above: The valley is seen off to the left at dusk.
From San Diego, we made our way to Palm Desert where my cousin Greg had recently moved. The city, along with several other golf resort towns like Palm Springs lies in the Coachella Valley and is surrounded by mountains. It was a perfect place to relax as day after day it is 70 degrees and sunny.
left: Cousin Cindy and the Lil’ Dude chill with one of the “locals”
right: The perfect lawn begs for a “grass angel”.
left: The ducks at a nearby park think Aunt Deetsie came with treats.
The whole valley has become an oasis in the middle of the desert. And sometimes it felt more like a mirage than reality. The houses are perfect, the lawns are perfect, the landscaping is perfect and the weather is perfect. It’s also exclusive with many neighborhoods being surrounded by walls with entry only through an elegant manned gate. It looked as if each successive neighborhood tried to out do the one before with waterfalls and sculptures at their entry. (I would hate to pay those association dues!)
Amah, Cindy, Big Dude, Aunt Deetsie, Lil’ Dude and Uncle Ren get into a game of Naples Rummy.
right: The Dudes are now “hooked” and play cards every chance they get.
I made a wrong turn one time into a gated community and the guard came out to my dirt covered 1999 Honda with thule roof rack, bike carrier and broken windshield and just looked at me. Her glare said “you’re in the wrong place”. She then, in a very flat tone, gave me directions away from her gate and I went merrily along my way.
left and below: The Hippygeek, Granny, Grandad and the Big Dude played a round at Indian Springs Golf Club.
It wasn’t hard to let a week slip by there. We busied ourselves with golf, cards, hiking, visits to parks, a museum and even an early Thanksgiving dinner. We also fit in an arts festival in Palm Springs that is held every Thursday night. But, we mostly just hung out and visited as it had been a while since we all had seen each other.
below: The boys try out a remote controlled plane the Big Dude got for his Birthday.
left and below: After a few rough landings, repairs become necessary.
left: Giving instructions to the Lil’ Dude.
right: The Lil’ Dude prefers to retrieve the planes than to fly them.
left: At the Palm Springs Villagefest Arts Festival.
left: You never know what you are going to find.
below: This guy could make a masterpiece with spray paint in 15 minutes.
left: David Wayne, he could make this 6 string guitar sound like a 12 string.
right: Always angling to make money, the Lil’ Dude offered messages to the family. He managed to come away with a few bucks.
The infamous Painted Canyon Hike and the Living Desert Museum deserve blogs all their own so………stay tuned!
above: The switchback road leading to the city.
The Lil’ Dude improved his card playing skills quite a lot this week. I said to him ” you are doing great, you are really thinking! He replied, “yeah, I’m mostly thinking about candy”.