Hiking, Hot rod Rides and Rock

The weather has been sublime here, so we are taking advantage of the outdoors. Yesterday Dan and I did another hike but this time we did the full trip to the top of the ridge above Palm Desert as we got an earlier start in cooler weather.

We had plans to go to brunch, but Terri was still working the coffee shop so before we picked her up Dan took me for a ride in his custom hot rod, which was a lot of fun. It was hand built by his father, and is so loud and fast we had to wear ear protection. It sure gets a lot of attention on the road.

After picking up Terri we headed to the Daily Grill in Palm Desert and had the best brunch I've had in a long time, then stopped at my Dad's favorite place in the area, Tommy Bahamas restaurant for a drink.

In the evening we went and saw Bryan Adams in concert at a local casino, and his show was great. I kind of forgot how prolific he was in writing hit songs and his music took me down memory lane.  Chalk up another great day!

Hiking and downtown Palm Springs

Yesterday was an active day again. Dan and I started with a long hike above Palm Desert. We got a later start than what we wanted so it was very hot outside. We could handle it, but we took Dan and Terri's two dogs with us and we were concerned about them overheating so we didn't make it quite to the top of the ridge, but we were close.

Afterwards, we picked up Terri and headed to downtown Palm Springs to attend the Palm Springs Oktoberfest, which was fun until the alcohol bureau of California showed up and shut down the beer gardens for some sort of violations that was never explained. We got a partial refund of our entry fee and headed to the Matchbox restaurant downtown.  Great place with a view of the main drag, and after some shopping we headed home and had a nice night by talking and reliving the day.

Tonight we're headed to the Bryan Adams concert at the Agua Caliente casino, and tomorrow Dan and I are going on a road trip to Las Vegas to pick up a drum kit from the drummer for ex - Journey singer Steve Perry.  I have just a few more days here, and am already getting a bit homesick to get back to Portland as I miss someone a bit Pulchy there.

Bikes, Beers, and Bands.. Day 2

What a great Friday we had in Palm Desert! Dan, Terri and I rode bicycles from their house in Bermuda Dunes into Palm Desert to one of their favorite Mexican restaurants, Armando's off El Paseo Drive.

One way is ten miles, so when we arrived we had worked up quite a thirst. Armando's is known for their great Margarita's and they didn't disappoint.  We hit a few other watering holes on the ride home, but the highlight was the full moon rising over the mountains so we stopped for some photos before arriving home.

Dan's friend Kevin, who owns a bike shop in LaQuinta, also has a great rock band that practices at the shop, so we decided to go watch them.  They were really really good, and whipped out great covers of songs from Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden to name a few.  We had a blast!

This morning Dan and I are going for an 8 mile hike on a steep, hot trail above Palm Desert, so we'll be sweating out yesterday's Margaritas and beer. Looking forward to another great day.

First day in the desert

My flight arrived 15 minutes early last night, and Dan was already at the Palm Springs airport waiting. The weather is perfect and at 6pm it was 81 degrees.

Terri had dinner already going when we arrived at Casa Spriggel and we popped open some wine and did a lot of laughing catching up as we have not seen each other since Europe in June.

I'm writing this blog update from their coffee shop in Bermuda Dunes, having a wonderful breakfast as Dan is scouring Craigslist to try and find drum kits for his Ebay business. Later we are going to ride bikes down El Paseo Blvd. in Palm Desert with the goal of reaching Armando's for Margaritas.  A few years back Dan and Terri bought me an old Beach cruiser bike from the 1950's that I keep down here. I'm excited to ride her, as although she rides like shit she looks very cool. 😏

October 2013 trip to see Dan and Terri

I decided to take a quick trip this month with frequent flier miles to see my dear friends Dan and Terri in the Palm Springs area. I haven't seen them since we all got back from Europe in June, so I am excited. We plan on doing a lot of bike riding and hiking and I'll try and post something every day. I am on my way to the airport now (Wednesday, October 17th) and I return on Tuesday, October 22nd.

The weather looks to be terrific, hitting around 90 degrees the entire time I am there.