I’m happy to say that today, I approached a Phil Connors level of perfection in everything that I did. The day didn’t start out very promising with only a half day of work scheduled (out of town) and not the slightest inkling of a plan for the afternoon or evening.
As it turned out, the half day of teaching was extended to the full day, the afternoon was perfect weather for both raking and mowing the lawn, then I had time to make myself an upgraded frozen pizza (one must add red peppers, spinach, and onions in order to bring plain pepperoni freezer pizza to acceptable levels) to jam out on my new guitar, watch the daily show and even eating some chips and salsa. After cleaning up supper like someone with OCD, I roused my roommate Justin from his long afternoon nap and we went to the university climbing wall and pool. Now that I’m back and laying comfortably in my nice, warm bed, my arms are quite tired and my eyelids dropping but I feel great. Aside from the arduous trouncing by the elephant in the room, it’s amazing all the positives that can come from a little adversity.
This week the world was introduced to iPhone 6. Last week I had my credit card number compromised which meant I wouldn’t have to stay up all night to order a phone that won’t even ship to me until October. I did, however, get a new card in the mail yesterday and the phone which I have been anxiously holding off through three generations of iPhones (four if you count the 5c) will finally be on it’s way in just another week. The photos I’m going to take are going to be amazing… I can’t wait.
Some might argue that spending so much money on a new Apple device would actually be much better spent on buying Apple stock. The $500USD that was spent on my first ipod (the iPod Photo 40gb) would have been a better investment in Apple stock considering that same $500 would now be worth $12470. While I really loved my iPod, it wasn’t worth $12.5K.
So this time around, I decided to have my cake and eat it too. I invested in the spring and so far I’ve made enough to pay for my iPhone just out of earnings. The tough part is deciding to pull my money out now or to let it ride for the long haul. This little chart, What if I had bought Apple stock instead? would suggest I should let it ride.
Of all the wonderful things we did on this vacation, our hike into Deep Creek Hot Springs will probably remain the most memorable. The drive from Palm Springs presented some spectacular views! (Unfortunately the photos don’t do it justice).
We began our journey with the GPS pre-programmed to take us to the Kinley Creek Bridge. That may not have been the best idea because, while we wanted to get to the bridge, we didn’t need to wind through so many residential roads when sticking to Grass Valley Road would have been a better route.
Located along the Mojave River, (sometimes called Deep Creek) the hot springs welcome people of any size, age, and colour. Speaking of colour, I think we (especially me) got a bit too much sun exposure this day!
Unfortunately for us, our sun screen was not as full as we thought and by the end of the day, the sun had burned my back into a splotchy mess of red and white. (I’ll be the first to admit that trying to apply sunscreen to your own back is a rookie mistake).
Though some sources say it’s about 40 minutes to an hour to reach the end of the Bradford Ridge trail, we took our time checking out the wildlife and photographing flowers and I felt myself getting a little frustrated as we broke the two hour mark, but it just made the reward all the sweeter when we were finally able to soak in the hot springs.
Some cactus flowers we passed along the wayOur arrival at the river bottom
We waded across the river (unnecessarily, it turns out) and soon found ourselves bounding from pool to pool testing our stamina against each of the various springs’ temperatures. The waters within the four(?) pools varied between 39c to 47c (102f to 117f). The river itself, unless swimming near a hot springs outlet, was quite brisk.
Our group soon expanded from the two of us to about 12 sitting and chatting in The Womb and the pools below it. Although many (most?) of the folks decided to go au-naturel, the people we met were lovely, happy folks, mostly from the area and we spent a long time getting to know one another. A bit of a motley crew, they included a very sun worn dude with two dogs (though he claims only one dog is his own), a cute set of twins from L.A. (celebrating their 25th birthday, it was their first time at the springs and also first time skinny dipping), a couple of local regulars, and another young couple who were also here for the first time.
A little grey bird caught our attention as it fed its young in the nest attached to the walls near the shower below the Anniversary Pool. We didn’t even notice the nest until the parent showed up with some food and the little chicks chirped their tiny little beaks off. So cute to see nature happening right before our eyes.
The fellow with the dogs showed off his slack line skills crossing the river with ease and later he began filling sandbags (long ones that he brought himself) and placing them below the hot spring run-off. It’s anyone’s guess how long it will last but one of the twins suggested they call it the Goldilocks Pool because, the spring water mixed with the river water created a mixture not too hot, not too cold, but just right.
We loved every second of the river and the springs (and the company) but the setting sun pressured us to get going. After all, we felt that our hike back on the Bradford Ridge Trail would be considerably more frightening in the dark. We opted for a different, less steep route, and it made us worry we’d lost the trail but we soon found it again and made haste to get back to Palm Springs.
The wild west has left its mark on California and we enjoyed a taste of it this morning. We rode up to Oak Glen for breakfast at Apple Annie’s Restaurant and Bakery. As you can probably tell by the pies in the photo, at Apple Annie’s they do NOT skimp on pie filling. Also they guarantee their breakfasts will fill you up or the second helping is on the house — I couldn’t take advantage though, the first plate of bacon and egg skillet was enormous! (and delicious).
The atmosphere at Apple Annie’s alone makes the drive well worth it. The walls are plastered with photos of “The Duke” and even the waitresses play the part by packing heat. You’ll find six-shooters conveniently located in little frames on the walls, I suppose, in case gun-play happens to break out and you’re not strapped up.
Next, we did a little bit of shopping in the nearby shops at Idyllwild. The most interesting one to me was Mountain Mike’s.
If you ever go to this shop, inside you’ll find the pleasantly nostalgic aroma of leather and Mike himself, a friendly and extremely bearded fellow, busily measuring and cutting leather for whatever custom project he happens to be working on.
Mountain Mike
He seemed to be, true to the store’s name, a genuine mountain man. Above his head I notice a very old looking rifle and sword — he explained that the rifle and sabre were the ones his great-great grandfather carried in the American Civil War. Not for sale, but nonetheless quite something to see.
Mountain Mike’s Great Great Grandfather’s Civil War Era Rifle and Sabre
After we had shopped ’til we dropped, we drove back on the scenic route to Palm Springs. Most of the trees and shrubs are sprouting leaves again after the terrible fire that ripped through the area last year.
We made a quick stop at a scenic pull-out and the panoramic photo below shows the winding road into the Coachella Valley. (Worth clicking for the large version).
It has been another great day in southern California.
Day two at Disneyland. Because we hit the park hard yesterday we felt it in our legs today. That didn’t hamper our spirits though and we strolled over to the park after a couple of continental breakfast pastries. I was thinking about an early morning dip in the hotel pool but it doesn’t open until 9am pretty much guaranteeing any serious ride goer like myself won’t be taking advantage of their facilities.
Hollywoodland
Today was a chance to catch-up on rides and attractions that we missed on day one. We were not disappointed! Rides we went on today included:
On our third day in California, we rose bright and early to hit the road pretty much exactly when the rest of Calfornia was on their way to work. While I knew that it was going to be a driving adventure, navigating that many lanes (at times as many as 8 going our direction) was something I hadn’t totally expected. Luckily we arrived without incident.
Plenty of traffic.
Once in the park, the secret to getting the biggest return on investment is knowing which rides are worth waiting in line and which are better to get a Fastpass. The newish Radiator Springs Racers Cars is a very popular attraction, so first things first, we found the Fastpass station and got hooked up! The thing about Fastpasses is that you’re only supposed to be able to get one at a time, however, we raced over to the line for Fastpasses to the World of Color because I had read that it isn’t on the same system as the other Fastpasses and, just like that, we were already working the park like pros!
Grizzly River RunAscending Grizzly Peak
Having secured our afternoon and evening at Disney’s California Adventure, it was time for our first ride and since we were standing next to the 110-foot Grizzly Peak, it was an obvious choice. Our first ride would be Grizzly River Run, the white-water rafting adventure at the mountain’s base.
Being early in the day, and a bit cool still, meant that we wouldn’t be waiting in line for very long. After a mere 10 minutes we found our selves strapped into the giant rubber rafting tube, slowing ascending the rickety conveyor belt, wondering who would get soaked first.
I came away from the ride only a little wet, Andrea got it worse than me, but one of the other guys on our raft was almost completely soaked. It was a lot of fun.
The rest of the day was great too. Next we popped over to Disneyland and discovered we could hold Fastpasses for one of the attractions in this park at the same time as we held them for DCA. We made some great memories as we hit up:
The Jungle Cruise
The Pirates of the Caribbean
The Haunted Mansion and
Splash Mountain
Bengal Tiger from The Jungle Cruise
The Pirates of the Carribean
Splash Mountain
The Haunted Mansion
Then it was back to DCA for our chance to race one of the cars from Cars.
Cars from Radiator Springs Racers zoom by in the background.
Probably my favorite ride of the day was California Screamin. Here’s the video.
The last ride of the night was Space Mountain and then it was a well deserved rest back at the hotel so we can do it all over again tomorrow.
The power went out earlier today. Six hours later, the neighborhood is still very dark. I hope it comes back on in the middle of the night and gives my toys iPhone and iPad their well needed overnight charge.
Q “And after you held me down, I asked you, ‘Why did you do that?’ And then, what did you say?”
A “I did not hold you down and I believe I apologized if I might have because, if I did, which I firmly believe I did not, it was completely unintentional.”
