Perfect Palm Springs

Sunny and in the 60's. We signed up at the Club House for the free dinner that comes with the resort promotion. I'm so excited - Chicken Fried Steak is on the menu - we've never had it so it will be a new adventure.

We called our friends Glenn & Marcie and began making plans to get together. Then we drove into Palm Springs. (Another Bucket List item gone!). This is a place I've always wanted to visit. Cruising down N. Palm Canyon Drive into town we passed the Coachella Valley Wind Farm. The farm is huge as it runs up and down the valley and along the mountain ridges. The joke here is these are what keeps Palm Springs so cool in the summer ...

Palm Springs is a slow paced little town and not what I expected at all. It's not filled with night clubs and loud music. It has a happy relaxed atmosphere. The streets are lined with palm trees, lots of gardens and flowering trees. The small shops offer everything from clothing to antiques (not the ones who live here).

If you're like me and love old movies and vaudeville this is your place. We strolled down Palm Canyon Drive along the Walk of Stars. The sidewalk has blocks with stars on them to honor those who worked in stage, film, radio, and the TV industry. The sidewalks stretch for miles and have hundreds of stars. We saw ones for Ruby Keeler, Howard Keel, Al Jolson, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall among others. We stopped to rest at the Aqua Caliente fountain and watch people for a while. The streets are line with pretty cafes and restaurants. Our next stop was at the Kalura Trattoria for lunch. We had a great table outside right next to the red carpet that leads to the Plaza Theatre. The theatre opened in 1936 with Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor performing Camille. It was a venue for several world premieres and during the 1940's stars like Jack Benny, Amos'n Andy, and Bob Hope did radio shows from the Plaza. Today the Plaza is where the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies performs. We got tickets for tomorrow night.

Strolling back up the drive we saw the "Lucy Bench" which has a bronze statue of Lucille Ball sitting and you can sit next to her ... we said "Hi Lucy" as we passed...

Palm Springs has things for the guys too. The golf courses are so numerous you can't count. They are gorgeous and they looked challenging. There is a lot more to see and do here but I'll tell you about that later.....

Time for dinner. For those of you who don't know - Chicken Fried Steak is a thin steak cooked in batter like fried chicken with the thick white gravy they love in the south --- not my cup of tea. However dessert was great. We sat with 2 nice couples at dinner. Afterwards they invited us to play Pegs & Jokers in the card room... Ok something new... They taught us and it was a blast. The game is a combination of cribbage (uses a peg board), parcheese (move men around the board), and cards. We really had a great time. We broke up about 9pm and called it a night.