Hot and Cold

Polar Vortex super freezing the northeast, rains and mudslides moving earth in the southwest, temperatures varying 50 degrees within one week, snow in Los Angeles!  The only thing to do with such a forecast is hide inside, Marie Kondo your closets, and watch murder documentaries on Netflix.  Instead of dreading opening the curtains each morning, let me take you back a few months, to the early weeks of December, while autumn slowly fades to a grey winter, to a city where the golden hour seems to last all day.  Though nightfall comes earlier each day, it does not signify the end but rather the start of some schedules.  A friend of mine wants to celebrate the start of her last year in her 20’s.  She says, “something different, something fun, but not Vegas again” and I have just the answer: Palm Springs.
The undeniable diversity of people and activities, the mild climate throughout the majority of the year, the clear blue skies against the desert mountains make this quaint Riverside County city perfect for a getaway.  This is not solely my opinion.  In the 50’s and 60’s, celebrities flocked to the area.  Desi Arnaz and Lucy build a grand hotel with a place for live music in the lobby and with some other famous names, built up a golf resort town with courses dotting the land.  Bob Hope keeps a very unique looking home in the hills, and Elvis and Priscilla established a Honeymoon home for themselves which is now a museum that is open for tours.  {pricey tours so i haven’t gone yet but it's on my list}  Aside from the Hollywood ties, Palm Springs offers many public art works, including the bronze Lucy bench statue in my blogger profile picture, a bronze statue of the late mayor of the city, Sonny Bono, metal works and Mid-century modern themed homes, hotels, and fountains, and downtown has its own Stars Walk of Fame.  This is the location of the first Star given to Adam West, a truly great actor who deserved more recognition for his life’s work.  {Recommended reading; Back to the Batcave}  Beyond the artificial beauty of the community, the Aerial Tramway into the San Jacinto Mountains is breathtaking, The Living Desert is an animal and botanical zoo that is educational and charming, and a short drive away is the historically controversial Salton Sea; once a romantic retreat, man-handled into a sulfur fish cemetery and the effects of its decline caused the surrounding city to jump ship, even just from the fumes.  
While my friend and I were lucky enough to catch a sunset Tramway up into the snowy mountains, {currently closed due to severe rains washing out the only access road to it} we spent a few days having a relaxing time amongst some of the friendliest people we ever met.  That is, until we went to Koffi, a local coffee chain of four locations within short mileage of each other.  The location we chose had an onsite roastery and the area that held the readied beans was in open view to the public.  It made for an interesting take on the store decor that was not out of place but didn’t mesh seamlessly with the piles of branded merchandise they were trying to hock on the counters and it added no warmth as I’ve experienced in other homebrewed shops.  The people in line were pushy, which was off for a late weekday morning, and if you didn’t know your order immediately, there was an audible sigh from seemingly everyone in the building.  I ordered a mildly roasted house drip coffee and my friend ordered a matcha latte.  We tried to sit outside but decided to continue to explore the city so I went back in and had to ask for a lid for my drink.  Not having a full coffee station irked me, as lids are usually right along with the stirrers, napkins, and sugar.  It was like pulling teeth from the cold staff and I could feel the inconvenience I was placing on the customers in line.  Finally heading toward a large charity shop run by the local hospital volunteer staff {all sweet elderly people}, I took a sip of my coffee; lukewarm and bitter, like the aura from where it was purchased.  My friend’s latte; not even a latte.  Just matcha powder and water.  We had enjoyed thrift shopping, bar hopping, scenery, delicious food, and waited until our last day in the area to try this place we passed many times during our adventures.  We didn’t let this one stop ruin our time.  There was free coffee at our hotel that we took advantage of.  At the top of the of the Tramway tour, is a large building and museum before you exit to the other side into the mountains for snowy trails and gorgeous forestry.  Inside said building is a walk up cafe, an evening view-filled restaurant, and a bar.  At the bar I’d had a hot Irish coffee to combat the snow surrounding us and let that keep as my memory of good coffee while in the desert.  
There is so much to see and do in Palm Springs that I could go on and on sounding like the head of tourism.  If you find yourself headed there, Frank in Bun on the main drag has hands down the best spicy vegan chili I’ve ever inhaled.  There are bars and clubs for every theme, including one karaoke joint that has a square shaped bar so everyone can admire the main attraction; a giant chandelier {they also offered free pizza from the shop down the street}.  I can’t help but gush about the kitch and welcoming nature of the Palm Desert and its people which is why I found myself so disappointed with Koffi.  I do wonder if a different location would treat the patrons as miserable as the current pre-spring weather is acting.  I will return to Palm Springs again soon but I will have to do some research to find some great coffee while there.  {Maybe I should try the coffee at Toucans.}

The base of the tram.  After 5pm, tickets to ride up are deeply discounted.

Fall colors going up the gondola.  This system rotates for full views of the city or the drastic weather patterns as you climb in elevation.

Snow was everywhere at the top.

Palm Springs at dusk.

The dark curved inlet at the bottom right of this photo is the Salton Sea. Limitless views.

An excellent cup of "coffee".

The chandelier at this bar is decorated for all holidays.  Mirrors on the walls give the small square foot of the building an overwhelming presence.  

Another karaoke bar, themed to a 50's diner with vinyl records pasted from floor to ceiling.

Cabazon art at at cash only games bar, with pool and darts, and a bartender with a story for every tattoo that covered his large frame.

This was my favorite thing to see in all the charity shops we stopped in.  They even sold supplies for pets like birdcages and small carpet squares of all colors and textures.