A golf course, some palm trees and snow capped mountains in the distance.
JANUARY 10, 2014.
Here we are in sunny Palm Springs, California. It’s late December and the weather is absolutely perfect…low 70’s, with bright and sunny skies. Lake Havasu was a good stop for us…in fact a really good stop, but we’re looking forward to seeing what Palm Springs has to offer. We’ve been here in the past, but it’s amazing how different spots are in retirement than they were years ago when my office always begged my return. As I told Florence before we started our Adventure, “No matter what, just remember that we are in no hurry at all.” It’s an entirely different and delightful way to travel.
On our way to Palm Springs we stopped for the night at Spotlight 29 Casino where the RV overnight parking area was particularly large and well-suited for opening our slides and making ourselves comfortable. We enjoyed a good lobster buffet at the casino and learned about some tempting (old folks type) live entertainment here. On New Year’s Eve there will be a “Stayin’ Alive Celebration of the Bee Gees” concert and during the following week Kathleen Madigan is performing her stand-up comedy routine. Dolly Parton appears live at another local venue soon and there is an interesting looking Air Space Museum featuring hands-on displays of vintage World War II aircraft. Of course the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is always fun and we learned of a film festival in Idylwild. Looks like we’ll have lots of entertainment while we’re here.
Desert Pools RV Resort
We’re staying at Desert Pools RV Resort, located just outside Palm Springs in the town of Desert Hot Springs. We arrived on December 29th and have already met some nice folks here. None of these nice folks, however, thought to mention to us the wind warning for tonight. So we left our awning out and our shade screen attached to it. Configured that way, the breeze doesn’t trigger the auto-retract feature of the awning. And…you guessed it: About 1 am I was awakened by the howling wind. We were just barely able to get “unbuttoned” outside before losing a lot of expensive gear to the wind! I love the little weather-widget I’ve installed on this blog, but it’s no substitute for an in-depth weather forecast. From now on, I think I’ll make it a point to check that every day.
Desert Hot Springs is known for its curative mineral water. Florence and I soaked and soaked. The hot water felt good, but it didn’t grow hair on my head or cure any of my age-related aches and pains.
This Coachella Valley area is famous for its natural curative mineral water. History has it that a Mexican Scout in the Palm Springs area during 1823 asked the resident Indians if there was any gold in the area. The answer: “No Senor, no gold but we have magic water.” And so they do to this day. The little town of Desert Hot Springs caters to visitors from all over the world who come each year to make use of the abundance of curative natural hot mineral water, which is as hot as 200 degrees when it reaches the Earth’s surface! An Australian chemist and metallurgist who spent many years traveling the world analyzing curative waters has said of the water in Desert Hot Springs: “From the analysis of these waters, I have not found the like of them in any other country I have explored.” Florence and I soaked in this magical water many a time. As far as I can tell, it didn’t cure anything and it sure didn’t grow any hair on my head. It was enjoyable though!
We saw the “Fabulous Palm Springs Follies” and all I can say is “fantastic!” Watch the You Tube clip to the left to get a flavor of the show. It’s a long-running smash hit here in the desert at the historic Plaza Theater, a tiny jewel box theater in downtown Palm Springs. I’d not heard of the Follies before, but it’s a world-famous, Broadway caliber celebration of the music, dance and comedy of mid-century America with a cast old enough to have lived it! The production has been continuously running in Palm Springs for more than 23 years…three million fans have seen it, including local celebrities Ginger Rogers, Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas and President Gerald Ford. This is the farewell season, the “last hurrah!” Venerated guest stars and international vaudeville acts join the Follies world-renowned line of “Long-Legged Lovelies” and “Follies Gentlemen” all ranging in age from 55 to 84! One of the older performers quips that “age doesn’t matter unless you’re cheese!” This performance was without a doubt the best I’ve seen for as long as I can remember! It made me laugh and it made me cry. It made me proud to be an American and prouder yet of those who’ve served our country. It was all about us Baby Boomers: our music and our experiences of a lifetime. The headline performance was by Grammy nominated singer Maureen McGovern and her rendition of hits brought back memories. Boy, did it! Remember her? In 1972 she recorded “The Morning After” which was the Oscar-winning theme of the classic film, The Poseidon Adventure. Her rendition topped the billboard charts at the time. Remember her in the 1980 comedy classic movie Airplane? She appeared as Sister Angelina,
the guitar-strumming nun. The show was a sentimental walk through the past! Wonderful!
The Palm Springs Follies. Absolutely terrific!
Rejean St. Jules, the Juggler.
Some of the nostalgic moments in the Follies Show included clips of Ed Sullivan and his variety show acts we all remember from watching our old television set on Sunday evenings. Remember all the pan-twirlers and acrobats? Well, the juggler who appeared right before our eyes in Palm Springs was of this era…one of the most amazing acts I’ve ever seen.
Celebrated Juggler Returns to Follies. Dazzling High-Tech Precision Wows Audiences. Rejean St. Jules was born in Montreal, Canada, as a second generation circus performer. he’s performed professionally since age 12 and now, at age 54, has perfected his finely honed and precise juggling sequence that is both high tech and impeccably choreographed to a dynamic musical score. For the past 30 years, he’s lived and worked in Las Vegas performing in most of that city’s major production shows, including the Lido de Paris, City Lights, Splash, Bare Essence and Folies Bergere. His most recent appearance was in Jubilee! at Bally’s Las Vegas. His international appearances include France’s Lido de Paris; Follies Russe at Lowes Monte Carlo; the Millennium Show with the Lido at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club; the Apollo Theatre in Dusseldorf, Germany; and many other celebrated variety shows throughout Europe. Rejean is married to world-renowned flying trapeze star Terry Cavaretta. According to Follies Man Riff Markowitz, “Mr. St. Jules may very well be the best juggler in the world today…as Follies’ audiences will be reminded once again in this his-encore engagement.”
It’s warm enough in Palm Springs to BBQ in December.
Palm Springs is great! Palm Springs is a great RV destination for the winter months. If it weren’t so close to home in San Diego, we’d probably be here again next year. It is close, though. We’ve been seriously considering staying in the Texas hill country during those cold months next year…perhaps near San Antonio. We’ll see…
