The tourist site we were going to visit is open every Monday except for Christmas, New Years, and one or two more. This year, they were also closed on President’s Day. It wasn’t on the list of closed days, but it sure was closed. So we watched the parade. It was the real deal with dance class girls, baton girls, school bands, and a queen. They also had these dune buggies, which were quite popular and quite loud. It is not cool to have a door that opens, even if the owner is getting a little less flexible and takes some time to crawl through the window opening.

We also visited the Shield’s Date Garden, where we learned everything there is to know about dates. They claim that 95% of all dates grown in the US are farmed in Coachella County. Shield’s is unbelievably popular. The parking lot is so crowded it was a miracle nobody got dinged. People were driving their super-sized pickup trucks, towing huge RVs through the lot so they could stop at the gift shop. Shield’s also has a restaurant. Every last seat was taken. People were sitting on every horizontal surface waiting their turn to eat at Shield’s. We left Shield’s and ate lunch at Farmer Boys. It is popular, but not so busy that we couldn’t get a table right away. Their hamburgers are huge.

I hope this finds everyone doing well.