Birthday Shenanigans

The one thing about working for a school district is the sign of relief you give a the conclusion of a school year. For the next two weeks my time is my own and I am the captain of what I do and what time I do anything.

Like everyone else in this field of work, I have been looking forward to getting the hell out of town for a few days. I am in need of decompressing and just shutting down the area of my brain that deals with children.

I am ready to partake in adult activities and adult entertainment with other adults in a space where kids are not at all in the picture. And while I cant avoid them entirely I am more than happy to compromise and not have to deal with them at all to achieve the zen I am after.

Since I was down with the Rona for my official birthday a few weeks ago, I intend to make up for the lack of social celebration for a few days next week in none other than Palm Springs California.

Only until recently did I fully appreciate the town Sonny Bono was once proud mayer of. I was not very attracted to the sights because I didn't believe there to be much to see.

My first two trips out there were taken while I was married and a fairly new mom with very little mini mes to care for and in the presence of my inlaws for what were family trips.

There was also a lost in the vault trip out there I took several decades ago that I have very little memory of and other than all the drinks and drugs I consumed. The brief flashes of it that are sparked in reminiscent conversation with others who were there tell me the time there was more than worth of chaos I was once known for causing.

Now I am a single mother to a full fledge teen and preteen. No longer married my children with be spending the following week with their father giving me the time I have been craving to let my demons roam free.

Typically I would be more than content to run wild in Las Vegas but this year I wanted to experience something else, and so Vegas can wait a bit and Ill be there soon enough.

I rediscovered Palm Springs after a lengthy hiatus over a year ago when the world was slowly beginning to open up after the pandemic and people were seeking the freedom to once again roam around but not quite too far and for us Palm Springs was an easy choice.

It was a highly enjoyable trip where we bummed around, overslept, over drank, gambled, and delighted in midnight swimming.

The heat of course is astounding but since we are avid Vegas travelers, it was within our wheelhouse.

On our last trip out there we stayed at the then freshly remodeled Float Hotel. It does not look like much on the outside which is very deceiving. Since we were still in the pandemic there were many precaution taken to ensure our check in was as contact free as possible. there were lock boxes on the gate indicating room numbers and an email prior to check in with instruction on how to operate the lock box and the code which would open it

Once our check in time arrived we found our number assigned box and in it were two keys. One for the entrance and the other for our room. I have written about the Float Hotel in another one of my writing pieces and you can go back to that one for a more in depth description

Needless to say it was an absolute gem! It is so cute and precious, and such an adult themed pool and patio area that we were pleasantly surprised by our good luck in selecting that particular hotel. The pool is placed as the main centerpiece and the room all border around it. There is a gaming area of pool table and darts, as well as a bbq area for grilling and benches for lounging with a bigger group.

The rooms are just as adorable as the outside of the hotel. Our room was a large and extremely comfortable king size bed, small sitting area. It had a long closet, small bathroom and a kitchen at the end of the hall. It was perfect and equipped with exactly what we needed.

Palm Springs heat being no joke and my car did not offer much in terms of air conditioning so my Partner and I opted for finding a grocery store out there and doing all the shopping we needed. Having had a kitchen in our room was definitely going to get it's good use in.

Not being entirely too familiar with the area and neither one of us wanting to stray to far from the main center of Palm Canyon Dr there are a few options. On The Mark Palm Springs and Olive a Sudden are local stores I think. We opted for the Grocery Outlet which never steers me wrong in terms of saving back home and certainly did not disappoint in Palm Springs either. In no time at all we were loaded with out groceries for the following few days and didn't really have to worry about making a huge dent on our cash flow eating out for every single meal.

Our original stay was highly enjoyable, filled with midnight and early morning swimming to avoid the wild heat. Hiking the nearby trails, visiting the botanical cactus garden and our favorite; playing the slots at the Agua Caliente Casino. We had a blast and returned to L.A. with great memories and a desire to return.

My partner and I have gone back a few times and make the most of our time there and seek to do at least one new thing when we are there, very similar to when we head to Vegas.

For our upcoming trip we are following our usual preparedness pattern and staying at a hotel with a kitchen of some kind and shopping for our groceries out there. For my birthday celebration we will to the aerial tram, a hike, the casino of course and our new thing with be happy hour at the Purple Room Supper Club for the bourbon flights on the menu.

I am more than ready for a few days out of town sitting poolside with a drink in one hand and a good book in another. It is moments like this that I live for the most and the ones that seems so far out of reach during the quarantine.

The older I get the more perspective I get in what truly matter to me in life and what I want out of it. The obvious lotto winning fantasy is still there but all kidding aside I want to live my life in hedonistically and in peace. It has taken so long to find my voice and setting the tone for only accepting the things in my life that are positive and healthy. Long has been the road of eliminating the damage and negativity that lived with me for so long.

I found my nerve until the age of 40 and now that I have turned 45 I can honestly say I am happier and more hopeful and positive for the future than I have ever been.

I am ready to see what this year will hold. The adventures I will go on, the hurdles I will tackle and the challenges I will face and undoubtedly overcome. I am on a journey to love my mind body and soul after a lifetime of doubt, fear and self destruction. I feel more than ready now.