Ahhh.. Palm Springs!

Here now and having dinner with mwp2paris tonight. Hopefully at Dining Rewards place to get those UA 25,000 Miles! Unfortunately his friend, Norma, (remember..the glass of ice with the chardonnay at the Palm Springs Gayla?) cannot be here. Sigh. We will also be reviewing The Desert Moon Resort for the 2007 Gayla.

I'm staying at Inn Exile which has a pleasing mix of guys. Lots of misting everywhere. It's, like, 110 degrees which isn't so bad here in the daytime. There is a different breed of visitor in the summertime. Love it.

Last summer I flew into Las Vegas and drove over (a fun drive through the desert for me and much, much lower fares). When I stepped out of the terminal to catch the rental car bus, it felt surreal. There was the smell of diesel everywhere. It was easily 115 degrees AT 10PM AT NIGHT and felt like a blast furnace wind. Noises, people milling about, whistles blowing, car horns honking. It felt like I was in Dune or The Fifth Element. Really, really weird. It is almost worth flying into LAS like that just to experience the otherwordliness of it.

BTW, do not miss the PSP Tram up the mountain in summer time and take your hiking shoes so you can go hiking a short ways up there. Also, a drive up the very curvy mountain road to Idyllwyld. Ask where Cafe Aroma is to eat when you get up there. It is off the beaten tourist trap strips.