We love the Palm Springs area. The weather is great, the vibe is laid back and the flight from Vancouver takes just under 3 hours. With our WestJet points, it is an easy and inexpensive getaway to the sun. We planned our trip to Southern California for this November, knowing that we would need the break after the several busy months leading up to Jordan and Elizabeth’s wedding. And of course, Dale is still working, so he really needed the rest and relaxation. Rather than parking at the airport for two weeks and incurring that cost, we drove to Jordan and Elizabeth’s apartment, parked in their underground parking spot and walked to the nearby sky train station. Fifteen minutes later we were at the airport. We breezed through security with our Nexus cards, only held up a little by the couple in front of us who had several carry-on bags with multiple laptops and a little dog. Of course he set off the metal detector when he finally got organized and had to be checked, several times, with the wand. Her backpack was flagged as it went through the X-ray machine and it had to be emptied and all the contents checked. But we were early and so we patiently waited. We had breakfast and then went to our gate. We were in vacation mode and were determined not to be irritated by the little things.

We love the Palm Springs airport. It’s small and easy to navigate. When you leave the gate you walk outside to get to the baggage claim so your first shot of sunshine comes before you even leave the airport! Dale organized the rental car while I waited for our bags. When they arrived we went to the parking lot and started the drive to our first week’s accommodations.

In our research of things to do while in the area, we discovered that Palm Springs Pride would be in full swing during our visit. So we made plans to attend the Pride Parade in the first Sunday of our trip. We were staying in Palm Desert so we got up and drove back to Palm Springs. We parked and walked a couple of blocks to the parade route. We found a great, uncrowded location and sat ourselves on the curb. We struck up a conversation with older gentlemen around us. When they found out we were Canadians they wondered if we were still friends, given the political rhetoric coming from the President about us. We reassured them that we still loved the US and that we supported Americans even if we did not love and support their president. They agreed with that and the conversation continued. Then the parade started and the crowd erupted in joy.

Just like the Vancouver Pride Parade, it started with costumed people on motorcycles. They raced up and down the street, cheering and interacting with the crowd. The next parade entry was a while in coming, but after that everything flowed well.  We were a little surprised to see that fully armed police officers were stationed on most corners and fully armed officers rode up and down the parade route on motorcycles at regular intervals. We didn’t feel unsafe but we were in the US, where firearms are a way of life and wingnuts like to shoot people who think, act and live differently than themselves. However, the overall mood was of happiness and acceptance, even though one of the floats exhorted people to get married while they still could, a not so subtle hint about the current political climate. There was a political presence as the mid-terms were only a few days away. The Democratic candidate for Congress had a lot of supporters walking with him and they received a very warm welcome; the Republican candidate did not participate.

Two things struck me about this parade. First of all, there were a lot of local middle, junior high, high schools and colleges who marched behind their Gay Straight Alliances banners. Seeing the youth of America stepping up gave me encouragement. Secondly, just about every parade entry had signs urging acceptance of everyone, including immigrants. Now, I know California is considered a blue state and the world thinks they are flaky Liberals, but still, to see and feel such acceptance and encouragement from US citizens made me hopeful. We will be here during the mid-term elections, I wonder if this feeling will continue after the results come in.