Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Deserts of the World, and More

In anticipation of the rain we got at the end of this week, we tried to do our outdoor activities early in our Palm Springs stay.

We spent most of a day at the Living Desert in Palm Desert. Even spending 5 hours there, we could not cover everything. If we lived here, we'd certainly become members and visit often.

The Living Desert is a nature preserve on 1200 acres, 1080 acres of which are un disturbed Sonoran Desert. Its exhibits feature plants and animals from deserts all over the world. And, if this is not enough, it includes extensive nature trails, a small campground, a wildlife veterinary hospital, a carousel where you ride on endangered species carousel animals, aviaries, an enormous G-scale model railroad and so much more. For those who don't wish to walk the full area, there is a shuttle that makes frequent stops throughout.

The first "attraction" that captured our attention was the special exhibit. Birds of the Australian Outback. It's an interactive aviary exhibit in which very friendly parrots climb all over those who enter their tent. Not only do the parrots eat the millet seed food off the sticks we were given, they also explore your pockets, purses, bags and all else. Before leaving the tent, a docent checked us to make sure no bird has slipped into our clothing or bags.

After thoroughly amusing ourselves with these colorful parrots...notice how the ones on Jim seem to match the colors in his shirt?...we wandered through desert plants, the living Desert's nursery ( I managed to resist the temptation to purchase after considering that I'd have to keep my purchases alive for several weeks before I'd actually get them home.), the veterinary hospital, and the animal exhibits. The rest of this blog is more photos of our meandering.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Back in Palm Springs

It's that time of year, and we are back in Palm Springs.
While much of the country is facing another attack by the not-so-elusive Polar Vortex, here, the sun is shining and the daytime temperatures are in the 80's. I'm happy as can be.

As I headed out this morning to meet Rosie for coffee, I was delighted to find Marilyn still here. She was supposed to move on last Spring but the City fathers ( and mothers) have managed to keep her here on Palm Canyon Drive, at least until March 27. Then, she really has to move to Connecticut where the artist who created her is having a major show of his work. Hopefully, Marilyn will eventually make Palm Springs her permanent home. She really fits right in here oh so well.

We met at Koffi in The Corridor and even were lucky enough to find a place to sit outside on the lawn garden. Rosie caught us up on all Palm Springs news and we also discussed the menu for the Academy Awards party she is catering this coming Sunday.

Two wonderful hours later, we parted, until our next visit next week. I spent the afternoon at our pool.

Dinner tonight was at Thai Smile, one of our favorite spots. In the past year, Thai smile has moved to a much larger location at the corner of Indian Canyon and Tahquitz Canyon Drives, right in the center of town.

The food is as good as ever and , even at 6:30 on a Monday night, there was a line of people waiting for a table

We started with the Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls and then had Panang Curry with Shrimp and Pad See-Ew, a noodle dish made with wide rice noodles, broccoli, and egg in a sweet black bean sauce. We chose sliced pork for the meat ingredient. The noodle dish was new to us. Everything was delicious and we even came home with leftovers. In the many years that we've dined at Thai Smile, we always marvel at their well-prepared dishes that are made with the freshest of ingredients.

And, so ends our first full day in paradise.