Simmons Family Dancing Christmas Lights 11-30

WOW! To wake up in beautiful Palm Springs was really something!  I'm writing this days later in a hotel room in Oregon (just over the border from Fruitland, ID, where I performed last night) and I can still feel the sunshine and warmth from Palm Springs.  It was gorgeous.  I remember when I was little, whenever we heard about Palm Springs it was always the place the movie stars hung out and it was really cool. They have managed to maintain that "cool" factor with lots of retro design and decor (my hotel had a lot of green and orange and it was very 60's...I could picture Marilyn Monroe and Bobby Darren hanging out by the pool.

Speaking of the pool, this is the perfect opportunity to thank all of my hosts so far for providing me with really great accommodations.  When a host agrees to sign on for the tour they have to do three things:  Get as much publicity as possible for the concert, collect for a charity and provide me with a room in hotel/motel/b&b.  I always tell them it doesn't need to be fancy.....just clean and bug free (!)...but all of my hosts so far have really gone out of their way to make sure I've been taken care of.  Every hotel has had an exercise room or access to a gym, for example, which is really important to me as I struggle to continue to lose weight while on this tour (so far i've just plateaued.)  SO THANK YOU to all of my hosts. I am very grateful!

Getting back to Palm Springs....my host, Michael Simmons, treated me to a lovely outdoor lunch at a cool PS restaurant and then took me sightseeing...including seeing Bob Hope's former home (which, Michael informed me, wasn't really owned by Bob Hope but by the Chrysler Corporation, who let him live there).  We also saw a statue of Lucille Ball sitting on a bench, and this GIGANTIC statue of Marilyn Monroe:

 Michael told me this is actually a traveling statue and not a permanent part of Palm Springs. It was pretty amazing. She looked like the 50 Foot Woman!!

The concert at the Simmons' house that evening was so much fun.  His display is bright and beautiful and has even been featured on national television.  My pictures do NOT do it justice. 
What I loved the best was the decorated palm trees!  There's something ya don't see in New Hampshah!

There wasn't a huge crowd there, less than 100, but Michael had told me that four of the surrounding towns had tree lightings that night, and so I understood what might happen. Still, the people who did come were really into the show, and there was this one Grandma who was dancing with her Grandson and they were very entertaining! This woman had ALL the moves...I bet she loved the Beach Party movies when she was a kid! They were having so much fun and it was great to see.  There were many children there and that made it even more great for me, but everybody seems to be a kid at heart at this time of year and so I enjoyed singing to the grown-ups just as much.  This one guy who did the duet on "Candy" with me was pretty stoic, but afterwards I talked to his teenage son who was very proud of his Dad and said, "He's the best."  That made my NIGHT.
Michael, if you are reading this, please don't feel bad that there wasn't a huge crowd there. I had a wonderful time and I think the people who were there had a good time and as long as you had a good time then it's all good!  I'll come back next year if you want me to and let's get that float in the parade!
I also want to give a big shout out to the folks at http://www.facebook.com/burkemedia  whose staff was there covering the event.  They were great fun to work with and I look forward to seeing the footage they shot!.
THANK YOU SIMMONS FAMILY!  I had a GREAT time in Palm Springs and found it very difficult to leave your beautiful city!