Good afternoon guys!
Now, who said the temperature in the California desert is not so hot “because here we don’t have the humidity you guys have down there in the swamps in Florida”?!?!
That’s plain b***s*it!
It’s hot here, 105F and rising!
We left El Monte, CA on the outskirt of Los Angeles this morning at around 10AM. Before we left, we made sure we could schedule an appointment on the phone with the Volkswagen dealer closest to Palm Springs, CA which is only 20 miles East in Indio, CA.
Initially the lady told us they had nothing available for the day, and how could I blame her, since we called this morning to schedule an appointment for the same day! But then we spoke with one of the service guys who didn’t promise us anything, but instead told us to bring the car in before 3.30PM and he would have seen what he could do for us.
The drive from L.A. to Indio, CA took about 2 hours, on I-10E towards San Bernardino, CA. It’s been a pleasant drive, with little or no traffic, and a speed limit that could fit any experienced race car driver like I am! ;-)
Both Hap and I were pretty amused to see the extension of the wind farms on both side of the interstate, they went on and on for miles, as silent white giants, making it for a more interesting drive across the California Desert and its mountains.
E.T.A. (Estimated Time of Arrival) in Indio, Ca: 12PM; actual time of arrival: 11.45AM.
Our efforts to get here around noon basically did us nothing good, as the whole crew at Paradise Volkswagen was out for lunch. The good thing is that Craig, one of the guys at the service reception, assured us that the car would get serviced this afternoon, which is great for us, as this way we won’t have to think about it till we get back home in Fort Lauderdale.
We went to a nice Bakery/Restaurant called Coco’s, just about a mile west of the Car Dealer, that gave us the chance to kill some time, and also get some good food (I had a Asian Chicken Salad with Won-Ton strips, etc), after the disappointment we had last night with the Malaysian Restaurant that got such wonderful reviews over the internet!
We’re now back at the Volkswagen Dealer, we turned the car in, and I’m taking the chance to write the daily post from here. Apparently, unforeseen events are always around the corner, as Craig, the guy who is taking care of us just told us that we need two new tires for the front of the car that apparently are badly damaged. He said the thread is beginning to split up on the driver’s side, and on the passenger’s side, we have a problem with the shoulder of the tire. These are all problems the tires probably had even before we bought the car, and for that reason, on Monday, when we go to the American Tires store, we will see what we can get from them.
We arrived at our friends house around 4.30PM as planned, and after a quick shower and a drink, we were out again, to join some other friends for drinks first, and then eventually for dinner.
Our two hosts’ friends, Neil and Ken, turned out to be really friendly and pleasant to talk with, not to mention that they are both crazy about Italy! Now, how could I have possibly resisted that?
The six of us had a really nice talk, about Palm Springs and the desert, about Italy, about food (I’m trying to see if I can convince Neil to give me the recipe for his “To Die For” Gazpacho), and last but not least, this wonderful experience that Hap and I have been living now for 58 days, going through many places, and living many different situations, like the one today who brought us to realize how lucky we were today to have the car serviced at the Volkswagen dealer, where they noticed the problems with the tires! As someone once said: Better safe than sorry!!!
The restaurant Frank and Bob picked up was also very nice; food was excellent, and if that was not enough, we also had a very beautiful lady, with a charming voice, singing a mix of old and not so old tunes for all of us.
We’re now back home, and it’s kind of late for me to be on the computer to write the blog (12.40AM at the present time), but we did have a nice day, and I wanted to be able to seize the moment right now that the experience is still “fresh” in my mind.
Thank you Frank, thank you Bob for giving us the chance to experience the desert and its nightlife, and for enlarging our circle of friends introducing us to Neil and Ken this afternoon, and then afterwards at dinner.
I don’t know what we’re going to be up to tomorrow, probably go sightseeing around Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Indian Wells, etc., it depends on the temperature (110F this afternoon was enough for me!)
From Palm Springs I guess it’s all.
Have a peaceful night my friends,
Nico
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