It seems the cooler weather has had a positive effect on the quality of our sleep and last night I had one of the best sleeps I have had in a very long time. Since I lost the 15 pound fat insulator I used to have wrapped around my ribcage, I seem to be more sensitive to the cold and last night I added a blanket to my side of the bed. I slept so soundly, only waking once through the night, that I felt like staying all snuggled up in bed for the day. Surprisingly the cold overnight lows don’t seem to be affecting the pool temperature (thank goodness) so once I did get up we started the day with a long swim followed by a soak in the hot tub.

Today we wanted to explore some of the touristy areas more extensively, so once we were dressed we headed into Palm Springs and parked the car. We strolled along Palm Canyon Drive, browsing through the many shops and boutiques as we enjoyed the sunshine. Much to our surprise the shopping area was deserted and according to one bored shop manager, it was perfectly normal after the holiday weekend frenzy. Presumably, business will pick up again next week as folks get ready for Christmas.

From there we drove along Highway 111 to Palm Desert where El Paseo Drive is located, another tourist shopping area. Here the stores are even more expensive and they are interspersed with several more art galleries and high end restaurants. Though the stores were lacking shoppers there was no shortage of high priced merchandise. It’s been said that here one can catch glimpses of the “Rich and Famous” on the “right” day (which apparently today wasn’t). It was a good day for walking though and with the added bonus of some unusual stores; we had a pretty interesting one.