Rambling

I just missed capturing the full moon sinking behind the mountains at sunrise. Oh well, it was still a great sunrise.

Some clown walked in front of the "Hello Mary Lou" sign in the background!!! ML stands for Mary Lou.

ML is perfecting the art of reading with her eyes closed!!!

Den & ML left on Saturday after a week of on and off weather, contrary to the earlier forecast. However, they left with some tan and, saw a good deal of the desert. Mid-week, my globe-trotting cousin, Andy, popped into town on his way home to England. Neither of us can remember exactly when we last saw each other but it is fair to say that we were both a LOT younger. He and his family are planning to spend time in Palm Springs every year and, so are we. It would appear that the lack of contact thing WILL get fixed!!

Because Brenda had been away, she only got to her first golf lesson this week. No cameras allowed!!! She has agreed to go back for more so, she must have enjoyed it. I am playing in a scramble tomorrow, putting my newly developed skills to a test. My goal is to rise above the comic relief level of past golf outings however, as the Rolling Stones sing, “You don’t always get what you waaaant……….”

We are finding that as “the season” in Palm Springs reaches its peak, obtaining reservations at the most popular restaurants is getting tough. Brenda called one restaurant which everyone is talking about yesterday and had to pick a reservation date and time of THEIR chosing. They are full at all other times. Damn tourists!!!

Yesterday, I took in the spring version of the car auction that I visited last autumn. Even though there are many more people in town at this time of year, the auction was a mere shadow of the fall version. There were far fewer “exotics” on the block. Could it be the economy??? One senses that the US economy has a way to drop yet. We’ll see.

Some people are lucky!!!

Happy hour at one of our favourite outdoor patios just after the sun set behind the mountains.

Our friends, Den & ML, were rushing at the airport in Toronto, running a bit late because of inclement weather and, inadvertently lost the file with all of their travel plans, addresses, phone numbers and reservations at the airport. They boarded the plane to LA not knowing where they were staying or, what their rental car reservation was. They were able to finally get their car in LA and drove to Palm Springs without our phone number or address. We had earlier picked up the key to their villa and knew where it was.

Pulling into the Travel Information building in Palm Springs, they inquired about RV Parks in Palm Springs, describing what they knew of our park. There are dozens and dozens of RV parks in the area. However, the attendant pointed out our park on a map and, hearing the address, Den & ML remembered the street name as being where we are. They high-tailed it here and told their story over a beer. I have detailed the short, factual version here. Hearing them tell the tale with the usual spousal corrections was hilarious. To top the story off ……… they left our place after dark and drove to their villa complex. Almost all properties in this area are gated. After getting in the gate with much trouble, they looked for villa complex “K” and, drove around the property inquiring as to its location. No one knew!!! Finally someone told them “There’s no villa “K” here”. They were at the wrong property. Their’s was next door!!! An interesting day. When they finally returned to our place for a late dinner, there was much wine consumed.

Tired!!!!

In my wildest dreams I never thought I would be walking golf courses regularly!!!

Our new location in the park is very close to one of the 6 smaller "satellite" pools on the property. It's almost like our own pool ;-)

Brenda and the “Ski Widows” made it back from Mexico after having a great time in the sun. All her bags even followed her back, which did not occur on her outbound journey. Ya gotta love the airlines!!

Is anyone else tired of Hillary, Barack and John? In California one cannot escape. Even if you chose not to turn on a TV set or read a newspaper, you are accosted as you walk through event venues by “Republicans for the environment” (a small group) or “Democrats for the elimination of deficits”. They’re everywhere!! If we were going to stay here until November, we would have to hide in cave. This is an interesting race! But….. far too long.

A former university room-mate of mine and his bride are visiting this coming week. It sounds like they are keen to have Scotty beam them out of the snow in Ontario. We are also keen to see them. The forecast is for 10 solid days of sun!!

I have found an amazing golf pro to put up with my shenanigans on the golf course. She is an LPGA pro and, has shown me at least how to make contact with that damn little ball. If I had invented this game, I would have made the ball bigger!!!! The sweet spot on the clubs is also too darn small. So far, no broken windows (touch wood) and surprisingly, it’s fun! But, by the time we get back to Brockville I’m sure that I will have forgotten everything that I’ve learned so far.

Home alone

Our new view from the back of the RV

This area is smack in the middle of the city surrounded by shopping malls and golf courses

Since the lots in this RV park are all individually owned much like a condominium and, since the owner of our rented lot is arriving for February, we are getting the old “heave ho” from our wonderful, scenic location. We are being moved to another lot on the golf course but, with a less panoramic view of the mountains. The big variable is that our new lot has a huge screen on one side, theoretically placed to stop errant golf balls from dinging the side of our RV. Hope it works. The new spot is near a green; the old one near a tee. We like tees!!!

The weather is finally returning to a near normal pattern with temperatures coming up each day and, the daily sky conditions show nothing but sun for the next 10 days. This is more like it. However, it’s still a desert. It still gets cool at night.

Having abandoned my bride last week to go skiing; next week is the “turnabout”. Brenda and the “ski widows” are heading off to the beaches of Mexico for some sun and surf (no surf anywhere near here!!!). I will be left to mind the farm and continue the exploration of this area of southern California. We’re also looking at places that we might be able to come to next winter….. sans RV. I’ve been instructed to find something great! No pressure!!

Back in the Saddle

Watch that first step!!! It's a beaut!!

Part of the crew on "Top of the World"

Apres ski at the outdoor "Roo Bar"

The view from our outdoor lunch table on the "last day". Good pick Waldo!!

We’ve taken a bit of a break from blogging in order to go skiing in Switzerland on the “annual guys’ trip”. During the break, I was again reprimanded by my young Toronto friend. He is one very unforgiving, but apparently regular, reader of the blog! We’re back D!

The destination for this year’s trip was St. Moritz, with the accent on the ..ritz. In my experience, St. Moritz is the top end of the scale in ski locales. I have never before seen chauffeur driven Rolls Royce limos dropping skiers off at the base of the lifts! We walked! Again, Mike, our fearless leader, planned a perfect trip; lots of sun; good ski conditions; and more laughs than could be counted. Sadly, Mike’s father passed away early in the trip, necessitating his immediate return home. Mike was sorely missed. A new twist this year was a 5 km. sled trip, rocketing down a mountain, at night, from one picturesque Swiss town to another, starting with some liquid courage and, followed with a laugh filled dinner, at which 3 of our number dined without their pants!!! It’s a very long story. I may be a mid-level skier but, I easily passed many of our number to arrive at our destination first. Could it be my weight???? Jimmy Mc. gets top marks for planning this adventure.

I returned to Palm Springs on a 14 hour flight from Zurich to LA, missing my connection, then spending the following day at LAX waiting for the weather to allow flights into Palm Springs. Never happened!! We ended up bussing to Palm Springs at the end of day II. Fun!!

The Palm Springs residents are all saying that this is the coldest winter they remember. In addition there has been a reasonable amount of rain since Christmas. It NEVER rains here!! Oh yeah??? It’s got to get better soon. We’re waiting…………….

We finally broke down!!!

I'm hoping that our lessons show us which end of the club to hang on to!!!

The purpose of this blog was, and remains, to be a lighthearted reporting of our journeys, highlighting the “screw ups” and genuine “discoveries” of the trip. However, every once in while we genuinely experience something bigger than a fun vacation.

I may be the only person on earth who thinks that Sam Peckinpah’s movie “Straw Dogs” is the quintessential “good triumphing over evil” movie but, I challenge anyone to argue that “Shake Hands With the Devil” is not the definitive ”evil triumphing over good” movie. This Canadian production, shown at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, is so NOT “Hotel Rwanda”. In fact the entire production, which was filmed in Rwanda with many African actors, depicting Romeo Dallaire’s book of the same name, is visually beautiful while at the same time, being factually abhorrent. It captured the book perfectly, with one exception. The book clearly highlights that Kofi Annan, then the “go-to” guy for Africa at the United Nations, was rewarded for presiding over the genocide of over 800,000 Rwandans and doing nothing, with the position of Secretary General of the UN!! The movie glossed over this salient fact. The UN however, is shown to be nothing but a sham institution. This movie is one of the most powerful we have ever seen. Reviewers at the festival are reporting “Oscar buzz”. See this movie!!!!!

It was particularly interesting to hear the producer of the movie answering questions of an American audience, after the movie clearly pummeled the USA for its “hands off” approach to this huge international disaster. France was also assailed for attempting to prop up Hutu forces in Rwanda, in support of French interests. Romeo Dallaire’s descent into suicidal depression is so easy to understand!! One suspects that corporate support, to widely distribute this movie in the US, will be “slim to none”.

On a lighter note, we have finally succumbed to the “golf fever” in the air in Palm Springs and, both purchased sets of golf clubs. With lessons planned and golf courses everywhere, we will likely have many rounds under our belts before returning to Canada. I guess it was inevitable!!

I loved the “Earth Wind & Fire” concert on Saturday night. Brenda preferred B.B. King. To me, EW&F is the ultimate rock show band. Lots of energy, great musicianship (is that a word?) and a songbook of wonderful hits. The “boomer” audience was singing along with each song and, on their feet for most of the concert. What does Brenda know????

Lots to do

Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Spring's main drag and, not a car in sight

This guy was GOOD. We had to buy one of his CD's

Every Thursday evening, the main street of Palm Springs is closed off for a street fair with vendors, musicians and food stalls lining block after block of the street. In Rancho Mirage, the grounds of the College of the Desert are filled with vendors every Saturday and Sunday for the “COD Street Fair”. “Art Under the Umbrellas” occurs every few Saturdays in La Quinta and, on the first Thursday evening of every month, El Paseo Blvd. hosts its famous “Art Walk”. Throw in a few PGA golf tournaments, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, regular concerts featuring major acts, balloon fests, wonderful shopping, great restaurants and, all the outdoor hiking and exploring opportunities. If you’re bored in Palm Springs ……… YOU”RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION!

Yesterday, one of our neighbours came knocking on our door offering us free tickets to a film showing at the film festival. We couldn’t use them because we have tickets to another film (“Shake Hands with the Devil” – based on Romeo Dallaire’s book outlining his experiences in Rwanda) and, an evening concert. Our day is full!!!! We’re going to have to make some time someday to get out in the sun and get a tan!!

People frequently ask us “How come you like Palm Springs if you don’t golf?”. The answer seems to us to be obvious ………….Duh???? I have been planning to do some flying at the local flying club and, have not yet managed to find the time. Golf ….. schmolf!