Dates, oh my

Only 5 more days!    We've been here since the beginning of the month but we haven't accomplished much.   That's the problem with sitting in one place for more than a few weeks, you become lazy knowing you have plenty of time to see and do things.  You sleep in, go to bed early, read in the sunshine, visit with friends, soak in the hot jiggle pools, and before you know it, your time is almost up!

Don't get me wrong, we've enjoyed every minute of our time - except when Dave's back went out.   He's feeling back to normal now so we can resume our sightseeing tomorrow.  

Yesterday we went to the Palm Springs Farmer's Market....meh.     The only interesting thing I saw was this display of HUGE purple radishes.    

While we were in the area we stopped in at Shield's Date Farm, a Palm Springs institution since 1924.

Pam and John wanted to pick up a few gift packs to send "back home".   This combo farm/kitschy souvenir shop is one of the few remaining original date farms in this area.   Mr. Shields wanted to grow and sell dates, but he also wanted to educate people about dates and their culture.   He found a way to make his farm stand out from the rest and to show people how difficult and time consuming it was to grow and harvest these dates.    He made a slide show which was turned into a movie entitled.....

The faded "color" movie we watched was no doubt the same one people have been watching since the 20's....but we did learn quite a bit about the labor intensive job of planting, hand pollinating,  nurturing and harvesting the 12 (I think) varieties of dates grown here.

We wandered out to see a few of the huge old date palm trees then headed off to lunch.

Pam and John found what they believed were creosote bushes, so they performed the definitive test.....yep, creosote!   Pam gasped and sneezed and coughed loudly for quite awhile....Oh Pam.

I did not buy any dates from Shields, but on the way home we did stop at Sam Cobb's Date Farm, the one right around the corner from our campground.    Seems I have a bit of a date problem.    An addiction I didn't know I had....

I'm eating these things by the handful, like candy.   Its a good thing they have pits, it is the only thing that slows me down.  The date farm lady told me that I shouldn't eat more then 2 a day, they're all sugar she said....66 calories per date.   Oh my.   Freeze them she says, then you won't eat too many.   Wrong.
This is my last box, I'll buy no more.   We're leaving on Saturday morning.
Well, perhaps a little date milkshake before we go, just to try it, then no more dates.

Tonight we went into Palm Springs for a delicious Mexican dinner with Pam and John, Nina and Paul, and Paul's Dad and his wife.   El Mirasol didn't disappoint...the food was yummy and the Cadillac Margaritas were indeed exceptional.

Before we left, Dave took the awnings down and pulled our slides in as a precaution.    We're under a High Wind Warning until mid-morning tomorrow and we didn't want to take a chance on the slide toppers ripping while we were out to dinner.    Besides, in the possible 50 MPH wind, they make a terrific racket and we didn't want the dogs to lose their minds.

We also stowed the outdoor chairs and took down the ex pen so it didn't blow over.   The bird feeders had to come down too, so they didn't become projectiles, but the aggressive little hummingbirds didn't let a little hide and seek deter them.    Breakfast hung from the awning, but dinner was served on the picnic table!

So far the winds have not materialized, but if they do we'll be snug and cozy here in Beluga.