Los Angeles (final episode)

Still not Los Angeles, but in fact, the desert.

I am staying at the Renaissance Esmerelda, which is a fairly high end resort hotel, with all of the requisite facilities, but yesterday I had a meeting at the Riviera in Palm Springs, which is a 400+ unit, nine building resort which is not quite as upscale. In fact, it seems to serve primarily union meetings and members. There is certainly nothing wrong with it, but it seems more functional than luxurious.

One thing about it is fascinating, however. On one of its long hallways, there are blown up photographs from this area in the late nineteenth century. The current Highway 111 (the main drag) as a dirt trail in the wilderness, photos of Coachilla Indians, early settlers, and the first buildings built by white men. Shows you what 125 years can do to a place.

I had dinner last night with about 25 of my closest friends at a restaurant in Palm Springs called Coply's. It was very good. I had sea bass, which was excellent and in fat much better than sea bass I usually am served (which I don't like that much). The person on my right had a N.Y. strip steak and we did a little trading. The steak was good, but I would go for the sea bass any day.

Today, I spent most of the day at Joshua Tree National Monument with a friend. Almost 600,000 acres, about an hour or so from here. To get from one entrance to the other takes about 1 1/2 hours, and runs about 45 miles or so. High desert, cacti, interesting plant life generally, and a tremendous variety of rock formations -- large rocks piled on one another, small rocks piled on one another to form hills or mini-mounts, large one rock hills, horizontal formations, vertical formations. Oh, to understand them.

I also learned that, at age 62, you can get (for ten dollars) a lifetime free pass to all national parks and monuments. So, I got me one.

Lunch at the Country Kitchen, a tiny restaurant, which made extraordinary omelets, located in the small, impoverished town of Joshua Tree, and a ride back to the city. The entire venture took just under five hours.

Dinner in Palm Desert at a restaurant (picked off the street) where we were lucky enough to get bar table seats. Like most good restaurants here, it gets fully reserved pretty fast. I had a baby green salad, with a honey mustard dressing that was perhaps a tad too strong, followed by probably the best lamb chops I have ever had. Apparently, they were marinated in tangerine juice if I understood the owner/chef correctly as we left.

Tomorrow morning, it's off to the airport, a short hop to Phoenix, and then home again, home again jiggedy jig.