This blog entry comes from Caron, sharing her tales of a recent trip to the Palm Springs area...
__________________________________________________
Meeting my sisters in Palm Springs this weekend to share good food, sunny weather and vintage furniture shopping provided a much needed creative boost of energy! Driving the back roads into Palm Springs along Route 66, with my oldest sister (from Stevensville, MT), we happened upon the amazingly preserved 1950’s Roy’s Motel & Café.
It’s been 15 years or so since I’ve been to Palm Springs and probably longer since I’ve driven from Las Vegas to Palm Springs. In that time, I guess I forgot about the ghost town of Amboy and Roy’s. It was a nice surprise to round the curve on this stretch of road and come face to face with such a lovely example of 1950’s architecture.
Before reaching Roy’s, and after turning off of Rt. 66 to Highway 40, there is an interesting view of an ancient volcano – the Amboy Crater. One can see from the highway that the lava flow is quite large! I “googled” the volcano to find out that the lava flow covered 43 square miles.
In the same area, further south on Highway 40, we came upon large expanses of dirt cones and a white substance on top of some of the flat dirt areas – miles of the stuff. I “googled” again to find out those are chloride harvesting fields.
Coming into Palm Springs, we were overwhelmed by the windmill fields – massive structures and many that were, the day we drove in, harnessing lots of wind.
Once through Palm Springs, we found our way to Palm Desert where we were staying – these desert towns have certainly grown since I last visited! That evening we located the Palm Springs Convention Center where my sister was a conference attendee for the weekend. I attended the opening ceremony of the conference with my sister and heard an amazing speaker, Freddy Silva, who spoke about sacred sites and ancient cultures. The Convention Center is an interesting building, devoid of color in my opinion, but two blocks from the downtown core where plenty of people and activities were taking place late into the evening.
Saturday morning, my younger sister, niece and her friend arrived from Los Angeles. They were excited to visit the Cabazon outlet mall. I had shopped Cabazon 15 years ago and that afternoon witnessed that the outdoor mall has probably tripled in size since my last visit. Even in the rain and cold it was a great day of shopping.
Sunday, mid-morning, we found a Belgian sidewalk bistro and ate fish, mussels, beer and bread all the while being serenaded by an accordion player. Walking out to tip the accordion player, my younger sister ran into her husband’s longtime friend from Chicago! From there, we made our way in the downtown area through about eight vintage furniture shops along N. Palm Canyon Dr. Truly the source of good vintage furniture, jewelry and art, there is a huge selection of every style and price range. I ran across a 1965 Eero Saarinen chair, in almost perfect condition, that I’ll be keeping my eye on and I’ll reveal the store only after I buy the chair! Vintage stores to check out are listed in www.paulkaplanrealtor.com/MidCenturyModernFurniture.
What we didn’t know about this weekend, that we will definitely plan for next year, is Modernism Week. The event was sold out and as I understand, is filled with tours, speakers, screenings, receptions and food. Check out the 2011 line-up: www.modernismweek.com.
We finished our vacation at a wonderful French restaurant, Le Vallauris (www.levallauris.com), 385 West Tahquitz Canyon Way with our Chicago friend. The service was impeccable, the food was glorious and the California Syrah (Lyrique, Santa Barbara) was incredible. Situated in a historic landmark, just off the beaten path, we took our time and felt right at home in the dining area.
It was a joy to spend this time with family and friends. Mixing in a bit of design and history (both recent and ancient) made for an intriguing vacation. I won’t be a stranger to Palm Springs anymore – and I’m certainly going to figure out how to buy that chair!
... i suspect we were just one bottle of wine short of ownership of an authentic "womb chair".... LOL I fully expected to find the chair in the back of my truck when Caron asked me, "will you grab my bags outta the truck for me?" I think it would look good next to the corrugated metal in our living room!... back to P.S.?
ReplyDeleteIt was a great weekend and can't wait for a repeat!! I hope to soon hear that the chair has found its way into your LR in LV, it is a beauty. What was even more beautiful however was spending some wonderful time together in the sun, in the water, in the food, and in the treasure hunting.
ReplyDeleteLOL,
Shirley