Side Trail to the Desert: Day 1&2 - Palm Springs, CA

About a year ago M and I made a trip to the left coast to attend the destination wedding of a friend and to see our boy, W, who at the time lived in SoCal (see Side Trail to SoCal Part 2). He came down to SD to pick us up and his friend, C, came along. We had heard a little bit about her, but mainly in passing remarks like: Oh yeah, C and I went to a concert the other night. Little time passed before we could sense that something was going on between these two that was making them very happy and contagiously so to those around. We traveled up to the LA area, visited some other of W's welder friends and then went over to Palm Springs the next day. We had a couple of days with W&C and we also met C's parents who live in a golf community a little up the mountain from the desert floor of Palm Springs in Desert Hot Springs (DHS). We connected immediately. 
Now there are a few important things that we as parents offer in prayer unceasingly for our children; near top of the list are meaningful and edifying relationships and as they enter adulthood the possibility of finding a life partner that will love and complement them. We had already scored in spades with the girls and their spouses, so why shouldn't we expect that the boy would find true love. Fast forward to June and W&C are camping with S&J (older sister and hubby) at Yosemite National Park and, unbeknownst to all, he pops the question, gets a positive response, and now they are headed for matrimony. Later they call (or was it FaceTime?) and tell us. O joy beyond description. Another story could be told on how providence took them from sunny SoCal in January to the, let's be kind, damper climes of Portland, OR, a month later (maybe another blog post).

Fast forward some more and we have arrived in Palm Springs again for the celebration of their marriage; we came early (on Monday) in order to spend some time with C's parents before the party and to make it a bit of a vacation. The trip out was uneventful and the leg from Chicago enhanced greatly by the reassignment of seats by a charming AA staffer so M and I could sit next to each other (could not get the good seats online). We felt like we had the entire rear of the airplane to ourselves in pseudo first-class. So we arrived in good order and headed over to C's parents in DHS for lunch and then on to the Mission Lakes Inn and our little abode (#8) for the next week. After a bit of settling in (we had been up for 12 hours at this point and it is only 4 o'clock) the pool area outside our room was beckoning. Though the temperature was about 95 degrees, the low humidity and breeze soften the heat. After some chill time we took a little drive to pick up a few essentials at Stater Bros. and then back to hit the sack.

The sack time was good and we are almost in sink with PDT. Shared breakfast with J&G (C's parents) and discussed the upcoming events of the week. This is going to be a wonderful celebration and spending the time with them was so meaningful: families being knit together. Afterward M and I headed south a bit to take in the Desert resort towns stretched out along the 10 freeway ending in Indio at the Shields Date Garden, an institution in the area. Bought their famous date shake but could not finish, just too sweet. So, yesterday as we were lounging at the pool, a Greater Roadrunner (beep-beep) strolled up, looking for a handout. Remarkable bird, but to folk around here, nothing special and at times a pest. Fascination ensued, so during our outing we tried to descry all things related to that bird. M found some stuff for her charges at pre-school with desert animal themes. So as we lounged again today, the bird and company were back. I am sure we will see more of them. 
Soaking up a few rays by the pool was delightful (we soaked up more than a few - the sun here can be brutal - caution is the watchword).  The mountain views are spectacular and so different than the east and our well-worn landscapes; dragon's teeth come to mind. With Italian food on our minds we drove down into DHS to the Miracle Springs Spa to check out Capri. What a find: chianti in a carafe; house salads with a three bean complement; garlic bread dripping with olive oil; lasagna with a phenomenal red meat sauce (oregano, yum); on-site prepared Italian sausage and peppers in a light sauce over angel hair.

As we sat back from the table to engage in some more conversation about the day, Marian from the next table (and San Francisco) came over and sat down, saying: you guys just looked like some folk I should get to know. For the next 30 minutes we did just that. We connected on a number of levels, not the least of which was a common faith in the One who orders all things in such marvelous ways. She was also very active in her local hiking club; figure that, a lovely way to end an evening.

Then back to #8, with a warm glow from sun, deeper relationships, excellent food and drink, and the anticipation of more to come this week.