the ocean

We took a big leap and went to Palm Springs for Ian’s birthday. We actually planned it months ago, but we weren’t sure if we were actually going to be vaccinated and able to go. As it turned out, America got its shit together and not only were we vaccinated (with laminated cards no less!), but a dozen of Ian’s friends had also been inoculated into an unexpected love of Microsoft products. So we were able to spend five days in sunny, 90 degree weather (but it’s a dry heat), lounging by a pool and discovering the endless array of alcoholic seltzers. 

It was a bit weird doing so much after doing so little for so long, but it was fun. The house we rented was roughly a million times nicer than our real house, so we got to sleep in an Alaskan King and choose between a giant rainforest shower and a sheltered outdoor soaking tub. It even had a vintage airstream trailer out back, which was super cute but frankly a bathroom nightmare, so no one opted to sleep there. Oh, and a pool house! So very OC.

We spent most of our time outdoors, to make the CDC happy. We took a tram up the mountain, which was so terrifying there was a middle aged woman gently weeping next to us for the duration of the trip, and hiked through the woods up there. And by hiked, I mean we took a bunch of pictures, realized we were wearing deeply inadequate shoes, and headed back to the tram. We also went to some of the Desert X installations, tapping into America’s love affair with expensive and inscrutable public art. The art was a commentary on modern society, if you can believe it.

We even had dinner at a restaurant (outside) one night, for which we were badly unprepared. There was mass consumption of red wine and related sobbing, an intensely awkward bathroom line experience, the ordering of steak diane, and even the specter of a murder mystery. So yeah, America is back, baby. And better than ever?