To celebrate two of our friends’ 50th birthdays, ten of us girls took to the skies and all headed off to La Quinta for a long weekend get-away. In case you’re thinking we got a pretty good deal, the husbands are all descending on our basement bar on Friday for a good old fashioned whiskey tasting. This is a strategic move by Jeff to use up some of his 100+ bottles of whiskey before he dies.
Day one was not without drama, hopefully not an indication of things to come. It was POURING rain when we landed and as soon as we turned on our cell phones, every phone on the plane lit up with a VERY LOUD security alert, warning of flash flooding. Our UBER driver took a quick video to share with us:
Other Day One excitement:
- Sofia, Andi and I rescued a couple of lost little boys who got separated from their parents in the crowds at the Palm Springs International Airport.
- Our Uber driver had a run-in with a power-crazed, airport-vehicle traffic controller who attempted to force us out of the car into the rain so that the driver could circle the entire airport and pick us up at the appropriate designated stop, 50 feet away.
- Our waiter at the Twenty6 restaurant wouldn’t split our 10-person lunch bill resulting in general disagreement, confusion and wasted time.
Sidebar note to the Waldorf Astoria on restaurant etiquette 101:
- When a part of 10 shows up in little groups or 3 or 4, each 30-40 minutes apart, it is wrong to assume they want one receipt.
- Any Point Of Sale system these days is able to separate a tab. If yours can’t, think about upgrading.
- Don’t be a dick.
The comedy part of the evening took place at the Adobe Mexican restaurant where the wait-staff had a surprisingly difficult time telling the difference between cheese and avocado, and five identical enchilada dinner plates. And Margaritas. Luckily they did know how to split a bill into 5.
We wrapped things up with the discovery of the piano bar which will become a focal point in the evenings to come.