The drive-through...

Another warm day in the desert; 86º.  Not much wind, but you do feel the heat out on the scoots, especially while waiting for the stoplights to change.

Izzy slept in...

Well, she went back to sleep, after standing on my testicles to get me up this morning.  She has figured out that this is more effective than just meowing.  So, after she ate, she went back to sleep.  If she had testicles, I would stand on them.  Yes, I am kidding... she is a girl, so, that really wouldn't be an issue.

She got a nice walk in this morning, after her "post breakfast nap."  In the meantime, Joan and I started planning a scooter outing.  The park we are in is out in the boonies - it is going to be a bit of a ride to get to anywhere.  Joan wanted to get some produce, and her favorite store for that is Sprouts... the nearest Sprouts is 28 miles away.  I just wanted to ride, so that works for me.  Staying off the Interstate, we headed east on the road about a mile from our park.  I didn't get a photo, but this is the desert - there isn't anything out here, but sand, rocks, scrub brush, and hills.

Coming out of the barren stuff, we rode into Palm Desert.  Civilization.  Choices for where to have lunch.  My first two suggestions were vetoed as we hunted for Sprouts.  We stopped to check the map to make sure we hadn't passed Sprouts, and across the street: In & Out Burger and 5 Guys.  We decided to go for the local favorite and headed for In & Out.

It was obviously a brand new location... and popular.  The parking lot was packed.  Our timing was good, though: I stood in the short line to order while Joan went to get us a table.  By the time I ordered and got drinks, I saw that Joan had invited two ladies (Mother and daughter) to share the 4 place table.  (Did I mention the place was packed?)  Nice folks from Washington state, who also have a house here, to get away from the Washington winters.  Yeah, I get that.

The burgers were typical In & Out good, and the staff there was moving people through better than Disney World.  When we were ready to go, we gave our table to a friendly looking couple who also had that "Where are we going to sit?" look about them.

Out to the scoots, I took this photo...

You might think that is a photo of Joan with the scoots... and it is.  That car behind her (in the drive through line) is a brand new Bentley Continental GT convertible.  About $200k.  "You kids in the back seat be careful with that ketchup!"  ;-)  I don't know why I thought a Bentley in the drive through seemed out of place... rich folks gotta eat, too.

That is one other thing I remember about this area: some pretty impressive automobiles.  I think I saw more Porsche Cayennes today than our two weeks in San Diego.  And that was spending a lot of time on Coronado Island.  Jaguars?  Yes, those are cute.  Lexus?  Yeah, they're everywhere.  But, you really have to up your game here.  I felt right at home on our PCX scoots (often considered the Bentley of 150cc scooters... by only me).  We had no problem keeping up with (and ahead of) traffic... well, except for the one woman driving a Mercedes S-Class who apparently thought we might look good as her hood ornament.  We pulled away from her at the next stoplight (go-light?).

On to Sprouts, where we found a parking place with a bit of shade.  Well, enough shade for one scoot... being the gentleman I am, I took the side opposite of how we usually park so Joan could have the shade.  Joan got everything on her list, and we put 5 bags of groceries in the storage area on the scoots.  Try that with your Bentley... OK, the Bentley will probably hold more, so nevermind.

We were ready to head to the air conditioning in the Aspect, so it was the 28 miles back.

One other thing I remember from our time here back in the mid-90s: it was a break from work.  The RV resort we are staying in was more of the destination, rather than the base for daily excursions.  I think there were days we didn't leave the pool area back then.

Back at the park, Izzy got some walking, we got some lounging, and it is time to head to the pool.