Cool Palm Springs with friends

I didn't think the end of June was the most appropriate time to visit Palm Springs, CA, but during our last weekend in L.A we stayed with my childhood friend Perlita in Lake Elsinore, CA. A few weeks back she had invited us to visit Palm Springs and this sounded like a good idea at the time. Being in the middle of the desert, about 200 miles from the California coastline, the temperature was definitely going to be a factor. It was expected to be around 105F during the day so we were embracing for that. On our way there, we arranged to pick up our old-time friends Edwin and Alma who live near Temecula, CA. I was happy that Edwin offered to drive as this would mean less exposure to the CA Highway Patrol and thus more chances that I would be successful at not getting another ticket. A couple of interesting things along the way were the very large outlet mall right off Interstate 10, where we "had to stop" to enjoy the 100F air, and the other one was the sight of a huge windmill field right by the highway and in between the San Bernardino and the San Jacinto Mountains. I'm not sure how much electricity is being made in those fields, but it was certainly impressive to see the tall towers with their huge blades lazily moving with the wind. If Don Quijote had seen these he would have thought he was dead and gone to heaven for sure.

The highlight of our Palm Springs visit was going up on the tramway. As we went up the mountain, we felt the same effect as moving towards the coast in any California city. The temperature and vegetation changed from the 105F at the base of the mountain in Palm Springs, to a pleasant 75F at the top of the mountain. My fears of burning up the whole day in Palms Springs were subsided when we reached the top of San Jacinto at more than 8,000 ft above sea level. Once there we were able to hang out to talk about the old days at the same time that we enjoyed the views and lunch at a nice restaurant on top of the mountain.

The summer is here and with it, the travel season for those associated with schools. So, I'm looking forward to spending a few days at home before our next outing.