A short while ago we found evidence of dry wood termites in and around our house. And by evidence, I mean poop. We had an inspection performed, at which time it was determined there was a 3-5 year old infestation in our attic and several other places in and around the structure of our home. Southern California is prime real estate for termites too, apparently, and they are a common problem here. The solution is to tent the entire house and fumigate, with annual inspections and spot treatment if needed. The fumigation process takes 2.5 days, during which time all living things must be out of the house, and anything edible (food, drink, medicine, even some make-up) must be double-bagged and sealed, or removed.
We decided that a mid-week fumigation would be very inconvenient, but that if we timed it right, a weekend fumigation would provide the perfect opportunity for a mini-vacation weekend getaway. So we packed up and headed for Palm Springs! Our timeshare, Worldmark has a new resort in Indio, just a few miles outside of Palm Springs, and surprisingly they had vacancy! Below are pictures from our journey there - made more interesting by the presence of our cats - and some of the beautiful scenery along the way.
Patrick is deceivingly calm in this picture, riding in the back seat. He would relax for a bit (cue photo op), then stress himself out and meow, and pant, and eventually he got a little car sick - no puke, just drool.... Kennels might have been a good idea.
Traffic was very slow on our way out of town Friday afternoon, but cleared up immediately after we passed the brush fire that everyone was gawking at. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you should see some dudes in yellow fighting the fire! Shortly after, we passed one of the prettier bridges I've seen in California.
The landscape started out fairly green, and became progressively desert-like. Beautiful mountains and rock formations the entire way reminded both Greg and I of where we grew up.
We apparently did not give Patrick enough time to use the rest room before we scooped him up for this car trip. Around sunset when we were winding our way down the mountain into the desert valley below he pooped a little. Fortunately, right then we came to the one safe pull out we could have used during the last hour of the trip - a viewpoint overlooking the entire Palm Springs desert. Thankfully it was not a messy poo, and my car suffered no lasting damage. Our little pit stop allowed us to take the next couple of pictures...
We had a quick dinner out that night at a nice mexican place before going to see "Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps" with Michael Douglas (really good, but not quite great). Saturday we endured a timeshare owner update presentation for the $100 gift card incentive they were offering, did our P90X workout, and layed by the pool for a few hours with some fruity drinks. While we were at the pool, I was laying on my stomach and had just undone my back swim suit strap to avoid the tan line, when a group of 11-12 year old boys floated by on the lazy river near us. Both Greg and I heard one of them exclaim, "Hey look! She looks like she's from a rated R movie!" in a little high 12-year-old-boy voice. I laughed because it was a funny thing for a kid to say, not knowing they were talking about me!!! Greg saw them point and look in our direction, and he was really laughing. I wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed or proud that I looked so "rated R", but in the end I was a little of both.
We got dressed up for a nice dinner in town that night and enjoyed a pretty sunset on our way.
Sunday we slept in, worked out and layed by the pool before checking out at noon. For the drive back we took the freeway (as opposed to the scenic route over the mountains) both to avoid any kitty car sickness, and because it's faster when there is no Friday night L.A. rush hour traffic to contend with. It was quite a bit faster, but still offered some interesting views.
The 105-112 degree heat over the weekend was awesome - very dry heat - and made it no shock that fires are prevalent in the area. Here, an example of a small fire and the natural succession that has taken place in the months since it occurred.
Just before entering Riverside County (east of LA) we passed a wind farm of some sorts...there were probably a dozen different types of windmills, many of which I had never seen before. It was very interesting, and earily beautiful with the mountainous backdrop.
We'd love to go back again; it's a great spot for golf, shopping, and relaxing. We are glad we took the trip, and that we were able to turn the unpleasantness of a termite fumigation into something so fun and relaxing.
.JPG)
