Tag Archives: Palm Springs

The Latest: Spring 2022

May 28, 2022 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

It’s been a while since I posted and caught friends and family up on the latest with Wendy and me. There are so many ups and downs on Life’s road. Some stretches of the journey are memorable for their intensity and/or for pinnacle events. Then there are stretches of the journey that are less than memorable. Life proceeds, the river continues to flow, and you simply surrender to the flow. That’s how the late winter and spring of 2022 feel to me. Relatively uneventful, but not necessarily unimportant. C’est la vie.

We continue to enjoy small moments of joy with loved ones like the night we went to the Des Moines’ nightclub, Noce, with friends to enjoy the Des Moines’ Big Band. “Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life,” said Art Blakey. He was right. In the depths of an Iowa winter, some good jazz warms both heart and soul.

But it’s not just jazz. The arts, in general, allow the Creator to infuse life with the joy and Life of new creation. Wendy and I are so blessed to be part of a local gathering of Jesus’ followers who celebrate this. I was asked, once again, to be the Master of Ceremony for an “Original Works Night” that featured amazing talent and original works from poets, artists, songwriters, and photographers. It was so good. There’s even a video of the entire evening.

We continue to enjoy the blessing of great meals with good friends and the life-giving conversation that accompanies them. May this always be a regular part of our lives, as it certainly was this spring.

St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated this year with our friends, Kev and Beck, at the Hall in old West Des Moines. We thought we’d beat the rush and arrive early, but forgot that the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing in the Big Dance that afternoon. We went with the flow and enjoyed the afternoon and evening with good friends, good food, and a joyous time together with friends.

Speaking of friends, COVID robbed us of so many opportunities to be with friends and loved ones. Wendy and I took advantage of the waning pandemic to jet out to Palm Springs and spend time with dear friends in California. We enjoyed great meals, great conversation, and a jaunt out to Joshua Tree National Park. It was so good for our souls.

You never know when life will throw you a curveball. Wendy and I found ourselves at the lake this spring. We were preparing dinner. Wendy was slicing an avocado and ended up slicing her hand. An evening in the Emergency Room was followed by surgery and we continue in a season of rehab and recuperation. We’re at least enjoying the fact that she has a Harry Potter-worthy lightning-bolt scar on her palm. Trust me when I tell you that you’ve never truly experienced the breadth of humanity until you spend about six hours in an Emergency Room in the Ozarks.

We enjoyed a lovely visit from my parents. Dad continues to suffer the effects of cancer, bacterial infection, and the early symptoms of Parkinson’s. Mom’s Alzheimer’s continues to progress. Nevertheless, they continue to persevere in independent living in Des Moines as we plan for the next stages in their respective life journeys.

Wendy’s injury put a bit of a damper on our annual turn as the Dominie H.P. and Maria Scholte at Pella’s annual Tulip Time festivities. I spent some time each morning greeting visitors and tourists at the Scholte House Museum and we rode each afternoon in the Tulip Time parade. The three-day festival was a bit of a miracle this year. Right up until the day before the forecast was predicting rain for the first two days, but the first morning of the festival the rain stopped and the weather was perfect the rest of the time. The tulips were right at peak this year, as well. They looked spectacular.

The crew in Scotland is anxiously awaiting the arrival of our granddaughter. That didn’t stop them from making a vaca trip to Belgium this spring (yes, I’m jealous). Baby girl is scheduled for a summer solstice arrival on June 21. Big brother, Milo, has floated potential names for his sister ranging from “Julie” to “Harry Houdini.” We’ll trust mom and dad with making an apt choice.

We loved having Madison and Garrett (aka “G”) with us at the lake just a week or so ago. They flew into KC and we picked them up and transported them to the lake for a wonderful, long weekend. As always, the time was too short.

We also enjoyed dinner and a visit with our friends, the Burches, who were welcoming their daughter, Shanae, along with her husband and baby son back to the United States from their home in Cambodia. It was so fun to enjoy a Cambodian meal and spend an evening of love and laughter together. To watch my friend, Matthew, with his grandson was awesome.

We returned to Iowa, briefly. Wendy and I returned to KC the following weekend for an enjoyable getaway that included a visit with our friends, Matt and Tara. We then scooted back to the lake. Memorial Day weekend has finally arrived, which portends our annual VW, JP, and VL get-together. The official kick-off of summer has begun!

Theatre Journal, Travel Journal, Wayfarer's Journal

The Latest 05-06-2019

May 6, 2019 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Oh my, it’s been a while since I’ve given a little update on what’s happening in our journey. Here’s a brief summary from this spring:

A New Member of the Family

Garrett proposing to Madison on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Madison and her boyfriend, Garrett, were in Scotland this past week paying a visit to Taylor, Clayton, and Milo. A day trip to the Isle of Skye provided a ridiculously stunning setting for Garrett to pop the question to Madison. We’re excited to welcome Garrett into our wonderfully messy family. An autumn wedding in South Carolina is planned.

The Scotland Crew

We are missing Tay, Clay, and Milo terribly. Thank God for FaceTime. Though, no matter how hard we try, we can’t reach through the screen and hug them. Clayton’s academic work is going well. He’s publishing on multiple fronts, has facilitated both undergraduate and graduate classes, and is trying to work on his dissertation in between everything else. Taylor has gone full-time working for Storii and is traveling around the UK conducting on-boarding training for different care facilities. Milo is cuter than ever and he melts my heart every time he looks and me on FaceTime and says, “Papa!” We’re still working on “Yaya.”

Little Milo in his red jacket exploring Scotland.

A Week in So-Cal

Enjoyed exploring the Gaslamp District in San Diego.

Our Spring Break was spent in Southern California this year. Wendy and I jetted to the west coast for a few days in San Diego followed by a few days (and St. Patrick’s Day!) in Palm Springs with our friends Kevin and Linda. The agenda for the week was simple. We walked, explored, enjoyed good food, good drink, and a wonderful time with friends. We were excited when our friend, Ann, drove up to Palm Springs from Yuma, to spend an afternoon with us.

Kaiser Grill, Palm Springs

Lunch at Maracas!

Scootin’ around San Diego.

Spent a lot of time doing this.

Ghiradelli

Harbor Breakfast, San Diego.

The view from our guest room porch in Palm Springs.

Happy hour overlooking San Diego Harbor.

Our first time back at a Ruth’s Chris since our honeymoon.

Our friend, Ann, drove from Yuma to spend some time with us.

Found a real Irish Pub in San Diego.

“California, here we come!”

Hat shop. Duh.

San Diego Harbor sunset.

April Birthdays

Our friends Kevin and Beck both have April birthdays, and so do I. Over the past few years we’ve made it a point of celebrating all three birthdays together. This year was a little tough to fit it in with four very busy schedules, but we managed to steal a few hours at one of our favorite places. Wendy provided the party favors and, as always, a good time was had by all.

Tulip Time 2019

We just finished Pella’s annual Tulip Festival this past weekend. Once again Wendy and I portrayed our town’s founding couple. We greeted tourists, had our picture taken a million times, and were in five of the festival’s six parades. We also hosted Aunt Linda, Uncle Gary & Aunt Fern, Uncle Brad and Aunt Barb, Mom Hall here at the house for various nights.

Our participation in Tulip Time was limited this year because we found ourselves making a movie and hosting a couple of the members of the film crew, but more about that in a subsequent post.

The weekend was perfect this year. The tulips and trees were all blooming and peaking at the same time. The weather was a little overcast on Thursday and Friday, but pleasant. Saturday was sunny and warm.

Reprising a Few Roles

Wendy and I have not been actively involved in community theatre the last few years as we’ve transitioned our time and energy to work and other endeavors. We were asked, however, to reprise a couple of pieces for a variety show at the end of March. We performed one of our scenes (Getting it Back) from Almost, Maine. I also performed Green Stuff from the musical The Christmas Post.

Travel Journal, Wayfarer's Journal

A Quick Trip to “The Springs”

December 4, 2018 Tom Vander Well 2 Comments

Wendy and I have greatly missed our friends, Kevin and Linda, who packed up their possessions in Pella and moved out to Palm Springs, California a few months ago. So, when Wendy happened to see that our airline had some super-saver deals we jumped at the chance to fly out to spend a few days with the snowbirds this past week. And, as the weather has been unseasonably cold, windy, and snowy in Iowa, it came at a great time.

We were supposed to arrive mid-day on Tuesday, but travel delays meant we got rerouted and spent much more time in airports than planned. Nevertheless, we arrived at 7:45 pm and enjoyed dinner with Kevin and Linda. We enjoyed playing with Linda’s dog, Ginsberg, and talking way too late into the evening, or wee hours of the morning as was the reality for our midwest bodies.

It was a gorgeous day on Wednesday. So much fun to sit in on the deck and look out at the sun on the mountains as I got a little work done. Once everyone was up and going we walked the mile from their condo to the main strip in Palm Springs, taking time to browse through some shops. The chorizo queso at Maracas has become a favorite of ours, so we had lunch there. Kevin and I picked up cigars to enjoy after dinner that evening. We walked back and napped in the afternoon. Dinner was on the patio at another Palm Springs favorite, Tropicale. We enjoyed cigars around the pool in the evening and even dipped our feet in the hot tub.

This is NOT an example of mid-century modern architecture.

Thursday was unseasonably cold and rainy for Palm Springs, but we didn’t let it dampen our day. Our friends gave us a tour of mid-century modern architecture around Palm Springs and we grabbed a burger at a local grill. The afternoon was spent visiting, napping, and reading. We took in the Palm Spring Art Museum in the evening for dining at Kaiser Grill.

Wendy taking in an exhibit at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Somehow, Wendy in a halo of red is just fitting.

The trip was all too quick. It felt like we blinked and it was over. We enjoyed brunch together at Pinocchio’s along with Kevin and Linda’s friend, Michael, who had flown in for a visit late the previous evening. Then, it was back to reality. We met snow in our layover in Denver. Ugh.

Blessed to have gotten a few days of r&r with our friends, however. Can’t wait for the next time.

Kevin & Linda at Tropicale.

This is NOT an example of mid-century modern architecture.

Not-so-grumpy old men.

A room tiled with chocolate at Palm Springs Art Museum.

Lunch at Maracas!

Wendy and her friend, Ginsberg.

Palm Springs Art Museum.

Gorgeous day for a walk uptown.

Wayfarer's Journal

A Spring Weekend in So Cal

April 4, 2018 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

It’s been a week since my last post and I’ve been on a bit of an unexpected hiatus. Last Thursday Wendy and I arose at 3:30 a.m. to catch an early flight to southern California for a long holiday weekend. We spent Thursday and Friday in La Jolla where we had a chance to spend some get-to-know-you time with our company’s newest Board member and his lovely wife.

Winter seems determined to hold its icy grip on Iowa, and so it was lovely to enjoy the warmth of the California sun. After checking into our room at the La Valencia, we got to stroll along the ocean in La Jolla and watch the seals and sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. We enjoyed some amazing gelato at Bobboi Natural Gelato as we walked, and ended up at the back deck of We Olive & Wine Bar where we enjoyed a glass of wine and a charcuterie plate as we looked out over the ocean. Tony and Joy joined us for a few minutes to make introduction and secure the plans for the evening.

We dined Thursday evening at Catania where we sat on the deck and watched the sun set over the ocean as we dined. Thoroughly enjoyed our meal and conversation with Tony and Joy. After dinner we strolled through some of the galleries in La Jolla. One of the galleries was dedicated to the work of Dr. Seuss, who lived and worked in La Jolla. We learned that La Jolla was the inspiration for Dr. Seuss’ “Hooville.” There was also an amazing National Geographic gallery in which their award winning photography was transformed into amazing works of art. By the time we got to bed it had been a 20 hour day.

On Friday morning we had breakfast at Starbucks before rejoining Tony and Joy. Joy and Wendy spent most of the morning in a local book store while Tony and I talked business in his office. We gathered back together late in the morning spent some time chatting on their rooftop deck before enjoying lunch together at George’s at the Cove. After lunch Wendy and I checked out and headed to Palm Springs.

Traffic was completely nuts, so Google Maps took us on a circuitous route through the backroads of So Cal. What would have been a 2.5 hour trip without traffic ended up being about 3.5 hours and we arrived in Palm Springs about 5:30. We dropped off our rental at the airport where friends Kevin and Linda picked us up. We dropped our bags off at their place and then headed to the Tropicale for dinner. We adjourned back to Kevin and Linda’s for a nightcap and cigar on their deck.

On Saturday we enjoyed a lazy morning with Kevin and Linda. Kevin and I did a read through of Freud’s Last Session by the pool. We headed to Maracas for lunch. We’d been there last year and fell in love with their queso with chorizo. We’d really looked forward to having it again and weren’t disappointed. Wendy and went to the hat shop and bought new chapeaus (I think that’s going to be a tradition!). We napped in the afternoon and then got ready for dinner at Il Giardino. We strolled up the strip after dinner and grabbed Ben and Jerry’s for dessert before retiring back to Kevin and Linda’s for the requisite conversation and night cap on their deck.

We were up early on Sunday and spent a long Easter Sunday flying back to Iowa.

It was a wonderful weekend, though I’m learning that age is catching up with me. The long days and short nights took more of a toll than I expected. It’s taken a few days of extra sleep to get caught back up and my morning quiet time and chapter-a-day routine has been sacrificed. Hoping to get back into the normal routine starting tomorrow!

Photo Friday, Tom's Photos

Photo Friday: Shoes on the Power Line

February 17, 2017 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

2017-01-palm-springs-w-kevin-and-linda-10

While in Palms Springs a few weeks ago I spied a pair of shoes tossed over and dangling from a power line. My head was suddenly filled with nostalgic images of years gone by when such iconic pranks were the stuff that childhood was made of.

The shoes and the power lines made an interesting composition against the cloudless blue canvas of California’s desert sky.

Sunday Summary, Tom's Photos, Travel Journal, Wayfarer's Journal

Palm Springs & and Unintended Sabbatical

February 12, 2017 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“…but abide the change of time,
Quake in the present winter’s state, and wish
That warmer days would come.”
– Shakespeare (Cymbeline 2.4)

Even casual readers of my blog will know that my posting has been, at best, haphazard of late. For almost 11 years I’ve managed to average close to one post a day, but I found myself in an unintended sabbatical of late. I’m at a loss to easily say why. Let’s chalk it up to a mixed winter’s tempest of draining musical production, nasty virus that won’t go away, longer than average holidays, seemingly endless activity, year-end responsibilities, new-year responsibilities, awful head cold, then topped off by what feels like endless business travel.

In the midst of it, however, Wendy and I sought to escape the depths of Iowa winter to visit our friends Kevin and Linda in Palm Springs. Our dear neighbors undertook their first adventure as “snowbirds.” We have greatly missed their good company. So, we snuck out for a relational “fix” while enjoying a week in the sun.

Solving the world's problems into the wee hours (our sincere apologies to the neighbors). — Solving the world’s problems into the wee hours (our sincere apologies to the neighbors).

Neither Wendy nor I have spent any time in Palm Springs. I drove through on a business trip many years ago, but did not stay. Kevin and Linda have a lovely little condo with requisite swimming pool. They also had a cute little deck where the four of us could sit and quaff drinks while attempting to solve the world’s problems into the wee hours of multiple mornings. We didn’t solve the world’s problems, and we argued like the Founding Fathers over several issues which kept the neighbors awake. We also found things on which to agree – and in the end we toasted love in both our unity and our diversity (and then we joyfully did it all again the next day).

Our agenda for the week was very simple. We wanted to enjoy the good company of our good friends over good meals and good drink…and do a little reading for pleasure in the sun by the pool. Mission accomplished. We loved the Tropical where cocktails were accompanied with gorgonzola stuffed, bacon-wrapped plums. We also loved Melvyn’s which doesn’t seem to have changed since the days when Frank Sinatra regularly haunted the corner barstool. We had margaritas and chorizo queso on the patio of Maracas not once, but twice. So many great memories were made.

Thursday night market in the heart of Palm Springs.

We also took the Palms Springs Tramway from the desert floor to the top of the mountains that loom like a giant wall on the town’s western border. A little shopping is always in order and we found two hat shops where we each found a new hat for the lake this summer (actually, I found two). There is a Thursday evening market along the main thoroughfare and we enjoyed an after dinner stroll through the endless rows of vendors and listened to the street musicians.

The view from the Palm Springs Tram. The Salton Sea, which we passed on the way to Arizona, is in the distance upper right.

Wendy and I also took the opportunity for a day trip to Arizona where we visited our good friend Ann who has been teaching Theatre there for the past few years. It was a fascinating road trip through the desert for us, along the Salton Sea and through the Sahara-like dunes just west of Yuma. Definitely a departure from cornfields and cattle.

We fought the crowds at "One Dollar Wednesday" at the Palm Springs Winter League. Thanks, Kevin, for treating me! ;-) — Kevin and I fought the crowds at “One Dollar Wednesday” at the Palm Springs Winter League. Thanks, Kevin, for treating me! 😉

Kevin and I took in a baseball game one gloriously sunny afternoon. The Palm Springs Winter League is for college kids and minor league cast-offs who are are hoping for an invitation to MLB Spring Training. According to the league’s marketing, about half of them will earn one. I was excited to learn that the catcher for one of the teams played for my alma mater, Judson. It was also interesting to watch him catch for a young woman who came into the game to pitch in relief. I can’t wait for baseball season to start.

We returned home having made some great memories, and having enjoyed a nice break to the cold and snow. We are a little less apt to “quake in the present winter’s state.”

Enjoy a few of my photos of the trip.