Digues adéu a Mid-Century-Modern, (gairebé) de nou a la carretera

Four weeks in Palm Springs are coming to an end. Tomorrow is departure day. In the past four weeks, there wasn't much to report. Our trip to Mount San Jacinto, the visit to Palm Valley, and the detour to LA were the only 'highlights' of the last four weeks (quite elevated, huh?!).

But it wasn't without incidents in the remaining days either. We learned what it means to dehydrate (or rather, I did). What it means to live in constant 40 degrees without really being aware of it and getting the reminder in the end. The whole thing ended - once again - with a visit to the medical center, where they 'revived' me with strong tablets. And, of course, the consumption of at least three liters of water daily, under the watchful eyes of Thorsten. It was worth it, everything is fine now, and we can continue our road trip.

The last day here in Palm Springs is a reflection of what the time has brought us. In general, a very nice time in a wonderful environment. Afternoon rounds in the pool and completely relaxed time. Nothing and no one disturbed us. Nothing that we would regret...

However, the last 10 days have not been quite as expected. During the day, we only stayed in the air-conditioned house. In the evening, when the temperatures allowed, we sat on the terrace and were plagued by mosquitoes. Not five minutes without an attack from the bloodsuckers. Thorsten had more visitors than I did, and accordingly, his stay outside was 'relaxed'. But the mosquitoes also followed us into the house. Armed with anti-mosquito spray, we could defend ourselves against the critters inside the house.

In the meantime, the coffee machine broke down, became incontinent, and couldn't hold the water anymore. We informed the landlord, who received absurd instructions from the manufacturer, as it should only have been two months old. We had to provide evidence that the water was actually leaking and that we hadn't spilled it next to it... The instructions then stated that we should cut the power cord with scissors at the point closest to the device (huh?!?), but make sure the plug was pulled out (oh really!!). A photo of the cut cable lying next to the coffee machine (!?!?!?) was sent to the landlord or the coffee machine manufacturer, and this afternoon a new coffee machine was waiting outside the door.

But that wasn't all. After breakfast this morning, the water in the kitchen sink drain did not drain after rinsing the dishes. Attempts to unclog the drain with a plunger failed. All we managed to get out was a straw... We made sure not to put any solid residues in the drain. Generally, one has a 'garbage disposal' in the USA, but not here.

However, due to the use of the plunger, a connection in the drain pipe came loose a bit, so that water from the sink did not flow through the drain but slowly poured into the cabinet below.

The dishwasher was full of used dishes. Since the drainage lines obviously were not connected but disappeared separately in the wall, we thought that at least we could run the dishwasher. Initially, it went well, and it looked like the two systems had nothing to do with each other.

Not checking constantly, we then noticed after a few minutes that the sink had filled with the wastewater from the dishwasher and was now seeking its way through the leak in the sink drain pipe. Great, the whole cabinet was now underwater!!!

Now we had to quickly mop everything up, turn off the dishwasher, and scoop the water out of the sink with a plastic bowl... At some point, everything was dry again, and we had to inform the landlord about it all. He wanted to send a craftsman the next day, once we had left, to fix the damage.

In the afternoon, we had to pick up our rental car for the next three weeks at the airport. After walking the distance from the house to the rental station three times and considering the intense heat, we decided to use Uber, as we had done during our visit to the medical center. It was the first time ever that we used this private transportation. With the app, it is completely easy to order a driver. Cost transparency, you know beforehand what the ride will cost, and the drivers are at the agreed meeting point within a few minutes. The driver and the customer are tracked via GPS, and you know exactly who is coming when. Perfect!!!

Well, we made it to the airport and wanted to pick up our car. So far, we had always gotten vehicles in which we could easily accommodate our luggage. They were not super-dupa cars, but practical and easy to handle. Now we had booked a midsize car because we wanted a slightly larger trunk. And what do we get? A black Mustang. Anyone else, and also us, would have been delighted to receive such a vehicle. But today, today it wasn't what we wished for. Leather seats, leather steering wheel, coolable seats, and black: to what degree can all of this heat up? Today it was 105 degrees Fahrenheit outside, or 40 degrees Celsius (where is Lauti with his heat protection plan for German citizens - I feel neglected 😉)

Later, we went to get a Domino's pizza to celebrate the farewell. With a bit of luck, we can enjoy it on the terrace.

See you tomorrow in the usual manner: this time Vegas, baby!