Brinn & Dard Update

June 27 2010

No posts for a couple days...we've been busy!

On Friday (my birthday!) we went for a tram ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It was breathtaking. The tram took you up 8,000 feet to the top of a mountain which was also a California State Park. It was amazing. The tram was a fun ride, but when we got out at the top, they there were hiking trails and overlooks that offered some great views. While up there, we saw some squirrels and lizards and the temperature was about 30 degrees cooler. It felt good.

On our drive to the tram, we pulled over to take a photo of hundreds (probably 500 or so) giant windmills. I have never seen so many. It was a fascinating sight. The tram guide said it creates electricity for thousands of houses in the Coachella Valley area (I'm learning the lingo).

We topped off the day with one of the best dinners I've had in a long time at a restaurant called "Pacifica." Who woulda thunk one of the best seafood restaurants was in the middle of the desert! Brien and I had surf and turf - he discovered he loves lobster tail (great - not adding that to the grocery list). It was all EXCELLENT!

Yesterday we spent the day at Knott's Soak City Water Park. Not my first pick of things to do, but Brien really wanted to go...so we did. It was a typical waterpark with slides, wavepool, playground. I only almost beat up two people....so that was good. One woman gave Brien the middle finger, and I overheard another Dad tell his kids I was really fat. I appropriately (well, kinda) dealt with them both. The older I get the more I hate idiots.

We capped the night with Toy Story 3D at a local theater. It was great - funny movie and the 3D effects were pretty amazing. Hit the bed about 12:30am - ugh! Tired this morning, but heading off to San Diego for the last leg of the trip. Brien doesn't want to leave here, but I bet he will be glad he did when we get there. He's still zonked out...need to go wake him up. We have a lot of packing and cleaning up to do before we head out for the three hour drive.

Next blog....San Diego!

Brinn & Dard on a Jeep!

Last night we went with Desert Adventures on a desert jeep ride. It was bumpy, but fun! We learned a lot about the desert and in particular, the San Andreas Fault....the meeting of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate - I know, it sounds boring, but it actually was fascinating (to me, not Brien). The Desert we were in was called the Colorado Desert which is part of the Sonoran Desert...ok, enough trivia.

Our guide told us many stories about the desert and the Native Americans who lived there. Originally, they were hunter/gatherers so they didn't move around a lot. They still are hunter/gatherers because they now own five casinos and hunt and gather idiot's money. The biggest thing while we walked around the desert she kept telling us was to watch for the rattlesnakes...they were very active and not very happy this time of year. Hungry, hot, and looking for a mate...not too much different than me (other than the mate part!).

We saw an old Indian village, an old settler's town...one of the coolest things was the natural Oasis. In the middle of all the dirt, sand, and dry nothing were all these huge palm trees and a small stream of water. Amazing! We walked around in a number of areas and saw: bugs, Brien spotted a real roadrunner, and a great horned owl (see photo)...fortunately we did not see a rattlesnake! We saw some cactuses (or is it cacti?).

We also learned the story of Willy Boy who accidentally killed an Indian Chief and like Elvis, they believe he is still alive today haunting the San Andreas Fault area. (The story scared the shit out of Brien!)

Overall, a great trip and Terry, our guide, was great. It was just Brien and I, with a grandma and her 15 year old grandson. The stars were great...the moon was full, and it was just plain cool.

Today's adventure included In-and-Out Burger, and a ride up the Palm Springs Aerial Tram...all that for the next blog.

Brinn & Dard's Hotel

J.W. Marriott - Palm Desert, California

We made it! After a long, grueling day of travel, we arrived at Palm Springs airport (which is nothing more than a glorified tent). Our car was ready for rent - an old, powder blue, Ford Crown Victoria! I felt like I was in Nana's old car....what fun!

We arrived at the J.W. at about 8:00pm - lost my cell phone (found it again). We had to hike to our room - literally 1/2 mile from the front desk. A nice room though...it didn't take long until we were sleeping like babies.

Woke up on Thursday, June 24th and Brien opened the curtains to our balcony. Oh my! What a view! It was absolutely breathtaking! (See photo inset) Last year I saw the ocean, and this year the desert and mountains. How wonderful!

I presented from 8:00am - 12:30pm while Brien stayed with Sarah the babysitter - they went swimming, toured the hotel, got breakfast, and made crafts. It was worth it...she was great with him.

After, we had lunch with Elizabeth and sent her on her way back to Minneapolis.

We headed to Ralph's, the local grocery store, and stocked up our room with snacks and drinks.

At 5:00pm we went on a boat ride in (yes, in) the hotel. They have small boats that take around the hotel 'campus.' It was fun! Then, the people who paid for my trip wanted me and Brien to join them for a small reception in the Presidential Suite. We stopped up and had the most wonderful California Oranges I've ever tasted. Brien ate four of them and I had two - and I hate oranges. It was like eating candy!

At 6:00pm we headed out for our Desert Adventure Jeep Tour....see the next blog for more on this.