Ahhh... Palm Springs!

THE THIRD ANNUAL PALM SPRINGS FLYERTALK GAYLA!
MARCH 24-26, 2006

How to surpass Gayla II in 2005?

Well, first a real, true, fairy tale story is in order, I think!

(Note that I have cleverly disguised the characters. )

Oh, and discounts, tips and itineraries follow. Hotel info is in the 2nd post because mine is already too big and now the story:

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Snow White and the Seven Upgrades
A FlyerTalk Fantasy

Once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a beautiful valley nestled between two, rocky, towering mountains. The sun shone every day there and the inhabitants of the valley had no thoughts of living anywhere else. They had moved to this valley, drawn by tales of a fountain of youth - muscley youth, that is. Slowly they came to live here, one-by one. It seemed that as one of the inhabitants would die, another would come to take his or her place. They were called “The Ancient Ones”.

In this beautiful valley lived a very handsome but very evil queen. This was a powerful queen who demanded only the most chi-chi couture, accomodations and service. One would have thought this queen was lonely in his low-slung, glass accented, adobe manse. But a very smart and very gay designer had placed many, many gilded mirrors in the manse for the handsome, evil, powerful queen to catch glimpses of himself.

Meanwhile, far across the mountains and across many more mountains, too, a beautiful, young maiden with huge bosoms was thinking of visiting this valley. She had heard of the beautiful valley.... even far away in the land where she lived, The Land of the Boeings- "The Mysticals". (In this place the Mystical Boeings came forth, though noone knew how or why.)

This maiden, (her name was Jean White-Something but she came to be known as Snow White because she had drifted), decided to meet her friends, the Upgrades, in the beautiful valley where, unbeknownest to her or the Upgrades, lived the evil queen. They would drink MANY frozen drinks by the pool, ogle the muscle-y boys and the pretty girls and just have a fabulous time! And Snow White knew just the Upgrade to organize this: GoodKarmumpy! Yes! Why, he is not only funny, handsome and charming but a great party planner. And, Snow smiled to herself, his modesty knows no bounds. Just the person!

So Snow White packed her carry-on, grabbed her friend, another favorite Upgrade named Wirelessleepy (who everyone just called “Sleepy"or, sometimes, "Drunky”), and planned a non-rev to the valley. There is a rumor that Snow White has a sister just as beautiful as her, living as a hermit, away in a high, wind-swept, lonely tower. Will the famed sibling finally show and dispel the myths that she is just a Sitgeic fable? Only time will tell but perhaps she will bless Palm Springs with her flowing locks.

One Thursday night, in late March, Snow White was boarding her connection in San Francisco, her mouth watering for one of GoodKarmumpy's apple martinis, (because she knew a Friday arrival ALWAYS misses out on the famed Martini Party) and there, among many, many queens, was the evil and powerful queen from the beautiful valley!

This evil queen was screaming at the poor GA, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON’T HAVE MY UPGRADE? I NEVER EVER SIT IN COACH!”

Snow White smiled to herself and adjusted her ample bosom. She knew that she was in first class. (Well, it is “Snow White and the Seven Upgrades”!). Snow White smiled to herself a lot. Especially on her way to Palm Springs.

Now, the Upgrades were spritely gals and guys of varying shapes, sizes and colors but all smart and sexy, as luck would have it. Another thing they had in common was their love of frequent flier miles and their ability to fly in first class for free. Too, party planning seemed to be genetic (along with decorating, dancing and a taste for the better things in life) among the Upgrades. Yes, GoodKarmumpy was planning the weekend with the help of the Grand Duchess, Princess Petrina-of-Cinncinatiland. Two Upgrade party planners, the handsome jockGRRumpy and the also-handsome ILumpyParis had already volunteered to host the Saturday Dinner, but noone has heard from them and it’s rumored that the crafty Countess Lisa of LaLa has carried them away to force them to drink house brand martinis (oh my!) and walk the... *ahem** str8 and narrow! Not to worry, because before a house is ever dropped on any of these princesses and queens, the aging Wicked Step Princess Umgumpia of La Ti Da is expected to show up, as usual, with his handsome consort and lavish, as usual, margaritas, chilled-vodk-shots and apple-tinis on their faithful subjects. As usual. (Umgumpia's mother, the real Queen-of-Cinncinatiland, has decided that she will not attend). And apparently, the other aging Wicked Step Princess, Foadrica of the Blowy City, is having work done. So no attending for her after all. How sad. And, with his bag of toys, the big, strong huntsman, DanHumpy53 is always helping looking for lost boys... err ....girls.


So, as Snow White settled into 2C, (being an Aisle, of course!), and Sleepy dozed in 2D(being a 100% Window, of course!), the evil queen swept passed, stopped and came back to give our dear, dear Snow White a piece of her mind. Seeing Snow’s Bose headphones and premium seating, the nasty queen grew livid. This was worse than FORT LA-DI-DA!! Not realizing that Snow was a non-rev, had gotten the ‘phones from a FT thread-recommended promo and was using drink coupons gifted from the Coupon Connection, the evil and powerful queen stopped mid-sweep and gasped. Why, this must be an even MORE powerful queen from that fabled Emerald City! That would explain her beauty, her bosom and the seemingly endless perks!

And he was right.

The End

What? You thought there was more to this story?


Being a Palm Springs Fairy Tale, the ending is always the same, dear. Think Jaguars and Rental-Cars. Drinks-at-the-Pool and Beer at The Barracks. Prince Albert and Princess Sebastian. A Fabulous-Mixed-Crowd and Everyone-Welcome. Suprise-Entertainment and the Usual-Suspects.

And, of course, the real power is in the Miles!

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Ahhhh... we love a happy ending! (We also love our friends in FLL, just in case anyone asks! )

This is a PG rated event and ALL FLYERTALKERS are welcome and encouraged to attend. We have quite a handsome following of hetersexuals that attend! Please come, everyone! (As a matter of fact, this event is always cross-posted in the Community Forum HERE so that all can be in the fun!

This is a very, very, very fun event. Several of us have wandered around past Gaylas in dazed amazement at how much fun these PSP Do’s really turn out to be! The crowd is very mixed of all different ages, shapes, colors and sexes. Dress is casual, though somehow these folks manage to make casual seem like they have a personal shopper at Nordstrom's. (And he STILL buys his t-shirts in the kid's department! )

Again, reviews of Palm Springs area hotels are in my SECOND post of this thread as there seems to be a 15,000 word or less rule. (and OMG we are up to +18,000 with the hotels!) Please add your comments and reviews in a post and they will be moved to the review area in the second post. It is not possible to go through all the PSP threads but we do remember that lots of folks had good suggestions at various times.

Also, please be courteous of some member’s anonymity. As well, if you would prefer not to be named on the list, please just email or PM me so that I can add you to the count. This worked well last year for a few members. If you do not say otherwise I will add your name(s) to the list.

HOST HOTEL: The former Elizabeth Arden Spa and Resort, The Villa. The Villa has finished renovations and is HOT, HOT, HOT. It is the talk around town right now for its dining, too. It is a mixed, men and women, gay and str8 resort with no clothing optional areas.

They love, love, love us and have given us a GREAT high-season deal:

Our discounted price for Friday and Saturday is $129/ night+. And we get 50% our already discounted price on Thursday and/or Sunday! Please ask them to extend this discount if you stay other nights.

These discounts will be honored as long as there are rooms available. But, technically, the cutoff is January 31st.

ITINERARY: please note that usually only Friday and/or Saturday evening events are “de rigeur” and only Saturday Evening requires advance payment.

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THURSDAY NIGHT:
8pm : UNOFFICIAL WHO-IS-HERE-EARLY? MEET-AT-THE-STREET-PARTY-AND-HAVE-DINNER!
Let us know in advance that you will be here. We will probably meet at the Rainbow cactus at 7pm, walk around the street festival that is held every Thursday evening and eat dinner together.

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FRIDAY NIGHT:
830pm: World Famous Gayla Martini Party.
LOCATION: The Villa
DRESS: Fun Resort Wear. Maybe bring a sweater. Temperature expected to be 60-70's at 8pm.
Expect some folks to go bar-hopping after. Some us will sit around the fire until 2am.
PRICE: $20pp PAID IN ADVANCE, please, via Paypal or check. $10pp if you are drinking one drink or less. RSVP REQUIRED. (We can usually ad late comers).

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SATURDAY EVENING EARLY SUPPER:
430pm: "Afternoon Cocktails on the Patio" at Wang's.
530pm: "Early Supper on the Patio" with surprise entertainment that the PSP Gayla has become famous for.
LOCATION: Wang's with food served family style.
Price: $40/pp all included, PAID IN AVANCE, please, via Paypal or check. (We can usually and late attendees.)
[i]DRESS: Fancy Afternoon Resort Wear.

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SATURDAY NIGHT GAY BAR WHOOPEE TOUR:
10pm
LOCATION: Start at Hotel Zoso. Designated drivers available.
DRESS: Cool Bar Clothes (Cool, that is, for hot dancing!)

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SUNDAY BRUNCH:
1130am
LOCATION: The Villa Poolside
DRESS: Shorts and T's with Jimmy Choo sandals.
Price: Individual menu orders and individual checks. Expect $10 entrees.

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SUNDAY BEER BUST:
6pm
LOCATION: The Barracks. (This is an Adults-Only Event)(NOTE: The Barracks website is currently offline. Directions will be passed out at Brunch).
DRESS: Leathers, jeans, boots, harnesses, PA's, ropes, cowboy hats, daisy-dukes, military. You get the idea.
Price: $1 beers
NOTE: We usually go get a bite to eat later, about 9 or 10pm

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WHO IS COMING:

Defintes:
KenCT
SeeYa
Peteropny +1
Nobbi +1
GoodKarmaGuy +3
jockdAAddy
ILuvParis
izzik +1
Wireless
lisamcgu
gay
olafman
dfwoods
Nicholas
mwp2paris +1
FlyBalletGuy
St Sebastian
bluesincenew
missydarlin +1
Shirl
OutofOffice
DEK
kyushuman
holtju2
fanoftravel

"Just for Martinis"
CDF +1
nroscoe

"Just for Brunch"
CMC Flyer







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TIP: We have blocked a certain number of rooms at a discounted rate until the hotel sells out! Let them know you are with the FlyerTalk-Martini Party Group.

TIP: Payment for dinner should be through PayPal or you can mail a check. To Use Paypal, pay the $40 for dinner to [email protected]. Include the first names and genders of each attendee. For those of you unfamiliar with PayPal, peteropny will post directions on ho to do this.

TIP: We often organize side things like shopping and hiking. PM KenCT to go on the Red Jeep Tour that (I think) he is organizing. Very cool!

TIP: See the end of this post for Palm Springs general info.

TIP: Reserve a rental car now. You can cancel later. The prices will go up, up up!

JOE'S SPECIAL TIP: I always book car rentals and then recheck once a week to see if the rates have gone down. PSP cheapest rental car: Dollar Rental Car.

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Some cool gay PSP links (with notes!) by gayBob :

http://ww.palmspringslife.com/medi...vents/index.php

Here is a link to things happening at the PSP convention center, though it doesn't look like much is happenin' during the Gayla III

http://www.palmspringscc.com/events/default.aspx

Here is a link to a gay rag the Desert Daily Guide, which is posted on the net:

http://www.desertdailyguide.com/weekly/index2.php

Here is a link to another gay rag the Bottom Line, which also is posted on the net. It has a nice list of events each month (check early March for March events):

http://www.psbottomline.com/

Here's a site about gay PSP. It's mostly advertising but does have a map.

http://www.palmspringsgay.com/

Here's a great site about PSP, which includes a gay section:

http://palmsprings.com/ 

AIRPORTS

Local airport: PSP. This airport is really, really cute and worth flying into if it is not a lot more money. And no, you will not need a car if you are only there a couple days. Hotels have free parking and there are some awesome daytrips.NOTE that the car rental desks here close early: 9/10pm!

Alternative Airports: LAX, SAN (2-3 hour drive depending on traffic), SNA, BUR, ONT( @ 2hour drives +- depending on traffic), LAS (cheeeeeap rental cars but a 4 hour, albeit gorgeous, drive).

Some creative routing may be beneficial. For example, last year AS for $108 SFO-PSP was found. While that may not work for the Gayla(who knows, though!) it does seem that a low fare to SFO, ONT, LAX or LAS may be combined with a low fare to PSP.

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SIDETRIPS: Many available! Also several special events that cannot be had elsewhere.

If you can get in on Thurs nite - Palm Springs has a street fair downtown- they close down the main street to traffic and there are booths up and down the street . I had the most marvelous roasted corn - yum makes me want to come back . - jan_az

The Palm Spring Follies are supposed to be fabulous. The ladies are all retired show girls, some from Broadway, others from Radio City Music Hall, and so on. I've see a video and they are terrific. The run is usually from November through May 30. Thanks to SanDiego1K


Joshua Tree National Park is a few miles away and is a beautiful drive with hiking and walking available.

There is a big Casino in downtown PSP.

Palm Springs even has an Air Museum.

This will be a very fun weekend... HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!