While digging through my old emails, I found this series of emails detailing a quick-o-rama trip to Palm Springs in February 2016. Take a look or don't:
Hi there! I am still just exhausted from the last few weeks...but I wanted to tell you about our trip to Palm Springs. It was Irene's birthday and she decided she wanted to celebrate it in PS...which was fine, except our schedule was already made out for the month (we are already working on our May schedule at the moment... Seriously!). I had a 3-day window I could go, but it was going to be tight. Could they go then? YES! So Erich and Irene planned to fly to Palm Springs on the 15th. I had to work the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th (48 grueling hours crammed--not into 6 days, but into only 4)---so after work on the 15th, I raced home, changed, grabbed my suitcase and Uber-ed to the airport. There were no flights to PS---but I did rent a car! Off I raced into the night--while Irene and Erich were sipping champagne poolside, down Hwy 99 I was plowing along. Mind you, I had just worked 4 days in a row, had gotten up at 5 a.m. and it was after 11 pm when I pulled into Bakersfield and the Vagabond Inn.
Instead of doing the entire trip the next day, it made sense to me to get as far as I could on the 15th, get up early and complete the rest of the distance the next day. The Vagabond was cheap--less than $48--but it wasn't restful.
I walked up to the check-in desk and encountered Kym, the night manager. She was a large woman with tattoos all over her arms and a deeper voice than mine. After signing papers and getting my credit card info, she proceeded to tell me that the complementary continental breakfast started at 2 a.m. which was basically waffles and coffee and cereals. 2 a.m.?, I asked. Zowie! She explained that the truckers staying there (and the lot was full of big rigs) liked to get an early start. She then said that at around 6 a.m. she brought out biscuits. Somehow, the idea of Kym's biscuits seemed like a treat I'd gladly forgo. Hmm.
But anyway, I got to the room. It was small but serviceable. However as it was pushing midnight and the truckers (vampires?) were waking up /getting ready for their day (and probably all clamoring to be first in line at Kym's 2 a.m. breakfast... EEK!), I had to try to catch some sleep with sounds of showers, toilets, etc (the walls were truly paper thin) all night long. I slept very little and was on the road a bit after 6 a.m. I did see Kym's biscuits, though. They were small and rubbery-hard and scarier than I thought they'd be. I passed. (But there was a Starbucks right on the corner--thank god).
Road construction (UGH!) along the Pasadena freeway slowed things way down...of course! I kept in contact with my friends on the way when I could, keeping them updated on my progress. I planned to stop and visit my long-time friend Bob first...before meeting up with Erich and Irene around noon for lunch. I've known Bob for more than 20 years---but had never met him in person. Like several of my friends, we met through eBay or something and I don't really know what the glue is that kept us chatting all of these years, other than that his birthday is April 12th...just three days before mine...even though he is 75 and I'm 50. Ha! Anyway, I had missed the opportunity to meet him during my previous visit to Palm Springs and didn't want to miss out now. It was late morning when I arrived--pushing in to the time I was to meet Irene and Erich (as it was, I got to them late). Bob and I went to a place called Lulu's, which I remembered from my visit in 2013. It was a nice place and while Bob had a traditional; martini, I had something called a Key Lime Pie martini. Mmm MMM!
All too quickly though (and I hope Bob understands my rush), I had to say farewell and race over to my friends at the Riviera hotel. They were hungry and wanted to go to lunch. So, we went to... Lulu's. Ha!
Of course, everyone loved the Key Lime Pie martinis...so, after lunch (and after leaving the building actually), we turned around for another round in the bar! Ha!
After that, we walked around a bit, did some shopping, etc. The Sonny Bono and Lucille Ball statues were still there, but the giant Marilyn Monroe statue that had been there in 2013 was gone--along with the building that was next to it.
Oooo! And I need to get ready for a doctor's appointment, so I will continue this later. Coming up: Tiki bars and Elvis' Honeymoon Hideaway--and MORE!
CHEERS!
Hi there! I am still just exhausted from the last few weeks...but I wanted to tell you about our trip to Palm Springs. It was Irene's birthday and she decided she wanted to celebrate it in PS...which was fine, except our schedule was already made out for the month (we are already working on our May schedule at the moment... Seriously!). I had a 3-day window I could go, but it was going to be tight. Could they go then? YES! So Erich and Irene planned to fly to Palm Springs on the 15th. I had to work the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th (48 grueling hours crammed--not into 6 days, but into only 4)---so after work on the 15th, I raced home, changed, grabbed my suitcase and Uber-ed to the airport. There were no flights to PS---but I did rent a car! Off I raced into the night--while Irene and Erich were sipping champagne poolside, down Hwy 99 I was plowing along. Mind you, I had just worked 4 days in a row, had gotten up at 5 a.m. and it was after 11 pm when I pulled into Bakersfield and the Vagabond Inn.
Instead of doing the entire trip the next day, it made sense to me to get as far as I could on the 15th, get up early and complete the rest of the distance the next day. The Vagabond was cheap--less than $48--but it wasn't restful.
I walked up to the check-in desk and encountered Kym, the night manager. She was a large woman with tattoos all over her arms and a deeper voice than mine. After signing papers and getting my credit card info, she proceeded to tell me that the complementary continental breakfast started at 2 a.m. which was basically waffles and coffee and cereals. 2 a.m.?, I asked. Zowie! She explained that the truckers staying there (and the lot was full of big rigs) liked to get an early start. She then said that at around 6 a.m. she brought out biscuits. Somehow, the idea of Kym's biscuits seemed like a treat I'd gladly forgo. Hmm.
But anyway, I got to the room. It was small but serviceable. However as it was pushing midnight and the truckers (vampires?) were waking up /getting ready for their day (and probably all clamoring to be first in line at Kym's 2 a.m. breakfast... EEK!), I had to try to catch some sleep with sounds of showers, toilets, etc (the walls were truly paper thin) all night long. I slept very little and was on the road a bit after 6 a.m. I did see Kym's biscuits, though. They were small and rubbery-hard and scarier than I thought they'd be. I passed. (But there was a Starbucks right on the corner--thank god).
Of course, everyone loved the Key Lime Pie martinis...so, after lunch (and after leaving the building actually), we turned around for another round in the bar! Ha!
After that, we walked around a bit, did some shopping, etc. The Sonny Bono and Lucille Ball statues were still there, but the giant Marilyn Monroe statue that had been there in 2013 was gone--along with the building that was next to it.
CHEERS!
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