Friday, January 11, 2013, Palm Springs, CA

Friday, January 11, 2013, Palm Springs, CA

This is our first trip for 2013.  We have a timeshare condo reserved at the Vista Mirage Resort in Palm Springs.

I had a therapy session at 1 PM and then gassed up Gerri's new car.  The 2013 Lincoln was meant to be a Christmas present but because of various delays she didn't get it until the 3rd of January.  It was also supposed to be a surprise but I had to tell her about the new car on New Years Eve when I gave her old one to our son Todd.

After therapy I also went to the post office to mail in the request to cash in my mother's savings bonds.  Except for the memorial service at Riverside National Cemetery on March 8th, this will pretty much take care of her estate.  I mailed the package Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested.  Despite assurances by the Treasury Department, I am still leery of sending the bonds through the mail.

Gerri's mother is traveling with us, so we hadn't planned on leaving Las Vegas until nearly 7 PM.  Neva was scheduled to work at the CES until 6.  She got off a little early and we were packed and on the road at 6:40.  The new Lincoln is considerably smaller than the old one, so packing things in had to be planned a little better.

One of the first things Gerri noticed was that there are a lot of things to learn about on the new car that are hard to learn driving down I-15 in the dark.  She did find the controls for the cruise control but not the part that sets the gap for the adaptive part of the cruise control.

Since we got a late start we decided to go the long way to Palm Springs via I-15, I-215 and I-10.  The other way is about 60 miles shorter but goes through a lot of dark lonely areas.  Even though the distance by Interstate was longer the drive time is a little less.  With only one short stop we arrived at the resort about one minute after the office closed at 11 PM.  The security guard checked us in and even helped us unload.  She also changed our room to a downstairs unit out of consideration of my recent knee operation.

During check in I discovered that I didn't have my wallet.  I must have left it home.  The lack of my wallet will further curtail any geocaching plans I may have entertained.  Neva had come down with a cold from work.  Between that and my limited mobility this will probably be a hang around the condo type of week.
After getting situated in our unit, I called it a night a little after 11.  Gerri and Neva stayed up a little longer to unwind.

BTW the new car performed very well.  It is powerful, quiet and responsive.  We just have to figure out all the features.