Vacation recap
May. 27th, 2009 05:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eee1313Thursday
On Thursday morning the Scientist and I got up early to do the last of the packing. Then his mom and brother G came to pick us up and take us to the airport. (G had a business trip.) The three of us hung out in the airport for a bit until he departed, and then we got on our plane. What was supposed to be a nonstop flight to Ontario, CA had a surprise stop in Phoenix, AZ. Thanks, Southwest Airlines! :| We ended up having to sit next to a guy who fell asleep immediately upon takeoff and didn't wake up till we landed in Phoenix. I have to say that I was oddly creeped out by the look of Phoenix from the air. There's no grass! I know it's desert and all, but in Palm Springs there's vegitation and stuff. Phoenix just looked like one big expanse of red dirt with houses everywhere. But you know, different desert, different look.
Once all the Phoenix-bound passengers left the plane, the Scientist and I moved up to the front row to gain some much-needed leg room. Then we flew on to Ontario, where we discovered that the Scientist's leather duffel had been ripped open in transit. Again, thanks, Southwest Airlines! :| But we quickly got our rental car and headed out on the 10 towards Palm Springs. The Scientist was thoroughly disgusted by the smog in the air over the LA basin, and I have to admit it looked much worse than I remember it being on my last trip (3 years ago). Thankfully once we passed San Bernadino and towards the Coachella Valley, the air cleared up immensely and everything looked great.
We got in to my uncles' house around 2:30 or so and hung out and relaxed. That evening Uncle Joe took the two of us into downtown Palm Springs for Villagefest, the weekly street fair. It only runs autumn-spring, and will be closing soon for the summer months. I have to admit that it seems totally foreign to shut down for the summer due to heat. Around here, you wait for the summer so that places open or stay open later. But hey, that's Palm Springs. Anyway, there were a ton of jewelry vendors, people making art, musicians, potters, etc. My uncles have a friend who followed them from Michigan to Palm Springs, and the guy started a soap business called Aqua Joe. I bought a bar of sangria soap from him, and he threw in another bar of amber/sandalwood soap for free. Nice!
After that we went home, had cocktails, and then sat out on the patio for dinner. Uncle Richard made... steak that night, I think. I can't remember, but whatever it was it was delicious. Uncle Richard is a great cook. From there we got in the spa before going to bed, and I slept like a baby.
Friday
On Friday my uncle made a breakfast of eggs and chiles, and after that the Scientist and I headed to the outskirts of town. The Hyundai Elantra we rented for the duration of the trip was a good car for getting around town, but it's certainly not made for mountain terrain. Just heading up the road to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway taxed the car, but then again the first station is at 2,643 feet. Soon after we got inside the valley station, the tram made its way down and we got onboard. The new tramcars have a rotating floor, so that as you ascend up the mountain you circle the car twice. It's really a lot of fun, and this is coming from someone who's afraid of heights. When we got to the mountain station (8,516 feet elevation), we checked out the view from the vantage points and then went out into Mount San Jacinto State Park.
I've been here twice before, but always in March when there was still snow on the ground. This time the Long Valley was all green and lush, with a stream running through the middle of it. The Scientist and I walked over to the Ranger Station, which is the cutoff point for hikers without permits. Once you pass the station, you have to check in and show that you're an experienced-enough hiker to manage the trails alone. (This check-in point also helps them keep track of who's in the park, so that if someone is lost the search & rescue team will come in. Uncle Joe says there are enough people who go off trail and get lost that search & rescue now charges for their services [if they can deem you're an inexperienced fool who got into trouble on your own].) Anyway, from that point we turned around and hiked the self-guided nature trail around the Long Valley, and then went up to the Desert View Trail. This one heads up into the peaks on the north side of Long Valley, which look out over the Coachella Valley below. Some of the peaks are over 10,000 feet high. At our first vantage point I was just fine, and we climbed up onto the rocks to sit and look out over Palm Springs and the other towns below. Unfortunately, when we got to the second vantage point, my fear of heights kicked in and I had a panic attack. I got all red and sweaty and shaky and started crying, and it was just embarassing. The same thing happened on our honeymoon when we climbed the ruins at Xunantunich. The Scientist felt bad, and for the rest of the hike when we got near an overlook, I'd stay back and let him explore closer to the edge. Eeeech. To make matters worse, getting back to the Mountain Station consists of climbing a path of switchbacks. My throat muscles were on the verge of tightening and cutting off air due to the earlier panic attack, and I'm not in good shape, and my athesma has always acted up in the thinner air of the moutaintop. So combine all that, and I had to stop twice on the way back. That said, this was probably the best time I've ever had up there, and it was worth all the freakout and the breathing problems. ;)
On the way home we stopped for salads for lunch, which were tasty. Then we went back and chilled out. Uncle Richard made almond-encrusted tilapia for dinner, and that was tasty. Of course, there were cocktails before dinner and wine with dinner, followed by another pre-bedtime dip in the spa. Good times.
Saturday
On Saturday morning my friend Natalie made her way down to Palm Springs from LA. I've visited Natalie the past two times I've been to see my uncles, but this was her first time coming to LA. It's been 3 years since we've seen each other, and it was great to see her again. Her life has changed a lot since our last visit, but she's still the same hysterical girl I got to know in poetry class. We all hung out at the house for a little bit, so that she could relax after the drive and get to know my uncles and the Scientist a bit more. Then the three of us left my uncles to themselves and headed to The Living Desert. Uncle Richard works there as a docent, so I've been there on every trip. It's basically a zoo and botanical garden, which are rather easy to come by around Chicago. However, to see desert animals in a native-style habitat is a lot cooler. For example, the bighorn sheep habitat is literally the side of a mountain.
Nat nearly lost her mind when she saw the giraffe savannah, as she's never seen a giraffe that she can remember. (Hey, she grew up in Central Illinois. There are no zoos around where she lived.) Nat took a ton of pictures, and we all had a nice time. On the way home we stopped at Thai Smile in Rancho Mirage and got one order of pad thai and king prik to split. It was the perfect small lunch for the three of us.
We headed home and hung around the spa talking. The Scientist mixed drinks for everyone and got Nat a little fuzzy-headed even before heading off to dinner. We all got dressed up and went to Davey's Hideaway, which is one of my uncles' favorite places. They had a table reserved out on the patio, the waiters and owner all knew them by name, and it was a really nice evening. The food was good, I had a glass of wine with dinner, and there was a tasty wedge salad with bleu cheese in there as well. From there we headed back home, my uncles went off to bed, and the three of us hopped in the spa for after-dinner cocktails. I think we were up till 2 a.m. Somehow we also broke a plastic cup. It was a good night.
Sunday
Sunday morning the Scientist woke up early and snuck out of the house to buy groceries for breakfast. He made a big breakfast for everyone, which was very tasty. Nat stuck around for breakfast, then packed up and headed home. The Scientist and I were going to go to Indian Canyons with Uncle Joe, but one of his friends called with a medical emergency and he headed off to the hospital. So it was just the Scientist and I going up into the mountains (again), but this time I was VERY glad we were alone, as the hiking paths here were much more strenuous and Uncle Joe would not have liked it. (He fell a few months ago and broke his wrist, and it's still not healed. So until he's back to somewhat normal, he's very afraid of falling again and hurting his wrist more.)
As a side note about the history of this place, Indian Canyons is run by the Agua Caliente Band of the Cahuilla Indians. The Agua Caliente Band owns a large portion of the land on which Palm Springs is built, and I know that my uncles pay a monthly stipend to them in exchange for owning a home on their land. The Agua Caliente Band also runs a casino in town (the Morongo Band owns another about 20 miles west of Palm Springs), and runs the Indian Canyons park as a nature reserve and to educate people on the Cahuilla history.
Anyway, Indian Canyons is gorgeous. While Mount San Jacinto is to the north and west of Palm Springs, Indian Canyons is to the south. There are two major canyons in the park, Andreas Canyon to the south and west, and Palm Canyon to the far south. We went to Andreas Canyon first, and started up what was once a mining trail. At first it was pretty easy, but then it went up a steep grade and became switchbacks back and forth up the mountainside. We climbed about 1,000 feet up before I started getting really hot. There was absolutely zero shade whatsoever, and the sun just beats down on you and then up at you off the rocks. I was okay until my head started throbbing, which I knew was a bad sign, so we headed back down. We went through the canyon area a bit, where there were a lot of palm trees and a stream in the oasis. When the path got rockier I decided to hang back in the shade to cool down while the Scientist ventured on. It was so peaceful, and eventually two German ladies came by and I took their picture for them.
From there we hopped in the car and drove over to Palm Canyon, which is a completely different type of terrain. We had to drive up the mountainside to get to the visitor center and then back down the other side, which was nearly a cliff, to get to the actual canyon. Here the ground is all soft sand, with huge trees everywhere and steep mountains on both sides. The hot springs in this area were nearly dry, unlike the stream with rushing water over in Andreas Canyon. But with the mountains being so steep on either side, the wind just whipped through Palm Canyon and made it significantly cooler. We followed the trail past several small oases, and eventually stopped when the Scientist needed a break. (He's hiked about a mile more than I had.) We got to watch an eagle flying in circles, floating on the wind currents, and it was absolutely gorgeous. From there we hiked back to the car and headed home, where we ate a snack and then went for a swim in the neighborhood pool to get the dust and dirt off ourselves.
Monday
This was our last full day of vacation, and we decided to take it easy. We bummed around the house that morning, packing up our things so that we wouldn't have to later. Uncle Joe mentioned that the Palm Springs Air Museum was having a Memorial Day flower drop (picture 3 is good). So we headed over to that area to watch. We got there right at 1:00 when it was supposed to start, but nothing happened. Ten minutes went by. Then fifteen. Uncle Joe said we should give it to a certain time and then leave, as planned events are NOTORIOUSLY late in Palm Springs. So we waited till 1:30, and when it still hadn't happened, we headed off. Cest la vie.
The Scientist wanted authentic, spicy Mexican food, so we went to a little storefront restaurant called Taco Salsas. As soon as we walked in I knew we had the right place, as there was a salsa bar set up in the corner. The Scientist was happy as could be, especially since there were several types of hot peppers just waiting to be eaten. I got a fish taco for lunch, simply because I'd only had one once and wasn't impressed, but assumed I could find a good fish taco in California. I wasn't wrong. Oh my God, so good. Also, this restaurant had $3 margaritas. SCORE. So we three ate lunch, then headed home to change clothes (as there had been spillage), and then back out to go shopping.
We went to downtown Palm Springs in the hopes that my favorite jewelry store was still open. Unfortunately it closed down sometime in the past three years. :( However, the Scientist saw an antiques/art store nearby that was going out of business, so we went in there to see what they had. I found a giant paperweight-type art piece with a glass jellyfish inside for $30. Yay! Then we headed over to Gottschalk's department store, as it was going out of business and my uncle wanted to check out the deals. While there, we saw that luggage was on sale for super-cheap. Seeing as how the Scientist's big suitcase broke while we were on our honeymoon, and seeing as how his duffel got ripped up on the way to Palm Springs, we bought a big rolling suitcase. So that was good. However, while in the parking lot of the mall I lost my balance and fell into the side of the car, stubbing my toe. By the time we got home, it was all bruised and hurt a lot. Booooo.
This meant I had no appropriate footwear for going out somewhere nice for the farewell dinner, as I couldn't wear my cute new sandals with the heels. (They pinched my bruised toe. Woe.) My uncles decided on a place called Blame It On Midnight, which was really casual. I guess seeing as how Monday was the last night of the holiday weekend, most people had already gone home. The restaurant was nearly completely empty when we walked in. The waiter gave me all the leftovers from the martini shaker, probably because there was no other customer to split the shaker into a separate drink. By the time we left, there were probably 30 people in the place, max. I was the only female in the entire place, and the Scientist was the only straight guy. Oh, Palm Springs. I love you so. When we got home there was one last dip in the spa before bed, and then that was it.
Tuesday
Yesterday we got up early and drove back into the smog cloud that covered all of LA. I swear, it looked like that giant sandstorm Imhotep raises in The Mummy, except it was SMOG. The bus driver from the car return to the airport tried to tell us it was regular fog, but we weren't buying it. We had a short flight from Ontario to Las Vegas, and as soon as we cleared the smog of LA, we could look down and see a sheet of brownish-yellow filth hanging in the air. GROSS. Once in Vegas, we were one of the first onto our flight to Chicago, which meant we got the exit row. Yay for extra legroom! Except once we got home, the pull handle on the Scientist's new luggage was broken. Come on, Southwest! So we complained because that's two bags broken, and they gave us a form to fill out and complain for a refund or something.
Once we got outside, it was pouring buckets of rain. What a shock to go from the arid desert with 95°+ heat that morning to the 60s with torrential downpours. Then lightning and thunder. I think we were lucky to fly in during a window of dry clouds, because if we were ten minutes later I don't think we'd have been able to land.
So that's the vacation in a nutshell.
On Thursday morning the Scientist and I got up early to do the last of the packing. Then his mom and brother G came to pick us up and take us to the airport. (G had a business trip.) The three of us hung out in the airport for a bit until he departed, and then we got on our plane. What was supposed to be a nonstop flight to Ontario, CA had a surprise stop in Phoenix, AZ. Thanks, Southwest Airlines! :| We ended up having to sit next to a guy who fell asleep immediately upon takeoff and didn't wake up till we landed in Phoenix. I have to say that I was oddly creeped out by the look of Phoenix from the air. There's no grass! I know it's desert and all, but in Palm Springs there's vegitation and stuff. Phoenix just looked like one big expanse of red dirt with houses everywhere. But you know, different desert, different look.
Once all the Phoenix-bound passengers left the plane, the Scientist and I moved up to the front row to gain some much-needed leg room. Then we flew on to Ontario, where we discovered that the Scientist's leather duffel had been ripped open in transit. Again, thanks, Southwest Airlines! :| But we quickly got our rental car and headed out on the 10 towards Palm Springs. The Scientist was thoroughly disgusted by the smog in the air over the LA basin, and I have to admit it looked much worse than I remember it being on my last trip (3 years ago). Thankfully once we passed San Bernadino and towards the Coachella Valley, the air cleared up immensely and everything looked great.
We got in to my uncles' house around 2:30 or so and hung out and relaxed. That evening Uncle Joe took the two of us into downtown Palm Springs for Villagefest, the weekly street fair. It only runs autumn-spring, and will be closing soon for the summer months. I have to admit that it seems totally foreign to shut down for the summer due to heat. Around here, you wait for the summer so that places open or stay open later. But hey, that's Palm Springs. Anyway, there were a ton of jewelry vendors, people making art, musicians, potters, etc. My uncles have a friend who followed them from Michigan to Palm Springs, and the guy started a soap business called Aqua Joe. I bought a bar of sangria soap from him, and he threw in another bar of amber/sandalwood soap for free. Nice!
After that we went home, had cocktails, and then sat out on the patio for dinner. Uncle Richard made... steak that night, I think. I can't remember, but whatever it was it was delicious. Uncle Richard is a great cook. From there we got in the spa before going to bed, and I slept like a baby.
Friday
On Friday my uncle made a breakfast of eggs and chiles, and after that the Scientist and I headed to the outskirts of town. The Hyundai Elantra we rented for the duration of the trip was a good car for getting around town, but it's certainly not made for mountain terrain. Just heading up the road to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway taxed the car, but then again the first station is at 2,643 feet. Soon after we got inside the valley station, the tram made its way down and we got onboard. The new tramcars have a rotating floor, so that as you ascend up the mountain you circle the car twice. It's really a lot of fun, and this is coming from someone who's afraid of heights. When we got to the mountain station (8,516 feet elevation), we checked out the view from the vantage points and then went out into Mount San Jacinto State Park.
I've been here twice before, but always in March when there was still snow on the ground. This time the Long Valley was all green and lush, with a stream running through the middle of it. The Scientist and I walked over to the Ranger Station, which is the cutoff point for hikers without permits. Once you pass the station, you have to check in and show that you're an experienced-enough hiker to manage the trails alone. (This check-in point also helps them keep track of who's in the park, so that if someone is lost the search & rescue team will come in. Uncle Joe says there are enough people who go off trail and get lost that search & rescue now charges for their services [if they can deem you're an inexperienced fool who got into trouble on your own].) Anyway, from that point we turned around and hiked the self-guided nature trail around the Long Valley, and then went up to the Desert View Trail. This one heads up into the peaks on the north side of Long Valley, which look out over the Coachella Valley below. Some of the peaks are over 10,000 feet high. At our first vantage point I was just fine, and we climbed up onto the rocks to sit and look out over Palm Springs and the other towns below. Unfortunately, when we got to the second vantage point, my fear of heights kicked in and I had a panic attack. I got all red and sweaty and shaky and started crying, and it was just embarassing. The same thing happened on our honeymoon when we climbed the ruins at Xunantunich. The Scientist felt bad, and for the rest of the hike when we got near an overlook, I'd stay back and let him explore closer to the edge. Eeeech. To make matters worse, getting back to the Mountain Station consists of climbing a path of switchbacks. My throat muscles were on the verge of tightening and cutting off air due to the earlier panic attack, and I'm not in good shape, and my athesma has always acted up in the thinner air of the moutaintop. So combine all that, and I had to stop twice on the way back. That said, this was probably the best time I've ever had up there, and it was worth all the freakout and the breathing problems. ;)
On the way home we stopped for salads for lunch, which were tasty. Then we went back and chilled out. Uncle Richard made almond-encrusted tilapia for dinner, and that was tasty. Of course, there were cocktails before dinner and wine with dinner, followed by another pre-bedtime dip in the spa. Good times.
Saturday
On Saturday morning my friend Natalie made her way down to Palm Springs from LA. I've visited Natalie the past two times I've been to see my uncles, but this was her first time coming to LA. It's been 3 years since we've seen each other, and it was great to see her again. Her life has changed a lot since our last visit, but she's still the same hysterical girl I got to know in poetry class. We all hung out at the house for a little bit, so that she could relax after the drive and get to know my uncles and the Scientist a bit more. Then the three of us left my uncles to themselves and headed to The Living Desert. Uncle Richard works there as a docent, so I've been there on every trip. It's basically a zoo and botanical garden, which are rather easy to come by around Chicago. However, to see desert animals in a native-style habitat is a lot cooler. For example, the bighorn sheep habitat is literally the side of a mountain.
Nat nearly lost her mind when she saw the giraffe savannah, as she's never seen a giraffe that she can remember. (Hey, she grew up in Central Illinois. There are no zoos around where she lived.) Nat took a ton of pictures, and we all had a nice time. On the way home we stopped at Thai Smile in Rancho Mirage and got one order of pad thai and king prik to split. It was the perfect small lunch for the three of us.
We headed home and hung around the spa talking. The Scientist mixed drinks for everyone and got Nat a little fuzzy-headed even before heading off to dinner. We all got dressed up and went to Davey's Hideaway, which is one of my uncles' favorite places. They had a table reserved out on the patio, the waiters and owner all knew them by name, and it was a really nice evening. The food was good, I had a glass of wine with dinner, and there was a tasty wedge salad with bleu cheese in there as well. From there we headed back home, my uncles went off to bed, and the three of us hopped in the spa for after-dinner cocktails. I think we were up till 2 a.m. Somehow we also broke a plastic cup. It was a good night.
Sunday
Sunday morning the Scientist woke up early and snuck out of the house to buy groceries for breakfast. He made a big breakfast for everyone, which was very tasty. Nat stuck around for breakfast, then packed up and headed home. The Scientist and I were going to go to Indian Canyons with Uncle Joe, but one of his friends called with a medical emergency and he headed off to the hospital. So it was just the Scientist and I going up into the mountains (again), but this time I was VERY glad we were alone, as the hiking paths here were much more strenuous and Uncle Joe would not have liked it. (He fell a few months ago and broke his wrist, and it's still not healed. So until he's back to somewhat normal, he's very afraid of falling again and hurting his wrist more.)
As a side note about the history of this place, Indian Canyons is run by the Agua Caliente Band of the Cahuilla Indians. The Agua Caliente Band owns a large portion of the land on which Palm Springs is built, and I know that my uncles pay a monthly stipend to them in exchange for owning a home on their land. The Agua Caliente Band also runs a casino in town (the Morongo Band owns another about 20 miles west of Palm Springs), and runs the Indian Canyons park as a nature reserve and to educate people on the Cahuilla history.
Anyway, Indian Canyons is gorgeous. While Mount San Jacinto is to the north and west of Palm Springs, Indian Canyons is to the south. There are two major canyons in the park, Andreas Canyon to the south and west, and Palm Canyon to the far south. We went to Andreas Canyon first, and started up what was once a mining trail. At first it was pretty easy, but then it went up a steep grade and became switchbacks back and forth up the mountainside. We climbed about 1,000 feet up before I started getting really hot. There was absolutely zero shade whatsoever, and the sun just beats down on you and then up at you off the rocks. I was okay until my head started throbbing, which I knew was a bad sign, so we headed back down. We went through the canyon area a bit, where there were a lot of palm trees and a stream in the oasis. When the path got rockier I decided to hang back in the shade to cool down while the Scientist ventured on. It was so peaceful, and eventually two German ladies came by and I took their picture for them.
From there we hopped in the car and drove over to Palm Canyon, which is a completely different type of terrain. We had to drive up the mountainside to get to the visitor center and then back down the other side, which was nearly a cliff, to get to the actual canyon. Here the ground is all soft sand, with huge trees everywhere and steep mountains on both sides. The hot springs in this area were nearly dry, unlike the stream with rushing water over in Andreas Canyon. But with the mountains being so steep on either side, the wind just whipped through Palm Canyon and made it significantly cooler. We followed the trail past several small oases, and eventually stopped when the Scientist needed a break. (He's hiked about a mile more than I had.) We got to watch an eagle flying in circles, floating on the wind currents, and it was absolutely gorgeous. From there we hiked back to the car and headed home, where we ate a snack and then went for a swim in the neighborhood pool to get the dust and dirt off ourselves.
Monday
This was our last full day of vacation, and we decided to take it easy. We bummed around the house that morning, packing up our things so that we wouldn't have to later. Uncle Joe mentioned that the Palm Springs Air Museum was having a Memorial Day flower drop (picture 3 is good). So we headed over to that area to watch. We got there right at 1:00 when it was supposed to start, but nothing happened. Ten minutes went by. Then fifteen. Uncle Joe said we should give it to a certain time and then leave, as planned events are NOTORIOUSLY late in Palm Springs. So we waited till 1:30, and when it still hadn't happened, we headed off. Cest la vie.
The Scientist wanted authentic, spicy Mexican food, so we went to a little storefront restaurant called Taco Salsas. As soon as we walked in I knew we had the right place, as there was a salsa bar set up in the corner. The Scientist was happy as could be, especially since there were several types of hot peppers just waiting to be eaten. I got a fish taco for lunch, simply because I'd only had one once and wasn't impressed, but assumed I could find a good fish taco in California. I wasn't wrong. Oh my God, so good. Also, this restaurant had $3 margaritas. SCORE. So we three ate lunch, then headed home to change clothes (as there had been spillage), and then back out to go shopping.
We went to downtown Palm Springs in the hopes that my favorite jewelry store was still open. Unfortunately it closed down sometime in the past three years. :( However, the Scientist saw an antiques/art store nearby that was going out of business, so we went in there to see what they had. I found a giant paperweight-type art piece with a glass jellyfish inside for $30. Yay! Then we headed over to Gottschalk's department store, as it was going out of business and my uncle wanted to check out the deals. While there, we saw that luggage was on sale for super-cheap. Seeing as how the Scientist's big suitcase broke while we were on our honeymoon, and seeing as how his duffel got ripped up on the way to Palm Springs, we bought a big rolling suitcase. So that was good. However, while in the parking lot of the mall I lost my balance and fell into the side of the car, stubbing my toe. By the time we got home, it was all bruised and hurt a lot. Booooo.
This meant I had no appropriate footwear for going out somewhere nice for the farewell dinner, as I couldn't wear my cute new sandals with the heels. (They pinched my bruised toe. Woe.) My uncles decided on a place called Blame It On Midnight, which was really casual. I guess seeing as how Monday was the last night of the holiday weekend, most people had already gone home. The restaurant was nearly completely empty when we walked in. The waiter gave me all the leftovers from the martini shaker, probably because there was no other customer to split the shaker into a separate drink. By the time we left, there were probably 30 people in the place, max. I was the only female in the entire place, and the Scientist was the only straight guy. Oh, Palm Springs. I love you so. When we got home there was one last dip in the spa before bed, and then that was it.
Tuesday
Yesterday we got up early and drove back into the smog cloud that covered all of LA. I swear, it looked like that giant sandstorm Imhotep raises in The Mummy, except it was SMOG. The bus driver from the car return to the airport tried to tell us it was regular fog, but we weren't buying it. We had a short flight from Ontario to Las Vegas, and as soon as we cleared the smog of LA, we could look down and see a sheet of brownish-yellow filth hanging in the air. GROSS. Once in Vegas, we were one of the first onto our flight to Chicago, which meant we got the exit row. Yay for extra legroom! Except once we got home, the pull handle on the Scientist's new luggage was broken. Come on, Southwest! So we complained because that's two bags broken, and they gave us a form to fill out and complain for a refund or something.
Once we got outside, it was pouring buckets of rain. What a shock to go from the arid desert with 95°+ heat that morning to the 60s with torrential downpours. Then lightning and thunder. I think we were lucky to fly in during a window of dry clouds, because if we were ten minutes later I don't think we'd have been able to land.
So that's the vacation in a nutshell.
