This year I am able to continue to clear the back-log of much-postponed trips. I am not putting anything off. I just book the trip and don't worry about money or whether it's too much travel or whatever.
The reasons for the
backlog include unpredictable timing of contract work and tenant
change-overs and helping my dad when he was sick. I had not been able to book trips in
advance, which automatically precluded trips than need advance booking or planning. Now I am retired and dad passed away early last year, so I am free to do anything I want.
One of the events I have wanted to attend for many years is the Palm Springs Modernist Week in February every year. This trip and a few others recently have been surprisingly complex regarding logistics. You would think a trip to Palm Springs would be relatively easy.
Booking the Tours
The Palm Springs Modernist Week house tours and hotels book up in way in advance (by early October). I was away in Europe last October so I asked my friend to book the events and tours and we booked a hotel last summer already.
Using an Enhanced Drivers License (EDL)
I planned 3 other trips for the first 3 months of 2014 (Ethiopia, Palm Springs, New York) before I booked a trip to Asia in May. The I didn't realize at that time that I would be without my passport for several months while I was getting the visas for the Asia trip. You need a passport to fly to the US but you can cross overland using an Enhanced Drivers License (EDL). So I applied for that last summer (between other trips) so I'd have it in time for my Palm Springs and New York trips. And I had to book flights out of Seattle and take the shuttle bus from Vancouver to Seatac. See post on Visa Logistics.
Finally, February came and I crossed the border by QuickShuttle bus and checked in at Seatac. The EDL part went very smoothly. The bus driver used a hand held gizmo to read the chip on the EDL. The US border officials did same, as did security Seatac (Seattle International Airport). Getting back into Canada went equally well except there was no staff at the Canadian border to process us and the bus was full so we had to wait an hour. Left Seatac at 3 pm and arrived 12th & Granville in Vancouver at 9:30 pm.
Taking the Bus
Next time, I will consider driving and paying for parking, which must be cheaper as the round trip bus ticket was $96 CAD. The bus is slow, expensive, the WIFI doesn't work, and the timing of departures means you have to leave many hours before your flight (5 am for a flight at noon). I had to take a taxi to 12th and Granville and stand outside in the freezing rain for 30 minutes at 5 am and of course no coffee shops open there. You also cannot get off the bus at any point even while waiting at the border, which means still no coffee and no respite from the horrible washroom smells for 6 or more hours. Some of the bus drivers are just peculiar and some are just downright rude and unhelpful.
Packing
After Ethiopia, I have been travelling with carry-on only. See post on Packing.
Palm Springs is casual and it was fairly warm, so a selection of pants, shorts, tops, and a light jacket were all I needed. Keen walking shoes for hiking, Keen sandals for everything else. A hat.
The Hotel
The Budget
Estimate Actual
Booking the Tours
The Palm Springs Modernist Week house tours and hotels book up in way in advance (by early October). I was away in Europe last October so I asked my friend to book the events and tours and we booked a hotel last summer already.
Using an Enhanced Drivers License (EDL)
I planned 3 other trips for the first 3 months of 2014 (Ethiopia, Palm Springs, New York) before I booked a trip to Asia in May. The I didn't realize at that time that I would be without my passport for several months while I was getting the visas for the Asia trip. You need a passport to fly to the US but you can cross overland using an Enhanced Drivers License (EDL). So I applied for that last summer (between other trips) so I'd have it in time for my Palm Springs and New York trips. And I had to book flights out of Seattle and take the shuttle bus from Vancouver to Seatac. See post on Visa Logistics.
Finally, February came and I crossed the border by QuickShuttle bus and checked in at Seatac. The EDL part went very smoothly. The bus driver used a hand held gizmo to read the chip on the EDL. The US border officials did same, as did security Seatac (Seattle International Airport). Getting back into Canada went equally well except there was no staff at the Canadian border to process us and the bus was full so we had to wait an hour. Left Seatac at 3 pm and arrived 12th & Granville in Vancouver at 9:30 pm.
Taking the Bus
Next time, I will consider driving and paying for parking, which must be cheaper as the round trip bus ticket was $96 CAD. The bus is slow, expensive, the WIFI doesn't work, and the timing of departures means you have to leave many hours before your flight (5 am for a flight at noon). I had to take a taxi to 12th and Granville and stand outside in the freezing rain for 30 minutes at 5 am and of course no coffee shops open there. You also cannot get off the bus at any point even while waiting at the border, which means still no coffee and no respite from the horrible washroom smells for 6 or more hours. Some of the bus drivers are just peculiar and some are just downright rude and unhelpful.
Packing
After Ethiopia, I have been travelling with carry-on only. See post on Packing.
Palm Springs is casual and it was fairly warm, so a selection of pants, shorts, tops, and a light jacket were all I needed. Keen walking shoes for hiking, Keen sandals for everything else. A hat.
The Hotel
I met up with some friends who drove in from Green Valley, Arizona, where they own a retirement home. My friend booked a great hotel right in old Palm Springs. On the expensive side but I didn't have to rent a car as my friends had theirs.
The Old Ranch Inn was historic (50's) great, although I find those courtyard
hotels a bit claustrophobic. I can’t get any fresh air without opening the doors,
which is a privacy and a safety concern.
The location right off Palm Canyon Drive was perfect. The owners Larry and Ed are super friendly and helpful.
The Tours and Other Activities
The Tours and Other Activities
The modern house tours were fabulous, and well worth the trip.
The weather was quite hot but not too hot.
We went for dinner at some friends of my friends house in Palm Dessert, an all new, upscale, car oriented development. There is a market area called Old Palm Dessert which is about 8 years old --- you get the picture.
I am not positive, but I think Palm Springs is a desert
when it comes to food. The grocery
stores are big box, and produce is plastic.
The restaurants are nothing special either. But the atmosphere on Palm Canyon Drive is
lively and fun.
The atmosphere is very California (eccentric, ball cap, and lounge suit
class) as opposed to Arizona (staid retirees). Lots of gay guys of course,
which accounts for the liveliness and design aesthetic, plus the grey haired
crowd tottering around and going for the early bird special. The more staid and well-off retired golf crowd stay around Palm Dessert.
Other things we did:
- double decker bus tour (you get to look over the hedges and walls of the houses and vintage hotels). All the modernist buildings (banks, stores, movie star homes) were pointed out and architect, owner, and other history were provided. Great start to the week
- guided hike into Taquitz Canyon to the falls on native land. Nice change and interesting but heavily travelled trails. The hippies took it over a few years back but it's all reclaimed and all the junk has been removed
- Art Fair in the convention centre (lots of big names and expensive pieces, quite unexpected)
- Palm Springs art gallery - a gem, a must-do
- Annenberg Estate tour - 200 acres, golf course, Obama visited over the weekend. Loved the house modeled after Chitzen Itza, and the Mayan Fountain in the entry way. No palm trees, lots of olives, eucalyptus, and the like.
Estimate Actual
| Hotel 1130.64 USD - 6 nights | $1,130.64 | $1,267.65 |
| Airfare | $441.00 | $478.96 |
| Food & Misc. | $500.00 | $290.00 |
| Misc. - 2 gurglepots 86.40 US | $100.00 | |
| Taxi to & from 12th & Cambie | $36.00 | |
| Event Registration $315 US | $340.00 | $340.00 |
| Shuttle to & from Seatac | $100.00 | $94.00 |
| Total | $2,511.64 | $2,606.61 |
