done and lead to some walking paths and hiking trails.

We watched a video about the history before going to dinner.

For the appetizers, Paul had the Green Salad with Blue Cheese, Candied Pecans, Basil Croutons and Strawberry Vinaigrette. (No photo)

I had the Salmon Carpaccio
(with Olive Oil, Capers, Garlic Crostini, Grilled Lemon)
Super fresh and delicious

We both had the Filet
(with Brown Butter Demi Glaze, Fingerling Potatoes, Broccollini & Carrots)
Surprisingly tender and flavorful

I ordered the Orange Bread Pudding

He ordered the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake

We split them. The bread pudding was good, the cheesecake was amAZing.

After dinner we went to the observation deck on the other side of the building. So beautiful, but oy, the smog.

We waited about 10 minutes for the next tram down. There’s a little history museum at the bottom building (where you buy your tram tickets) so Paul wondered through there while I browsed the gift shop. I wanted to head down before dark but we didn't quite make it. The 5+ mile drive back to Hwy 111 does not have any street lights and I was doing the driving. It was fine. My brights provided plenty of light. I'm just a worrier.

Overall I give the whole shebang two thumbs up. It’s very organized and the staff was friendly (except the hostess* in the restaurant). The food was surprising good.

*The dining area has tables at the window and tables in a slightly elevated area. She started to seat us at a tiny table for two in the elevated area, squished between two other couples. At those tables, only one seat has the view, the other person has their back to the view. There was a table for four at the window where the chairs are arranged on an angle so everyone has a view. I asked if we could sit at ‘that’ empty table. She said it was reserved. I looked down the row and there were four empty tables and said ‘what about one of those?’ Its not like they were crowded and people were waiting for a table for four. She reluctantly said okay. I said thank you and she just turned around and huffed off. WTH? Other than that, service was great.

Once again, we don’t have any plans for today. I told him I don’t want to go to breakfast. I’m tired of eating. WHAT? Maybe well go out for an early “light” lunch. The minute we get home, hard core dieting begins.

Vintage Photo of the Day
The Tram of course!

June 13, 2018

Yesterday was major R&R day. We skipped breakfast. I went out and got a manicure because I was tired of looking at my Raggedy Ann nails. Then straight back to the condo. We went to the pool for a while. It was perfect pool weather. It wasn’t over 100* yet. High was predicted to be 111* but I don't think it got there. There were two men with their little baby about 10 months old. He was fascinated with me and the pool noodle I was lounging with. They wondered closer to where I was. After we exchanged hi’s I said “you are so cute”. One of the Dads said “thank you, oh, you weren’t talking to me”. Ha Ha. The other Dad said “nobody says that to *US* anymore”. Adorable. We were out quite a while when a family came out. Grandparents, Mom, two kids. The grandma and the little girl were in the pool. The little girl said "grandma, I love you so much". Grandma said "I love you too my sweet angel". Hitchhiking on other people making memories. All was good and fine until the little one found the water gun. She started shooting water at her Mom who was sunbathing on a lounge chair, then she decided it would be fun to shoot it randomly around the pool. I decided it was a good time for me to get out and go back to the condo. I know that makes me a crotchety old lady but I was getting waterlogged at that point anyhow.

We had leftovers for lunch. I had steak and potatoes from the night before. He said veal and my leftover pasta from the night before that. We lazed around the rest of the day. He hijacked my computer and I watched a couple of movies. I think I could get the hang of this “relaxing” thing. I miss my dogs. My sister is taking good care of them so I know they are fine.

We decided on dinner at Copley’s. Back in the 40’s it was Cary Grant’s Guest House. It was phenomenal. They were only serving their Restaurant Week Prix Fixe Menu which we had looked at when deciding where to go.

First off - Effen Mule
(Effen Cucumber Vodka, Ginger Beer, Fresh Lime)
It was f'n good!

I started with the Beet and Arugula Salad
(with Goat Cheese, Poached Pear, Candied Walnuts, Honey Mustard)

He had the Copley's Caesar Salad
(with Smoked Bacon, Padano Cheese, Pineapple Croutons, Caesar Dressing)

The pineapple croutons were SOOooooo good. I asked the server how they make them. He said Chef cuts the pineapple into cubes, dust them with rice flour and panko, flash fries them. WOW, sounds easy enough.

I had Australian Barramundi
(topped with Crab Cucumber Lemon Basil,
served with Lobster Potatoes, Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas)

Paul had Moscovy Duck Breast
(with Foie Gras, Duck Bacon, Baby Spinach, Sweet Cherry Duck Jus)

Spiced Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce
Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar with Chocolate Sauce

Nothing was just average or okay. Everything was fantastic. The barramundi was so tender and cooked to perfection. It tasted like lobster. Paul said the duck was one of the best ever. The desert was a duet which sounded like it didn't go together at all but it actually did. Paul doesn't like peanut butter although he likes peanuts. After the first bite he said "I like peanut butter now!" When we left I told him I thought it was right up there with one of the best meals ever. The ambiance was classic, the food was amazing, the service was impeccable. Five Stars all the way around.

Today I think we’re going to Sherman’s for breakfast. I talked to Janet yesterday and she thinks they will be here around 5. I told her she has to pick the dinner spot tonight since we’ve been picking all week. ;~)

Vintage Photo of the Day
Cary Grant and Rudolph Scott

June 14, 2018

Breakfast at Sherman’s as planned. He had an omelet and I had what they call “A lighter lunch” which was a bowl of soup and half a sandwich. Matzo Ball Soup and of course, Pastrami for my half sam.

The matzo ball was the size of lower Manhattan

After we ate we walked the third stretch of downtown stores. We stopped at Stater Bros. before heading back to the condo for R&R the rest of the day. First pool time, our usual. There were about a dozen people out today. Back to the air conditioned comfort of the condo for computer and movie time.

Janet and Chris arrived at 7:20 p.m. We went to dinner at Las Casuelas, a popular Mexican Restaurant downtown.

Margarita Time

Food was meh. I had Fajitas and the meat was really tough and chewy. Paul had Enchiladas Suizas which he sad was bland. Janet had Shrimp Tacos and Chris had a Tostada and they both said theirs were good.

Back to the condo where Janet, Chris and I grabbed some wine and headed to the pool. It was so nice. The breeze had cooled down the air and the water in the pool was refreshing. There was a little family there when we arrived but they left shortly thereafter. We talked a lot about travel. Janet and Chris belong to travel club. They recently did a Sails and Rails trip to to Napa Valley. In December they are going to New York. Chris and her husband are going on cruise through the Panama Canal in January and we're going on the Viking River Cruise in June, Paris to Normandy. We were out for so long that the security guy came over and apologized that he had to close the pool. It closes at 11. It was 10 after. We put on our PJs and sat up talking until after the bewitching hour.

Today we are going up to Idyllwild. I bought some mini muffins and fruit yesterday so we’ll have that with morning coffee. Then we’ll have an early lunch at the Gastrognome. We had dinner there with Mike and Janet, probably at least 10 years ago.
Tonight there is the Palm Springs Street Fair downtown so we might go see what that's all about.

Vintage Photo of the Day
Palm Springs Social Life

June 15, 2018

Yesterday everything was as planned. Imagine that.

We had mini muffins and fruit with our morning coffee before heading up to Idyllwild. It was an hour drive just like Glenda, my GPS (Get Patti Somewhere) indicated. We walked around the upper level of shops in the two story structure. We supported the local businesses. We had lunch at the Gastrognome.

We had multi ethnic cuisine. Paul had the Cuban Sandwich, I had Eggplant on Focasia, Janet had a Ruben, Chris had a BBQ Chicken Wrap. We walked around weaving in and out of shops.

Getting friendly with the locals

We stopped for an ice cream before hitting the road back to PS. We got back around 5.

Janet, Chris and I went to the pool and “soaked” for about two hours. So delightful. Then we decided to go to the Street Fair to see what it was all about. Paul decided he was going to stay at the condo. I think he was shopped out!

Look at that beautiful sky

It was substantially larger than we had anticipated. It was about six blocks, the entire stretch of the popular downtown area. All kinds of vendors from food, to clothes, to jewelry, to gadgets, to artwork. You could even get a massage! We debated about eating street food or going to a restaurant. The street food looked and smelled good. We decided if there was a table available to sit and eat, we would eat there. They only had a few tables with chairs set up and they were all taken. People were sitting on the curb or the leaning on the planter boxes to eat. I had the bright idea that we could get the food to go and eat in the air conditioned comfort of the condo. Good idea! Chris and I got Lamb Gyro, Janet got Calypso Chicken with Black Beans and Rice, I got Paul an All Beef Brat with grilled peppers and onions. After we at ate we had some wine (had to finish THAT up!) followed by some ice cream that Paul had picked up when we were at the grocery store. We HAD to eat it! It wouldn’t travel home and we couldn’t possibly leave it behind, right?!?!

Today is check out at 11. After we pack up we’re going to Billy Reed’s for a late breakfast/early lunch before heading out of dodge. Paul wants to stop in Chiriaco Summit. The General Patton Memorial Museum is there. “…a museum erected in tribute to General George S. Patton on the site of the entrance of Camp Young, part of the Desert Training Center of World War II.” His Dad was a Colonel under Patton and trained at Camp Young. There used to be a picture of his Dad amongst the memorabilia. We found it when were where they several years ago. We’re not sure if it’s still there or if they rotate their photos but we’ll check. He’d like to get a picture of it this time if it’s still up.

Time to SF&P and start packing before my gang gets up.

Vintage Photo of the Day
Hittin' the Road

June 15, 2018

Up, packed, went to the office to find out what unit type to request to get one with a larger patio. She said “Palm with Mountain View”. They are upstairs and have the double patio. Good to know if we ever go back to the Desert Vacation Villas.

We checked out around 10:30 a.m. and went to Billy Reeds before parting ways.

Luckily we had an uneventful drive back to Phoenix. We stopped at the General Patton Memorial Museum and wow has that changed since we were there years ago. It was tiny little shack of a building. It’s a huge building now and more of an Army Museum in general (no pun intended) rather than the training center memorabilia that it was in the past. We didn’t find the picture of his Dad. The ticket taking guy said they rotate the photos often. We stopped in Quartzite to gas up and then headed home to my munchkins.

There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.