Atomic Me

Got the first of four radioactive infusions. For a few days there’s no kissing or flying, which is easy, as I’m in Minneapolis and Dwight’s in Palm Springs. When I do return to Palm Springs, I may set off an airport radiation detector, which could be interesting.

Corporate Spoken Here

On my walk, looked around a hotel populated by conventioneers who may never leave the property except to fly home. I can enjoy a night or two in a place like this, but it’s poor value: I don’t sit by pools or play golf or want to overhear business jargon.

Celeb Homes Gawk Walk

On my walk, two women asked me to point them towards celebrity homes. I waved towards Marilyn Monroe’s (shown here) and Liberace’s, then helped them install an app that gives map and verbal directions to a bunch of homes. They continued their walk, now with purpose, squealing with delight.

Collecting Calories

On my urban walk: refueled at a donut shop where I had a nice chat with the person ahead of me in line while her order for seven dozen assorted donuts was being fulfilled one-at-a-time; guilted by Girl Scouts to buy cookies; filled my large backpack at a supermarket.

Variety Pack

Today’s walk took me: under “The Bridge of Thighs” connecting two halves of a nudist resort; later, a front yard the artist/homeowner filled with huge, garish, improbable sculptures made from found objects; next, a block away, Twin Palms, Frank Sinatra’s forever cool former home.

Yabba-Dabba-Doo

Hiked the South Lykken Trail. Up high, snow was sticking around; on the trail, temperatures were in the 60’s. For some reason, The Flintstones Theme became an earworm. The topography surely provided inspiration for Desert Modernism and the fictional town of Bedrock.

Straight IPA

Celebrated new haircuts with a bar lunch. “Two IPAs,” I ordered. “Grapefruit IPA or straight IPA?” asked the server. “Straight,” I responded, which felt odd considering the venue.

View Through a Hedge

This morning a friend sent me the address of a vacation house her family rented back when Modernism was modern. On my walk, poked my phone through the high hedges, potentially inviting a police presence. Learned it was built by a Hollywood actor who almost won an Oscar.