HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

The last several days were spent in Palm Springs celebrating twenty years of unwedded bliss with my handsome sweetie! It was a lot of fun to finally go somewhere after the pandemic. We had a great time - except for the hours of crazy ass traffic jams going and returning. Travel is alive and well in California.

 

Our upgraded deluxe room with its own hot tub at the Best Western Las Brisas Hotel in Palm Springs, California.

The pool area at the Las Brisas Hotel. I've stayed here twice many years ago and it is a great little hotel with a real tropical feel to it. I highly recommend it!

The Las Brisas is only one block from the center of downtown Palm Springs.

The path outside our door that leads to the pool. There are fountains, palm trees and lush greenery everywhere on the grounds.

The bougainvillea are super tall and add loads of color to the surroundings.

The front of the Las Brisas Hotel on Indian Canyon Drive.

Lou found a 4 mile walking tour of old celebrity homes from back in the 1940s, 50s and 60s in Palm Springs' heyday when it was a playground for the rich and famous. Given my neuropathy and the 107 degree weather, we made it a driving tour.

Most of the homes are behind gates or secluded from view. This is a home built in 1949 for department store magnate, Edgar Kaufman. The Kaufmans also commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design his most famous home, Fallingwater, in Pennsylvania. Barry Manilow was a later owner of this house.

Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent the first year of their marriage (1966-1967) in this Modernist home of the future.

Bob Hope and his wife, Delores, resided in this home for many years. I was surprised that all of these homes had the feel of tract homes. Although they are large and cost a pretty penny back in the day, they seemed to be in regular ungated neighborhoods. This home had a solid, high wall making my 6'3" guy handy in taking the photo over the fence.

 

Cary Grant's estate, Las Palomas, has fallen into disarray as have many of these homes. It was totally renovated in 2009 but the mailbox is supposed to be a replica of the former house. It was kind of sad how rundown many of these former showplaces have become.

As we drove through the still upscale neighborhoods a few of the homes caught my eye. I loved the intricate door and the touch of desert neon lighting above the entryway.

I was intrigued the colorful stone wall and the crystals in this desert landscaping. We wished we could have seen the insides of some of these eclectic homes.

As I usually do, I had to sneak in a few photos of some local flowers. Plus that afternoon we relaxed by and in the pool with a couple of cool tropical drinks.

These bright orange and yellow flowers were everywhere.

This cactus is one of the few we saw blooming.

Me enjoying my Pina Colada and Lou sipping his Banana Daquiri.

We've always been a little strange in that we enjoy exploring cemeteries and finding the graves of famous people. We've done this all over the world from Jim Morrison's grave site in Paris to Jimi Hendrix' final resting place in Seattle. Our 20th anniversary wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Desert Memorial Park Cemetery in Cathedral City.

Always being a Sonny and Cher fan, I enjoyed seeing the former mayor of Palm Springs, Sonny Bono's, grave marker. I liked "AND THE BEAT GOES ON" caption.

We hunted down the location of Frank Sinatra's grave, too. I didn't realize that both of them died in the same year, 1998. 

That evening we found a wonderful restaurant, "Sammy G's Tuscan Grill", in the heart of downtown and feasted on some fantastic food. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great meal.

 

Enjoying our 20th Anniversary dinner at "Sammy G's Tuscan Grill".

Palm Canyon Drive in the heart of downtown Palm Springs.

With a little time to kill the next morning we headed to the Palm Springs Art Museum. It was our second visit to the museum and it has changed drastically since 2012.

The Palm Springs Museum.

The outdoor art wasn't there in 2012. This one kind of reminded me of "Cadillac Ranch" on our Route 66 trip. There are several cadillacs imbedded in a field in Texas where anyone can add to the spray painted graffiti. Google "Route 66 Cadillac Ranch" for a look.

There has been a lot of controversy over this 26 foot statue of Marilyn Monroe with her dress blowing up from the movie "Bus Stop". I think I'm more with the get rid of it side as it's too sexually suggestive and demeaning for my tastes in this day and age.

This museum focused more on modern art. Some of it is okay but when it comes to this one - I just don't get it. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

This huge stack of plastic bowls seemed to rotate as you walked around it. Interesting, but not my cup of tea (or bowl of cereal) as far as art goes. Give me a great impressionist!

Back in 2012 we had planned to ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up San Jacinto Peak but high winds cancelled the trips. This was one of Lou's primary things to do on this trip (along with celebrating!) and we finally made it up the mountain.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was built in September 1963. It is the largest rotating tram car in the world. Only the floor rotates giving each guest a 360 degree view.

The Valley Station from the tram as we begin our assent to Mountain Station at 8516 feet up San Jacinto Peak.

View of Palm Springs from Mountain Station.

It was a cool 60-something degrees up the mountain - a nice change from the 107 degrees in Palm Springs. We lucked out missing the record 123 degree heat the week prior and the forecast 115 temperature this weekend.

This time Lou was a happy camper at the top since 11 years ago the wind thwarted our ride up San Jacinto Peak.

Lou headed out on a hike while I camped out at a table by the windows with a $10.87 glass of Coachella Valley Brewing Company Citrus Hefeweizen. Oh, well, guess it costs a lot to haul the kegs up the mountain.