Desert, sun and a good life

Some people really live in paradise … like our friends here in Scottsdale: a beautiful home, a pool, oranges and grapefruit trees with fruits in abundance around the house, a purling fountain, chirping birds, hummingbirds zipping by, sun and heat, quiet and peaceful. What else could we wish, especially after our strenuous days in L.A. with all this horrible traffic, with a packed itinerary and a lot of noise at night in the hotels?

Yesterday in the morning we left early, at only 58 deg F (14° C), clouds and gray skies in L.A. It got even worse on our drive out of town: a mixture of smog and fog caused poor visibility. It took us about 1,5 hours to get out of town, though traffic was at least flowing, no jams. We remembered our first experience on L.A.'s streets in the early 1990s, when we took the car pool lane and suddenly ended up somewhere in the suburbs because a wall made it impossible to get back on a regular lane. Car pool lanes are made for commuters (two and more passengers in a car), have less exits and are sometimes isolated. We didn’t know that at the time ...

Then the San Bernardino Mountains - partly snow-capped - showed up and and huge windmill parks came in view, the sun was out and temps climbed considerably. What a different feeling! We stopped for breakfast in Palm Springs and immediately noticed the slower pace and the colorful and artsy atmosphere.

This city in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountains, and populated by the rich and famous (aka Hollywood people), by snowbirds (people from Canada and the North who spend the winter here), predominantly elder and gay couples. Our visit brought back memories to previous stays in P.S. and one of the very best hotels we had to date.

Continued on Interstate 10 through the Sonoran Desert, driving 70 (CA) or 75 (AZ) mph (110/120 km/h).Lots of police around, checking speed. Stopping only twice at rest areas and at a gas station we drove the 400 miles (640 km) in good time. Traffic in Phoenix was not too bad and we arrived at our friends’ home in Scottsdale before 5 pm. Enjoyed sitting at the pool at 80+ deg. F with a glass of wine in hands and a cuban dinner afterwards. What a life!

Today is our lazy laundry/barbershop/catch-up-with-work day... Lateron we'll go for a hike.