Alone (or distanced) in the dark: back to the theater for the movie guy!

Kelvin is much more the movie-goer and movie-watcher in our house (it's been a long while since we hosted our Oscars party!). I have been to a handful of movies in the last decade, much preferring watching them streaming from the comfort of my own house (plus, when I fall asleep at 9 p.m., I can continue on another day!) but also not being able to commit to (or not currently having an attention span for) >1.5 hours of anything on a screen. I am also more averse than he is to paying for theater ticket prices that aren't matinees (and I never splurge for refreshments!).

After we finished our Joshua Tree hiking in good time, we had an afternoon free before leaving the Palm Desert area and while I spent the afternoon blogging and reading (and taking a bubble bath which was my first in probably twenty years!), he took off for solo movie watching of a Bond flick he'd been interested in seeing (he and I also don't share tastes in entertainment so I was more than happy to skip this one).

It had been about two years (since before the pandemic) since K was in a theater, which called for some celebratory beverages (and photo documentation since this was quite a novel scene!).

He faithfully wore his K-95 mask but the theater was basically empty on the weekday afternoon and he told me, upon chatting with the cashier, that masks apparently weren't universally required indoors in the county we were in (for vaccinated people, although no one was verifying vaccine status), which felt kind of strange.

He enjoyed the film, and, with hope (for him), it's fewer than another two years until he's back to the movies!

Joshua Tree National Park: Us and the Cacti

 

Kelvin asked if, along this desert getaway, I wanted to make an excursion to Joshua Tree National Park, which was about an hour away from where we were staying, and I said "Sure." I'd never been to this park and figured a fall (NOT summer like in New Mexico!) desert hike (the park straddles the Colorado and Mojave deserts) would be a fun thing to do when kid-less. 

Despite a later morning start than planned (without kids or work stress, my body didn't wake me up until after 7 a.m.!), we made it to the park close to 9 a.m. and started out from the Black Rock Campground on the trail leading to Panorama Loop (about a 6.5-mile hike).

It actually was a fairly cool desert morning (50-60s), and as it was a fall weekday, we saw very few other hikers, although the campground looked pretty happening. 

There were lots of interesting cacti along the way, including the Joshua Trees (yucca brevifolia) for which the park is named. 

We saw very little signs of life, except a couple of lizards and some beetles, and it was really peaceful.

The top of the "loop" was pretty breezy, with views of the surrounding desert and town of Yucca Valley as well as some windmills. 

I have to say that hiking on sandy trails in the desert isn't quite as satisfying as hiking through forests and lakes to a stunning viewpoint at the top, but at least it wasn't a hundred degrees and we had plenty of water (and zero kids to carry).  I remarked to Kelvin while walking that we've taken several "desert" trips this year-- to Bend, Oregon (the "high desert"), Rancho Murrieta, CA (July), Albuquerque, New Mexico (July) and now back to SE California on this trip. When you live in a cool, coastal climate, the dry (and warm) desert feels like a nice break (and a nice break it was!). 

All is Wells— Vac to (Tennis) Paradise

 

The pandemic has disrupted a lot of things, sporting events included.  The BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament in Indian Wells (the desert of Southern California) held in March, which Kelvin and I have been to four times in the past (2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019), decided to hold its 2021 version this fall, after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus due to the pandemic.  Kelvin brought up the idea of going this fall as an early fortieth birthday present for me, as we tend to splurge for "experiences," not things, and he kept getting tournament e-mails hyping up the event. Although I love tennis-watching and this tournament, I worried about all of the logistics of making it happen -- COVID, having childcare for the kids (as school is in session and we now have to worry about the public school schedule!), flight timing, not being on call, and dog care, etc. Nevertheless, as the event was outdoors and vaccines were mandatory for attendees, I agreed if he agreed to plan it. He did indeed arrange all the details, from having his parents come up to spend two weeks with us and cover our few-day absence and school drop-offs/pick-ups and dog-walking, to the car rental and lodging, and I just basically had to show up (truly a gift!).

It's been a lovely time (despite our ice hiccup on Tuesday morning).   The weather has been lovely (similar to March desert weather-- hot during the day and cool at night). 

We took our usual photographs.

The Moet (champagne) penguin

Despite the flight delay, we caught a LOT of tennis on day 1 (fourth round), including from some Grand Slam champions, even though some players (notably, Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Osaka, and Barty) were absent. 

(Kelvin is the Rafa fan)

Who knows how long this guy will be around?

We saw some of "the battle of the young French Open champions" Jelena Ostapenko and Iga Swiatek.

We watched Alexander Zverev (who beat Djokovic this summer in Tokyo for the gold medal) take out three-time Grand Slam Champion Andy Murray. 

We watched an incredibly competitive three-setter between Leylah Fernandez (the U.S. Open runner-up) and American Shelby Rogers (who triumphed in the end).

Paula Badosa beat Barbora Krejcikova (this year's French Open Women's Champion).

Victoria Azarenka warms up.

On Stadium 3, we also caught some great doubles between Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff, a young upcoming American, who played against the highly ranked team of Mertens/Hsieh (who won).

I was too tired from a night of call and our early morning departure to hang for the whole last night match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Fabio Fognini but it was a competitive three-setter.

Day 2 (including some women's quarterfinals) was equally entertaining. 

As the tennis matches didn't get started until 11 a.m., we enjoyed sleeping in until 7 a.m. and had  breakfast at Si Bon. 

Grigor Dmitrov upset U.S. Open Champion Daniil Medvedev with Bulgarians cheering loudly. 

Gael Monfils is always entertaining but did not have the game to beat Zverev. 

BNP Paribas (or "Tennis Paradise" as they call it) was a lovely getaway for us (and gift for me; thanks to my in-laws for holding down the fort at home)!  While some things were different this year, including all-digital ticketing and vaccine verification, only clear "stadium" bags allowed into the grounds, and smaller crowds, it was almost like a time before there was a pandemic (masks were optional due to the outdoor venue and COVID-immunized population). Being able to trust those around us in a "pandemic bubble" of responsible people was so relaxing, and I enjoyed the tennis, good venue food, time in the warm sun, and reading my kindle during breaks (and despite being, especially with this upcoming 40th birthday, "middle-aged," I'm not a gray-haired retiree [like a lot of the attendees], yet!).  This Indian Wells tennis tournament is truly my happy place--we hope to be back to Paradise in not too long.