A Gentle Landing in Palm Springs

Saguaro blossoms courtesy
of the photographer

Once I left San Antonio, my goal was to get to Palm Springs post haste without killing myself. On Saturday, I made it as far as Lordsburg, New Mexico - 764 miles. A long day made easier by 80 mph highway speeds in Texas and 75 mph most of the rest of the way. Sunday I completed the 538 mile drive to Palm Springs. I left Lordsburg at 8 am MDT, and pulled into Bob and Doug's in Palm Springs – to pick up the key to the apartment – at 3 pm PST.

Gas station cat

His pal

I took only a few pictures. I probably should have gotten at least a snapshot of the Saguaro cacti in bloom and the boulder formations at Texas Canyon, but I was in road mode not wander mode. I did get two cats when I stopped for gas that I'll post here and on Facebook. Pure pandering to the cat people there, but they were interesting looking cats.

Bob took me down to the apartment and helped me unload the car. After a brief orientation and the discovery that the router was fried, he left me to move piles of things around for awhile before joining him and Doug for dinner back at their house. Of course, the first thing I did was find a wireless network I could join temporarily and, hallelujah, I succeeded.

The living area with Mercury

Looking into the dining area and
the Chinese vase

I arranged bags and boxes around the apartment placing things in approximate locations and called my friend from Sarasota who had moved here in December. A brief provisioning trip to get breakfast stuff, a delicious home-cooked meal of grilled chicken and tobouleh prepared by Doug, and I crashed at 10 pm, road weary, well-fed, and pleased beyond measure at were I had landed.

 Today, I started unpacking, placing  the Chinese vase I rescued from a dumpster in Washington DC, and a bronze casting of Bologna's "Mercury" gifted to me by a dear friend, to personalize the place. I  continuously marveled at what a lovely environment Bob had created. I am most fortunate to have landed in such a place. Having landed, the next steps are settling in and taking care of move stuff.

My bedroom

I will continue to blog this transition into tabula rasa for my own benefit and for anyone else who is curious. Going through the aisles at Ralph's last evening getting a few things I realized that this move is a big deal for me personally. What that deal is is anybody's guess. I have moved to Lotus Land but I didn't come here to succumb to earthly pleasures. I think there are some valuable opportunities waiting to exercise balance in the near future.