Vacation

We went to Palm Springs for a vacation this weekend.  We decided to skip our 30s and 40s and head right into vacations appropriate for the 50+ set.
It was a nerdcation on top of that.  Our main goals were to see the Mapplethope exhibit at the museum, see the library in Rancho Mirage, and stare at the wind farms.  This is what happens when I am left in charge of planning.  Which is also the reason why we got to stay at a Best Value Inn ($50/night!), which I did not realize was the only smoking room in the whole building.  It smelled like an old man's apartment, stuffy, cheap cleaners, and 20 years of cigaret smoke.  Now all the clothes we packed, even the ones we didn't wear, smell like smoke.
BTW to make our room extra cozy, and make at least appear to be clean, despite being a standard looking hotel room, we brought our own blankets and sheets.  And candles, which did nothing to help the smell or the ambience, but oh well.  The only thing that really made it look homey was all the beauty products scattered throughout.
The highlight of the trip was the last day, after we had checked out.  Instead of heading back to LA we went further east, to Joshua Tree where M lived for a little while.  It was surprisingly easy to find, despite that fact that it had been torn down.  That's right, torn down, after M's family moved a way (about a decade ago) no one brought/rented the property so the owner had it torn down.  Only the foundation was left.