Al at their condo
They have a beautiful two bedroom condo at a gated community with lovely grounds and a wonderful view of the mountains behind Palm Springs.
A beautiful guest room - I was so comfortable there
I met Al early in my flight attendant career with Republic Airlines and our friendship just clicked. We both have "Jr" attached to our names and even have the same birthday; just the day not the year! Through Al I met his partner Steve who was also a flight attendant with United Airlines.
Both Al and I were commuting during our early flying years so would buddy bid so we could fly together on the same schedule for the month. Commuting means that we were based in one city and lived in different cities so had to fly to work. This worked well for us as we could share commuting expenses such as hotel rooms before our trips and sometimes after as well.
We were based together in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and finally San Francisco which was home for both of us as well as Steve. It was great when we finally got based at home and the three of us would spend quite a bit of time together when we weren't flying.
Al and Steve eventually bought a home in Palm Springs and transferred flying bases to Los Angeles. They had a lovely home with a swimming pool and I visited with them a couple of times. But with being based and living in different cities with busy schedules, we didn't visit nearly as much as we had. I would occasionally meet up with Al while flying about the airline system which had become Northwest Airlines.
With both Al and Steve flying and commuting to Los Angeles, the maintenance of keeping a home with a pool became too much so they eventually sold the home and bought the condo. They have been there quite a few years now and have since both retired from the airlines.
It was so good to see and visit with them and we had a great time catching up and talking about old times. Steve fixed a wonderful dinner the first night that I arrived. Thank you Steve! Of course the weather was warm so we spent a lot of time in their wonderful pool which was just behind their condo.
I loved all the Palm Trees
The second night we went out to dinner and John, a friend of ours, met us for dinner. It was great seeing John and catching up with him as I hadn't seen him in quite a while either. John was a flight attendant as well and used to fly with Al and I when we were based in San Francisco. John has left the airline industry as well and is now working for a veterinarian which he loves.
From the left, Al, Steve, and John
Al has started a pet care/walking business and plays tennis to keep busy. And to have something to do, Steve is working part-time as a TSA agent at the airport which fits right in with his flight attendant experience.
They have two cats Sydney and Rita. I asked them how they got their names which turned out to be interesting. Steve used to fly trips to Sydney Australia and Al used to fly trips to Narita, Japan. Hence the names Sydney and Rita. Sydney is very friendly but Rita is quite a bit shyer. Here is a picture of Sydney doing what cats do best.
The last day Al took me to the Palm Springs Museum. It is a beautiful museum with lots of art work some of which is on loan from many of the residents in Palm Springs. There is quite an extensive and impressive glass collection including pieces by Dale Chihuly. While I was visiting, a new metal sculpture was put up in front of the museum and we saw part of the installation with a huge crane.
New sculpture
Amazing detailed glass pieces
This guy was so cute
Just around the corner from the museum was a 26 foot tall sculpture of Marilyn Monroe. The sculpture was brought to Palm Springs from Chicago and the city is thinking about buying the sculpture and keeping it in Palm Springs and keeping Marilyn there since she spent a lot of time in Palm Springs in real life. The sculpture has been quite a tourist draw and has brought quite a bit of money into the city. For more information about the sculpture visit her website.
At least I'm not looking up!
Thank you Al and Steve for a wonderful visit and your hospitality. I had a wonderful time. You guys must come and visit us now. We must make it a point to see each other more often.
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