I am writing this as we spend our last evening in a rented 25 ft. Leisure Van at Happy Traveler RV Park http://happytravelerrv.com/ near old town Palm Springs! Buddy and I are in the process of exploring coach sizes and drivability and had the opportunity to meet up w/ some friends ‘snow birding’ in the area til the end of the month. Carpe Diem as the phrase goes!
As typical of our RV adventure last August, Buddy and I again stumbled upon some true gems during this 3 day trip. We brought our bikes and went rolling through the classic historic downtown PS and surrounding residential community. This area is nestled close to the local mountains and the rocky hillside landscape is a unique beautiful backdrop for the town. Quite true to form for this Southern California desert oasis!
Many of the homes tucked at the base of the mountains have the bones of the original 1950’s architecture. And most have been remodeled into beautifully designed mid century modern masterpieces surrounded by the earthy palate of rock formations and desert flora. Old downtown Palm Springs has also been in the process of a make over thanks to folks who want to capture the style and atmosphere of a classic ‘village’ feel.
Which lends me to share a few more gems we discovered in town today as we continued our PS adventure! Downtown Palm Springs is an easily walkable area with a variety of unique restaurants, shops, galleries and local Palm Springs Art Museum. https://www.psmuseum.org/
And as Buddy and I strolled along, we peeked our heads into a few shops that were displaying the classic 50’s style décor and artwork. We then happened upon Design Collective Group http://www.DesignCollectiveGroup.com that had both wonderful home designs and more!! Buddy spent time oogling the beautifully designed cabinetry- he really appreciates the uniqueness of both the graining and staining of various woods! We also enjoyed meeting the two Michaels and spent a fair amount of time hearing about some very interesting people and architecture that have graced the Palm Spring area in past years … Frank Lloyd Wright and the Kaufman family, and also the Annenburgs and Sunnylands Estate http://www.sunnylands.org/
What caught my eye and prompted me to write this post was a book that I saw on the counter titled, “Aging in Place” http://www.wiley.com. As we spoke more with Michael Thomas, he shared that he is the author of this book and also started a non profit organization called Stayinplace.org! I sensed a connection to the design style when we walked into this jewel of a shop and I received yet another gift that can be shared with all of you!!
http://Stayinplace.org is described this way on its home page: It Is Time For Change. Remaining independent in a place of one’s choosing no matter age, agility or ability, is one of our greatest personal freedoms. But many places we call home have barriers that challenge our independence and prevent us from sustaining our quality of life.
I have included the link to this organization and encourage you to check out its blog posts, too! This is another great find for Retirementwives resource page! Palm Springs is a great place to visit with many events happening throughout the year. I hope you enjoy exploring some of the treasures we found while visiting there!
It was wonderful to see you last Sunday though I think both of us would prefer not to have met at such a sad event. I love the blog, if I had the smallest part in inspiring it I am tickled and delighted.
Ages and stages produce such a myriad of emotions tied to things you never gave much thought to before when there was lots of “noise in the system”. Room to grow and experiment and write is so freeing, I am so happy you embraced the opportunity. Yay for you, I applaud you. Linda