Retail Therapy

Decided to hit the shops today and pick up some bargains. Visted the local Hallmark store and picked up some new ornaments, all at 50% off. Then off to the local mall where the sales were all pretty good. Managed to pick up the super elusive limited edition Boba Fett hoodie in Macy's which also had 40% off" Sweeeeeeeeet!

In afternoon we headed into Palm Springs to see thier version of the Hollywood walk of fame and in the evening we went to Villagefest where they essentially pedestrianizcd the main road and had lots of market type stalls selling arty farty stuff. Lots of nice food though and lots of free samples, yum yum!

Joshua Tree National Park

Today we headed to the Joshua Tree National Park. Saw a few animals including Chipmunks, Pocket Gophers and two Coyotes.
Did two walks, one to Barker Dam and the other to Hidden Valley as well as a few old favorites from last year.

A Joshua Tree!

Me and a dead tree? I shouldn't really let Catriona take pictures.

Catriona and a wierd head rock thingy in the background.

Hello Possums!

Coyote - quite Wile E

Coati

Mexican (no hat) Wolf

The Living Desert

Hummingbird

Hummingbird 2

Me at the Cactus Garden

Today we decided to visit The Living Desert which is a Zoo/Botanical Garden showcasing desert wildlife. Lots to see, including Hummingbirds, Coyotes, Mexican Wolves and Sand Cats. Catriona managed to find the "Petting Kraal" to get her pet fix. The goat in the picture was called Mocha and was donated by Starbucks!

The weather was cool in the morning, but t-shirt hot by 11:00.

The Room & View

The room is exactly the same as the last time we visited although this time we are closer to the pool and slightly futher away from the golf course. The rooms are large and the bed is comfy the first picture is the view from our room.

The Hire Car

Well here it is in all it's glory, the Dodge Caliber. Is it "compact" not really, both suitcases and one piece of hand luggage fitted in the boot so not too bad. It's not a luxury car though, there is not trip computer, no central remote locking and no iPod dock although there is a auxiliary input so we can plug our iPod into it.

Over Wyoming

The flight was pretty uneventful. Managed to catch a couple of films (Forgetting Sarah Marshall & How to Make Friends and Alienate People).

Didn’t get much sleep, maybe 20minutes but that’s about it.

The plane landed early at 14:20 and in the Immigration queue we saw Timothy Spall & Gordon Ramsey, which was pretty weird. I figured they might be here of the Golden Globe Awards in LA on the 11th.

Immigration and Customs took about an hour to get through, so not too bad

Anyway transfer to the Dollar rent-a-car place was quick. I booked a Dodge Caliber online, but the guy at desk said “just take any of the cars in section 1”. Well section 1 contained just two crappy PT Cruisers, so I went back and he said “just take any of the cars in section 2”. Anyway by the time I got back to the car park there was a Dodge Caliber available so we took that and headed off.

The journey to Indian Wells was a bit of a pain in the arse as the LA traffic was as congested as ever. We eventually got to the Indian Wells Resort at 7:00pm, dumped the luggage and went out for a bite to eat.

The Plane Shot

Here is the obligatory picture of our plane

I was a little worried this morning due to the smattering of snow, but everything appeared to be running on time. Bag weight was a TeamConrad busting 12.9kg & 13.2kg. His underpants must weigh a ton!

Bugger! It's Been Snowing

OK, this is what my road looked like at 5:30 on the 5th of January 2009. Not a good start bearing in mind the tiniest smattering of snow usually sends the whole of the UK into chaos. According to the Virgin Atlantic site though the flight was supposed to depart on time.