Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 by admin.

Today we celebrate Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. I probably should have eaten some Mexican food today but I’ll do that later in the week.

I’m taking a much need vacation here is beautiful Palm Springs, California. Before I made the trek across the desert the most interesting thing about Palm Springs to me was that Cary Grant used to live here. Now I see the appeal of this little jewel in the desert. It’s nice. The weather is great; just the right mix of high desert temps and humidity for my liking. Nevada’s weather is awesome but it’s too dry for me and I have to sleep with a humidifier on just to breathe! Don’t get me wrong; I won’t be planning a move to the land of wind-powered turbines anytime soon. I may be more inclined to visit again in the future though. I thought this was a one-time shot but perhaps I was mistaken.

I also didn’t plan to do much site seeing here. I caved and decided to check out the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to Mt. San Jacinto. The trams were, um, interesting. They installed new revolving platform trams in the early 2000s. It’s like riding a high-speed Space Needle up a mountain. It got a little hairy every time we went over one of the towers; the trams tend to sway “a bit” the conductor told us. I was holding on to the handrails for dear life a couple of times. You get used to it. By the time you take the tram down you’re a pro. People were even cheering! Not me, but, you know, other people were cheering. I’m just glad the tram didn’t take a header down the mountain and shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. Seriously, it’s safe. You should watch the video at the Mountain Station if you visit.

	Here’s one of the trams. I left the Valley Station and parking lot in the left of the picture for perspective.
	Aerial view of Palm Springs from the Mountain Station.

I got there just before 1 p.m. and didn’t take a tram out until 4:30! I loved it up there. I took a hike down to Long Valley and wandered around. I sat by a stream and watched the California Ground Squirrels play, listened to the wind in the trees and smelled that lovely pine scent.

	A meadow in Long Valley. Tranquility defined…
	One of the California Ground Squirrels that were hanging around the stream. This little guy was kind enough to pose for me sitting on a log.

It was like heaven on earth. There was still some snow in places and the temperature is usually about 30 degrees cooler up there.

	Just a little bit of snow left on Mt. San Jacinto.
	Here is a photo of me on one of the outlooks. It was really windy =]. An older gentleman that looked like shorter version of my step-dad took this photo. He was keeping up with the youngins!

On a totally separate note, TVbytheNumbers.com got the official word that “Life” has been canceled. Bummer! No word on “Chuck” yet. I am waiting with baited breath on that one. The season finale was so awesome! I know it was cheesy, but I LOVED it when Casey said, “Chuck me.” You’d know what I mean if you saw it.

That’s all for tonight folks. “Reaper” and “Fringe” are on tonight!

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