Rain, Rain, Go Away.....

Day 3 of the deluge. There's panic in the streets, people are huddled under umbrellas, flip flops are floating by in the wash, news crews are out covering the devastation, and every 5 minutes the local TV stations break into the programming to give us updates with STORMWATCH 2010. Dahn da daaaaaaa..... Are you kidding me? This is just a normal day in Ketchikan, AK.

So, yep, there is this strange liquid falling from the skies that has the locals here in Palm Springs in a tizzy. And I do mean TIZZY with a capital "T". Their hair is getting wet, makeup is running and there are these ugly splotches all over their cute little golf outfits.

But, worst of all, the golf courses are under water. Such a shame, especially since the Bob Hope Classic was in full, um, swing (sorry, bad pun) until this nasty, horrible water started falling and ruined everyone's fun.

When will it end everyone asks? Plans have to be changed, they can't go outside, roads are closed and the local street fairs and farmers markets refuse to open. It's like ARMAGEDDON for godssakes!

As for us, heck, after doing 5 months in Ketchikan, this is nuthin'! I just pulled out my Xtra Tufs, popped some Vitamin D, and the dogs and I went looking for rainbows.....

Transitions

Transition. A movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another. That pretty much sums up our last few months. We've moved from the wettest city in North America (Ketchikan) to one of the driest (Palm Springs). Where we once avoided stepping into muskeg bogs, we now watch that we don't stamp on cacti. At one point I was practically sleeping in my XtraTufs and now I wouldn't know what I'd do without my flipflops. Our skin is adjusting from humid ocean air to dry desert air. And the dogs are wondering who the heck turned up the heater!

Another transition we're making is from learning to dodge seagulls and their unerring aim to learning to dodge errant golf balls and the drivers who are chasing them down. I'm still startled to have an 80 year old in an electric cart come whizzing by me in the bike lane.

But, all in all, life is settling into normal here in the desert. And who knew there was so much going on in this little oasis! We've attended film festivals, street fairs and farmers markets. Erik has hooked up with a cycling group and running group and has been in athlete heaven. We're signed up to do the Palm Springs Half Marathon and 5K (I'm sure you can guess who is doing which) and Erik has gone further and signed up for a century bike ride and triathlon (I plan to assume my role as athletic supporter for those two events). Heck, we even get the weekly rag so we can plan our next entertainment attack.

But for all the transitions we make as we move from one state to the next, there is one constant that neither of us can get enough of....incredible sunsets and the desert has those in spades.

Two weeks ago, I was yearning for the beach, the salt air, the crashing of waves on the sand, dolphins fishing just offshore and now, sitting outside in the evening as the desert cools off and the smell of mesquite and sage starts wafting by and the birds start their evening serenades...it's hard to imagine a better place to be than right here...right now.

So long Ventura...Hello Palm Springs

I'm sorry to say that our dream assignment of living and working at the beach has come to an end. Yes, I was given my notice to hightail it out of Dodge as the nursing home that I was working at had found a permanent PT, and that meant that I was out.

So with a trickle down our cheeks, we say sayonara to lovely Ventura, California. During our time here we met some great people and had some fun times. We have to say that we did it up "L.A. Style" and enjoyed every minute of it.

But all good things eventually come to an end. And on January 1, 2010 we loaded up Big Bertha and headed to the desert. We arrived in Palm Springs optimistic that our next assignment would be as great as our last. Okay, we are trying to stay positive, but the beach will be VERY hard to beat!

Palm Springs is nice, don't get me wrong. The weather is incredible and the people have already welcomed us in. There is an awesome cycling scene here and plenty of open space for us to get away. The only real drawback is that we are pretty isolated.

So with an open mind we wait to see what the desert will bring. Stay tuned...