Winding Down and Heading Home

After all the back-and-forth to dental appointments,

the drive back up to Palm Springs,

and the quick drop-your-bags-and-get-to-the-tram,

it was nice to have a morning we didn't have to be anywhere.

Especially when the view from my balcony is this :D

I decided I was storing up Vitamin D for winter,

and I went down for a swim while Kerry went out for a walk.

His street view was like this...

... while my in-the-pool view was this :D

His view...

my view...

His view...

my view :D

His view (a photo in the museum...)

my view :D

We finally tore ourselves away (from the pool) for check-out time,

and headed down a few blocks to the

Moorten Botanical Garden.

If you want to see cacti, this is the place to go!

I have no idea what all the varieties are,

but it was amazing.

And there were fun and quirky little details scattered throughout,

like this sundial (that wasn't on daylight savings time ;D)

The place was amazing.  He even had a greenhouse he called "the cactarium" 

filled with different cacti.

(Fabulous.  My spell check keeps changing "cactarium" into "bacterium".)

I was so thankful that even though the place screamed "DESERT",

even with the temp up in the mid-90's,

much of the garden felt like an oasis -

relatively cool and shady.

Emphasis on the relatively ;D

Oh my,

I was missing my boys,

but I think I could get used to all this sunshine!

I mean, this is the airport, people,

the airport!

With palm trees growing right inside!

Time to head for home.

And can I just say how much I love Alaska Airlines?

Yes, yes I can.

We hopped from Palm Springs to San Francisco,

and took off from SF just in time to see the sun set 

over the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Then from San Fran to Seattle,

and Seattle to home.

And I'm truly glad to be home.

Glad to see all the boys,

and the house still standing ;D

But I tell ya,

it was hard to trade this...

and this...

for this.

And now, I think I'll go make a hot cup of tea and turn the furnace up.