"I'm Thirsty!"; Palm Springs; 02.12.11

Road Trip!

B and I love road trips.  Tico loves road trips.  We all love road trips.  And what a great day to have one, on a varying 70-80 degree weather.  B decided to check out a seminar at a local hotel in Palm Springs today.  So Tico and I decided to tag along.  The drive took us a little less than 2 hours; since we took the 91 and the 60 to cut through the 10 freeway's usual weekend mess.

There was a dog park called Palm Springs Dog Park behind the local airport.  It's address is 222 Civic Drive North, Palm Springs, CA  92262.  To get there, get off the 10 freeway to the first 111 exit.  10 miles down the road, make a left on Tahquitz Canyon, and left on Civic Drive a few miles of that. 

This park is a mixture of good and bad for me.
The good:
It's extremely fenced.  The fences are high, and there's a handful of entrances just for the large dog park alone.  The small dog park is just right next to us; and it's about a 1/4 the size of the large one.  The total acreage is about 1.6 acre, a perfect park to play fetch with.  The fence is nice, but it definitely needs a nice coat of paint.  You can also check out the aircrafts from the neighboring airport across the street from the park.  There are two water fountains in the large dog park, as well as there are pretty pooper scoopers at every turn, and the trash bins are very pretty and clean, it has a cover, the outside is made of wood, and the inside is lined with pretty trash bags.  By far the prettiest public park dog park trash bins I've ever seen.  Parking is aplenty, and benches and chairs and tables and awnings galore; so anyone can find a spot to hang out, get out of the sun, and watch your dog roam around the park and be sociable and all that fun stuff.

The bad for me: My dog is not sociable.  He works alone.  His intention is to catch the ball, and keep it in his mouth for as long as he could.  He could fit three.  He'd try to fit more if he could.  So for a while, there were about a dozen and a half of people just hanging out on their own, sitting down while their dogs are either socializing or are seated around them on the side, to try to catch some shades as well.  So for a huge park, I feel kind of odd to be the only one going back and forth in the middle of the park picking up balls for Tico to play with.  I feel odd, considering I'm also the only one ethnic-looking person in the pool of white local residents watching me run around like a crazy asian person.  And I've noticed some people whisper that "my dog drools.  Gross".  Um, my dog drools because he's had quite a workout fetching balls, and he drank a lot of water because of it, and because it's 80 degrees.  If you try to make your dog workout, this will happen too.  Instead of just sitting in the corner with your dog on your side. 

So after an hour of this, Tico and I decided to do some roaming around in Downtown Palm Springs.  I think the main artery could be on N. Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon.  Then you just go up and down the N. Palm Canyon Drive.  There's great restaurants and shops for every budget, with designers like Trina Turk, and the cheap shops like Lush Boutique which is more my "style", aka budget.  Popular Restaurants that I noticed are La Casuelas, and Kaiser Grille.  There's a little Thai restaurant and a restaurant called Zen that I wouldn't mind checking out next time.  There was a bike event today, and so some parts of the streets are coned off.  There's a Dog Guide Team in blue that came in and out of the local business called Guide Dog of the Desert. They have the most adorable dogs in there that are being trained to be guides.  So if you happen to be in the area, do check them out.            

After an hour or so of this, we decide to head towards Rancho Mirage  On our way there, we spotted a small local fair; so we checked out the artwork, and see if there's anything we could get for a nice price.  I definitely would not mind finding a nice necklace that is unique; but nothing that I could find that was in my price range; so after a lemonade for me and a water for Tico, off we go.

The River At Rancho Mirage is one of my favorite destination places in the Palm Desert.  It's an open air, beautiful shopping and dining place.  They have a Cheesecake Factory (like!), Flemings (love!), PF Chang's, Babe's BBQ, and the Yard House (need!).  I love Yard House and their chocolate-raspberry beer.  Yum.  But since Tico is not old enough to drive, no Yard House for me today.  There's also a Baja Fresh and Starbucks that offers seating tables for everyone.  Almost everyone seated today had their dogs with them.  It's too hot to be in Palm Springs, and they wanted to air out their dogs and get some shade and cappuccino at the same time.  There was a girl scout cookie drive today, and all the girls came around to pet Tico.  The lady in charge of the drive came up to me, and asked me flat out if I am a full-time resident in the area.  I said no, we're visiting, and she said good, because she lives there full time now, and she had to give her dog away knowing the dog will be miserable because of the heat, especially in the summer. I felt bad for her.

I do agee with her.  Palm Springs is not a place for some dogs to be in, especially my dog.  He can't stand the heat.  I wil be more inclined to get a vacation house in Big Bear, before we'll consider Palm Springs because of Tico.  And Tico loves the snow.  A nice cabin with a large yard will be heaven for us.

Sitting just outside the Yard House' main entrance, I overheard a meeting of some girls who are getting together for a bachelorette weekend.  I thought Palm Springs can be a great alternative for a Vegas B-weekend.  I will keep that in mind for the next girlfriend to marry.  But then again, any excuse to get away with the girls is always nice.

We also found a park next to the Palm Springs Art Museum.  The address to the museum is 101 N. Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA.  It is just north of Tahquitz Canyon, behind the N. Palm Canyon Drive.  I wouldn't mind checking out this museum without Tico, to check out their Modern Sculpture and Desert Paintings collection.  In the meantime, Tico and I just enjoyed the day hanging out at the pretty, grassy park across the street, with me reading the latest Travel and Leisure magazine, and daydreaming about some far off places and donning Ivanka Trump's attire between airport travels, and getting a facial while some European lady tries to massage my ugly, stanky feet.  Tico on the other hand, is just chill-axing.  He's probably also dreaming about some gourmet doggie biscuits while being pedi-pawed.  I can only assume.   

We got home at around 7 pm, and we still need to stop by our neighbor George and Yaya's baby shower.  The baby is going to be their 6th daughter. 

"I'm thirsty", or "turssty", is a famous line by Rosie Perez in the movie "White Men Can't Jump".  The movie starred Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes playing basketball and hustling local basketball players for money.  The scene is about Rosie telling Woody's character that she's thirsty, and Woody does not get that she meant she does not need him to get her a glass of water, but to sympathize with her instead.  So they bantered back and forth, with him telling her that "if he tells someone he's thirsty, it means if others can offer him water".  But she retorts that if he loves her enough, he would get the hint to sympathize with her dry-mouthedness.  Ah, the magic of being in a relationship.  My husband is also still trying to figure me out.

B always tell me that I remind him of Rosie Perez, especially from the movie "Pineapple Express" because I am short, and I have dark hair, and I get feisty, and I talk with accent and make silly gestures.  I am a little flattered, considering Rosie is a cute little thing.  Too bad I don't see her much on theaters anymore, but I really enjoyed her in the 90's.

Palm Springs residents are predominantly white folk retirees, mixed with gay and lesbians, second homes to some Hollywood types, and visited by tourists, especially Los Angeles natives for a romantic weekend of spa, golf, and ski/sun.  The aerial tramway ride to the slopes is a must-see during the winter; where you can see all of Palm Springs and its 10 million golf courses, and with the white snow on your feet, it makes you feel like you're walking on heaven.           



Year in Review: July - September 2010

PALM SPRINGS/RANCHO MIRAGE, CA; JULY 2010
Well, it's Fourth of July weekend, and B's mom arranged for B and myself, B's sister Michelle and her husband Jerry, and B's mom Cyndi to have a nice weekend in their family Rancho Mirage condo, which is a resort community in Palm Springs area.  It was a great condo, with three bedrooms, and two bathrooms.  And our backyard is the golf course, where we just crossed the greens, and got a great view of the fireworks in the town's baseball park.  You can also rent condos in Palm Springs and other places via vrbo.com; which is a great place for those who would like to get a cheaper and unconventional way to spend vacation than staying at a chain hotel.  The good thing is that you can cook your own food, there's no crowd, and you don't have to pay for resort fees, etc. like you would if you'd stay at a hotel.  The condo is also for rent.  If you're interested, I'll get you connected to the property management company that handles the condo for B's grandfather. 

Tico of course, was shunned by PetSmart Torrance, and they refused to take him in for the night (more on that later, but that was the end of our PetSmart hotel business).  So we ended up taking him with us for the weekend.  Here's a picture of B and Tico in front of the beautiful outdoor mall just outside of the condo's grounds.

CAMPING WITHOUT TICO/WHISKERS AND TAILS, AUGUST 2010

In August, we took another camping trip with our friends Mai and D, and their boyfriends/husband and other friends to Arroyo Seco, in Greenfield, CA about 4-5 hours from LA.  This time, I left Tico at Whiskers and Tails, a cage-free boarding for dogs, located in Gardena.  (http://www.whiskersntails.com/).  Their address is 546 West 182nd Street in Gardena.   Unlike PetSmart, the ladies there are not afraid of Tico, and they don't make me and my dog feel like second class citizen becuase he's a large GSD.  Their price is less than PetSmart, and during the day, he gets to roam around and play with the other dogs at no extra charge.  We opted to have him take a bath on the last day, and his coat felt like cotton for days, like he was a totally new dog.  He was there for two nights, which was the longest he's been away from us. So when I picked him up, he whined and was hating on me the entire 7-minute ride back home.  I love Whiskers and Tails.  They were a great find.  If you happen to live near the Gardena area, I would recommend them.

DOG GROOMING IN OC/LA AREA:

Speaking of grooming, we were novices on places we could take Tico to.  The Whittier PetSmart and HB's for that matter, does not like my dog.  So we usually take him ourselves to the Doggie Spa when we lived/around HB area   http://www.thedoggiespa.net/locations.html they are located in the Seacliff Village strip mall, where Albertson's is at.  From the 405, exit on Beach, and just take a right on Main Street on your way to the beach, and it's on the corner of Yorktown.  They charge $15 for you to wash your dog, and just leave a tip for the use of their comb, shampoo, towels, and bath tub.  The first few times, Tico didn't like to take a bath, but he got used to it.  He still hates the vacuum dryer, but that's another story.  This place is great after a swim trip to the Dog Beach just down the road. 

But since we moved to LA, we found another dog wash in downtown LA, which is 6 minutes from our new house.  It is called Pussy and Pooch, on 564 Main Street.   http://www.pussyandpooch.com/ Like Doggie Spa, you get to wash your own dog, but this place is so clean, modern, and have all of the gadgets and toys that Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell would be excited to have.  They don't take tips, which was great.  Parking is a hit or miss, but if you got patience, the weekends are not that bad.   

FILIPINO FIESTA, SAN PEDRO, CA; FALL 2010

Every September, the local filipino community puts together a Filipino Fiesta, a two-day cultural event in in Point Fermin, just at the end of San Pedro.  You just take the 110 freeway all the way, exit/turn left on Gaffey, and take it all the way up, until you reach the park, which also houses a lighthouse.  Here is Tico with one of the ladies who came over and petted him during the our trip to the Fiesta.  He's a real chick-magnet.  He takes after B.  The other picture is of me and him next to the lighthouse.

Since we were planning for a Fall wedding, we found this place, in San Pedro as well, just across the road from Point Fermin, in the Angels Gate Park.  It has a Korean Friendship Bell, with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and the neighboring Catalina island.  Here's Tico posing again with B, and then we went to spend an hour in the San Pedro dog park again, just down the hill on our way back home.

We also hung out there one hot summer night (it was really record-breaking hot!) when the portable AC was just not gong to cut it.  Not much of a lighting because of the Iphone, but we also saw a great view of the catalina island a night, with all of the house lights shining bright across the ocean.  Here's  a photo of the boys:

DOG BEACH, PALOS VERDES; FALL 2010
We found another dog beach contender in the Palos Verdes area, just down the hill from the Trump National Golf Club.  It's a great day beach, and you can really get a nice workout going up and down the hill to the beach area.  I would say bring some food and water, and plop down the rocky sand area with beach towels and something to read, and let your dog roam around the beach with their newfound friends.  Apparently, not too many people knows about it, but here's more information about it, as well as directions.

http://www.in-and-around-los-angeles.com/los-angeles-dog-beach-rancho-palos-verdes.html