Palm Springs, CA Pt. 2

Some of you may wonder why I have not been writing about my recent travels, the reason is simple, I got lazy. I do though, have a great memory no matter what some friends think. When last I wrote We were on our way to Palm Springs from LA. The trip was not bad at all. Google maps said it should take about 2 hours to get to our destination, they were right on the mark. We did not hit much traffic. As we left LA and drove closer and closer to the desert the temperature gauge quickly rose from 94 to a high of 112. Dry heat...yeah right...who cares if it is dry, it was HOT!!!!

We checked into our hotel room and found it sweltering. It took the better part of 4 hours for the room to reach a temperature that was comfortable. In the interm we just took advantage of the clothing optional status and made our way to the pool which was just outside the door. The hotel was u-shaped surrounding what I later found out to be the largest pool in the palm springs area. Amazingly enough, the water was cool and refreshing. A few drinks and wading in the pool made the afternoon a very pleasant reprieve from the long trip. Both Yasu and I were quickly getting into the vacation mode.

In addition to have a very large pool, our hotel had a nice sized jacuzzi tub, and a huge garden with a small koi pond and huge palm trees. There was also a maze of bushes that provided a very interesting focal point. While we had the pool outside our front door, we had a private patio off the bedroom towards the back. When we arrived there was one other person at the hotel. I asked whether this would make up the total population during our stay but I was gratefully informed that the next day many more people would be checking in. In the end a little less than half the rooms were occupied.

We needed to get away after a day or so in the hot weather so we headed farther into the desert...can you believe it got a little hotter...We went to Joshua Tree national park. The one hour trip was worth the ride. Even though we did not stay to camp or hike, there are many roads that take you through the park. We made a few stops to take some interesting pictures among them a few Joshua trees and a segment of the San Andreas Fault. There were also some very interesting rock formations that i hope I captured well on "film". I know I keep promising to get pictures out to everyone but i am still running into the problem of where to store such large files to allow access. Any suggestions?

Thanks for following me.

Craig

Palm Springs, CA Pt. 1

PalmSprings in the summer. Yeah...it is hot as the dickens and I still wanted to make the trip. Far be it for me to pass up an opportunity to travel outside of Boston. Just a few weeks before leaving I chatted with yasuand he wantedto get away for a summer break. First we were looking at Hawaii, then Key West but we ended up making the west coast destination our placeof choice.

I cme in a day early,mainlybecause after lookingat flight options the Tuesday night flight sounded beterthanthe Wednesday morning flght and because of timing to meet Yasu fromJapan. I went to work,earlierthan usual, i was in by around 6 am. I wanted to makesure I got everything completed beforeheading off to the airport inthe afternoon. I was successful and at 3 pm Iwas in a cab makingthe trek toBoston Logan.I was expecting a long ride but door - to - door it took less than 20 minutes. I did pay whatI thought was a little muchfor the ride but i wil deal with that question upon my return. Isit reasoable to pay a flat ratefrom cambridge to the airport totaling 30 dollars? Iwill ask around. I wouldalmost pay somethingsimilar from my home in JP. Maybe times have changed. I am not going to just give up without doingsome backgroundchecking though...Idontwantto be taken.

Anyway,Imade i to the airport with tons of time to spare.I was not sure what to do with myself. Iforgot to packa bood soI resported to downloading a few book online frome the Boston publicLibraryand listening to one. It happenedtobe a Jack reacher book, the onesthat moveso quickly. I got a little bored withthe bookafteranhouror so and hit the bar for a quick drinkbefore getting on board. The plane was one time and before youknow it I was inseat number one...yes, first class, sipping on what would be one of many.

Unfortunately, the plane did not have individual monitors in the seats so I watched StarTrek aong with the rest of the passangers. It was fun enough....I hadseen it before and thought it was a good movie, oneofmanyin a new series of younger cast members. Something to look forward to I hope. We landed on time and soonI was off to find the rental car. Before I left the plane, however,the flight attendant pulled me asideandasked if I wanted to take a bottle of wine home withme..........Did sheknowwho she was talkiing to???? I was going to ak if I could emptythe supplyof vodka butthe wine was just fine...a nice parting gift as it were. And I did not evenhave to answer anyinane questions toget it. Happy withmy prize, I deplaned )is that a word? andwentin search fof my luggage. Even though the initial location wasincorrect, I was able to find myback in short order. Off to Hertz.

Thanks to Karen I was able to bget a great price for a car rental. Of course she had no wayof knowing I would run into an older Black woman who I almost want to call the car natzi. From the minute I stepped in front of her at the counter she had this certain aire abouthere. One that sid...bite your tongue because she could really be a bitch if she wanted to be. I endoured countless questions and funny looks, Mind you I hadbeen up since 4 am Boston timeand it wasnot close to eleven at night west coast time. I was tired!!!!!! I wanted my car and a map so icould get in the bed.

After what seemed like an hour in this empty rental location, Ileft with my car. An american one..chevy. It took a littlegetting used to I have to say. I got directions for the 105 and from therer Ihad printed directionsto the hotel. Well, needless to say, I drove by the street I was supposed to be on a few times aso addanother 45 minutes to a10 minnutes drive. I was really tired. I found the hotel, one that was a bargin, againthanks to friends in high places, Anne youknow when you are.

The hotel, I later discovered, had onlybeen opted for 3 months.Thatexplained the great shape itwas in.Ihad a throroughlyenjoyable sleep. when i awoke the nextmornning i wasprepared toh hit the ground speeding. Before picking up Yasu at the airport, i had time to get a few necessary supplies. CVSI found had it all. From a great price on Stloli to the munchies Iknew I shouldnothave picked up but didanyway, and thentherewas the lotion i had forgotten to pack....enoughof the detais. I got it all and in record time. I had 1.5hours before i needed to get to LAX. Getting lost was a good way to pass the time. When I finally parked in the lot, i had a mere hour to wait. I was in the wrong arrival terminal but luckilyI discovered the mistake just minutes beforeYahsu came walkiing out of customs....I was sweating but did not volunteer the reasons for my wetness....I am sure he though t it wasbecause i was seeing him again.

We immediatly hit the road and begain the journey to PalmSprings.

Chat with youall soon. )forgivethe typing mistakes...working on a new keyboardnow.

Craig