Palm Springs

It ain't necessarily so, it ain't necessarily so.
De t'ings dat yo' li'ble to read in de Bible,
it ain't necessarily so.
George & Ira Gershwin 1935

I found Palm Springs to be a total enigma.
Superficially, I loved it but would I want to live there?
Not on your Nelly.

It is so artificial that it's difficult to know if there really is a real Palm Springs. Not that it matters anyway.
You get out of it what you want and if you don't find what you want, you move on. Just like anyplace else.

What I loved about it was the constant views.
Palm Springs is part of a large conurbation in the Coachella valley, hemmed in on all sides by mountains. There doesn't seem to be much more room for expansion as some of the houses are built right up against these massifs.
Every road we drove along was wide and lined with Palm trees and I'm talking TALL palms. Added to this was the magnificent backdrop of the mountains in every direction you faced and it was awesome.
And it's all so green.
Constant watering and judicious amounts of chemical additives are responsible, I guess but it's very impressive, nonetheless.
Most days, the clouds were very few and the sky a beautiful blue which added to the backdrop.
Harvey & I went for a climb up a trail behind the PS Art Museum. It was pretty treacherous going, especially for Harvey as he only had boat shoes on with no tread.
The surface was loose stones and dirt and all up a pretty steep gradient. It was a long drop if you lost your footing.
We didn't make it to the top at 1400 feet but we got well past halfway and the views were pretty terrific.
Due to the wonders of the digital age, I was able to speak to Val at the bottom on my cell phone and direct her gaze to where we were standing on our way down.
She was then able to take a photo of us up there. Pretty cool, huh?
(BTW Whilst Harvey & I were risking life and limb, Val & Sheila were hitting the High Street. After that, they went into the museum and talked to the lady in reception whose sister owns and runs Corkers wine bar on Poole Quay! Funny old world.)

Once you moved away from the urban area, you could see what it would look like if all the watering stopped.
I hope they manage to keep it as it is however. It really is an awe inspiring sight.

So. What was there against it.
The population seemed totally unbalanced.
Everywhere we went, there were old people. Everywhere.
Whilst some of my best friends could be termed old and I'm heading that way, to see nothing but old folks was strange.
It was as if there was some local ordinance, banning anyone under the age of 60 from the streets between 10am & 8pm.
The worst effect was a lack of vibrancy in the town. It just felt sanitised, sterile & flat.
As is my wont, I visited the local barbershop chorus and it was pretty dire. They sang badly and I'm sure they must have realised it. If they didn't, their CD surely must have done but he just smiled and let it go. There was just a total lack of passion & vibrancy which typified the whole city.

We like Mimi's restaurants and went to the one in Palm Desert for a meal one night.
Normally these are great family restaurants and are frequented by, er................... families. Who else?
Not in Palm Desert. We were the youngest patrons and the place was packed but dead. I've felt more atmosphere in a dentists waiting room.

So that's it.
My unbiased views of Palm Springs.
My one regret was that for the first time in an age, I fancied a game of golf and didn't get to play. Palm Springs is renowned for it's golf and we saw some very inviting courses but there was no way we could fit it into our schedule. I'll just have to wait 'til next time. Not!

One feature we spotted on our way out was the Wind Farms. I've never seen so many wind turbines. I know there is a lot of resistance about them at home but personally, I find them very elegant and not an eyesore in the slightest.

Windmill or carbon?
I'll take the former any time.

Whilst it may not be my cup of tea, Palm Springs sure as hell knocks the spots off Eastbourne & St. Leonards, it's English counterparts.