It’s been a while since my last blog post mostly because Jean and I are looking for a new house while working on our current home to get it in shape for sale. Also, we’ve been traveling a bit. This winter we escaped the relentless midwestern weather by spending a few weeks out west in Palm Springs, CA, then a few weeks on the other side of the country in Florida. Like many, we are destined to be ‘snowbirds’, spending a few months of each winter in warmer climes. Our bi-coastal itinerary was purposefully built to compare and contrast East to West to aid in a longer-term decision. So, is the West the Best, or is East the Beast?

The case for West:

I’ve already mentioned that my parents moved out to Lake Havasu City, Arizona in the 80s. A rather strange place with the reconstructed original London Bridge installed at the edge of a large lake, it is in the southwestern desert of Arizona. My siblings and I scratched our heads and chuckled a bit when we visited because it is HOT, DRY and mostly barren. (and why, exactly, is the London Bridge there?)  It took many years before I really began to appreciate the beauty of the desert, but I’m now a convert. Jean and I spend a week or two in Scottsdale, AZ most years now, occasionally opting for Palm Springs, CA, as we did this year.

Palm Springs is a very interesting place. About an hour and half drive from Los Angeles, it is nestled in the Coachella Valley of the Sonoran Desert, at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains. It developed as a resort destination for the rich and famous beginning in the 1920s and Hollywood stars of the next few decades frequented the small city.  In fact, if you visit, you will drive along Frank Sinatra Boulevard, Dinah Shore Way, Bob Hope Drive. The end of WWII triggered extensive development there in what we now call the “Mid-Century Modern” style. But Palm Springs kind of lost its mojo toward the end of the century as it aged and took on a sleepy retirement village vibe. Over the last 10 years or so the city has become cool again. They celebrate their Mid-Century Modern architecture with numerous festivals that feature finely maintained examples. Music and Film festivals have proliferated (the recent Coachella music festival is nearby), and construction has begun anew. The views are gorgeous, the mountain hikes are as challenging as you choose, golf and tennis galore in the surrounding resort ‘suburbs’, and there is plenty to do all day. Here is Jean standing in a potential new winter home.

 

Digression #1: During our first week in the Palm Springs area we stayed at the Westin Mission Hills resort in Rancho Mirage. I had stayed there in the past while attending a medical convention. This week they were hosting a trade show sponsored by the International Federation of Spirits Producers (or some such words). For a few days, they were working hard on building a large outdoor exhibit area with fancy interactive booths. Jean and I returned from dinner on the night of the exhibit and decided to get a closer look at the action. The event was already full throttle with pulsing lights, DJ music, food and all the samples you could want. Security was light, and since I am prone to small transgressions of the law, we walked right through the entrance as if we belonged. (OK, I did have to drag Jean through). Clearly, we did not belong. It was a hipster convention, but nobody seemed to care that we were there. Spirit manufacturers large and small, old and new, were represented. From Jim Beam, Jamison, Absolut and Hendricks to small, independent single-product distillers. Each exhibit offered either shots of their product, or more often an individually prepared new cocktail mixed with a flourish by fancy bartenders.

I’m really not clear on the point of the whole affair but suffice it to say that we left a lot tipsier than when we arrived. And I think they started the meetings the next day a little late. Exhibit halls at medical conventions have little impact on business and are probably a poor investment. Although there’s rarely a benefit in participating, there may be implications for NOT being there.  I’m guessing that’s the case here as well, but in the end, are wholesalers really going to buy more Grey Goose because of this event?

Digression #2: Jean and I made a weekend jaunt to Los Angeles to take in a few sights and see our precious niece Anna who works there for SpaceX. She gave us a personal tour of the facility and we were mesmerized. Folks, this is pure science fiction. According to their website: SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. The company was founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk who is also the CEO of Tesla, a maker of electric cars. (and I’ve had a Model 3 on order for over a year!). Accomplishments so far for SpaceX are too numerous to list but probably the most significant thing to know is that their rockets have successfully been re-used. Yes, rockets that were launched into space have landed back on earth and been relaunched once again. This is a game changer because every single rocket launched by any government funding has been a single-use rocket. Billions of dollars literally blasted into outer space each time. SpaceX rockets are cheaper to make, cheaper to launch and REUSABLE. The booster rockets can land back on a launching pad vertically. Google it. It’s crazy. Like I said, pure science fiction. On our tour we were just feet away from engineers and mechanics wiring and assembling rocket parts with nothing but a warning and request to prevent us from touching anything or anybody. We left with a profound sense of what man, (and woman for those PC fans), can accomplish, and a reminder that private, entrepreneurial, civic-minded investment can take us where no government can dream.

Back to the West/East competition: We returned from the City of Angels to Palm Springs and checked into a historic downtown hotel. The Palm Springs Tennis Club is a finely maintained piece of art build into the foothills of the Tahquitz mountains. We could practically touch the rocky mountain soaring up from our balcony.The Club has 12 superb tennis courts and will arrange matches for you at no charge. Jean and I decided to take advantage of the match arrangement and ended up playing 2 guys in their late 60s. They were cute old guys who hit the ball consistently but with little pace, and they had trouble covering much ground. Now Jean and I are not great, but we are used to being not great at much higher ball speeds. We immediately took our game down a few notches and actually struggled to beat our new friends in a tiebreaking set. We had fun, met a few locals, heard their stories and soaked up the sunshine. I like the fact that in dry climes, I don’t sweat. Well, of course, I sweat, but it evaporates immediately. Major point for ‘the West’.

The hotel is within walking distance of downtown Palm Springs which is populated by restaurants, bars, small retail shops, and a few museums. It’s a wonderful place and we ended spending some time there almost every day.

Digression #3: The week before flying out to California we learned that a friend of Jean’s family had a son who was chasing his dream of playing professional baseball and, as luck would have it, he was playing in the California Winter League in Palm Springs! We looked it up, found that the ballpark was a rented-bike-ride away from our hotel, and attended parts of 2 games that week. He was a pitcher and his fastball was unhittable. Unfortunately, it was rarely thrown for a strike and he walked as many batters as he stuck out, but he managed to strike out the side in both innings he pitched. We will see if he develops control and maybe someday we will see him play professionally. And what fun we had watching baseball in March. It was hot and sunny in the stands but they have ‘misters’ strung up all across the seating areas. The fine cool mist mixed perfectly with a cold brew and a hotdog. Another point for the West.

Digression #4: Did you know that 9 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes!? And more than a few more have legalized medicinal use. Now this is very interesting to me from a financial perspective. Imagine saving the billions of dollars spent on marijuana law enforcement each year in addition to adding billions more to the tax coffers. The state of Colorado alone has pocketed just shy of $1 billion in tax revenue since legalization in 2014.  This is a situation that many states will look upon with envy. And I do believe there is money to be made by investing in the right stocks. Right now it’s a bit of the wild, wild west, but soon some companies will establish themselves as credible leaders of the industry and I may invest. And I am OK with investing here because I do believe that marijuana should be legalized. There are probably many potential medicinal uses, but better testing needs to be done. Let’s put that aside for a moment though and just talk about societal impact. I am disturbed every time I read about young adults arrested for marijuana possession because it’s likely these arrests will have a catastrophic impact on their lives. My simplest argument for legalization is that if alcohol is legal, then pot should be legal as well. Sure, I’ve seen pot turn outgoing, vivacious young people into Grateful-Dead-listening globs of goo. But so what? I’ve also seen what alcohol can do. I am concerned that pot seems to steal ambition and initiative, but, again, I’ve seen what alcohol can do. All things in moderation, I guess. And I’ve heard pot is a gateway drug, leading many to more serious drug use. I don’t know about that, but one cannot separate the fact that if someone chooses to use marijuana the probability is higher that they will also feel inclined to try some other mind-altering substance. It has not been proven that it was the pot that led to them to the harder stuff.

Lastly, I have seen firsthand what excessive pot smoking can do. I attended a liberal college in New York and during my very first day as a Resident Assistant I was welcoming the new students and their parents to the dorm on move-in day. As an R.A. I had my own room in a suite with two other rooms and a small lounge. I had already checked 3 freshmen into the other rooms in my suite and was walking around helping others move in when I detected that distinctly sweet smell. I followed my nose all the way to my own suite to find my 3 fresh-faced suitemates sitting in a circle passing around a bong. These jabrones were not just smoking a joint, but they had pulled out the heavy gear! I was livid as there were new students, parents, little brothers, little sisters and school staff everywhere! So I kicked them out of the suite and made them take a walk up into the nature preserve. These 3 guys turned out to be the heaviest pot smokers I have ever known. Now, truth be told I did not know all that many to date, but pot smoking was not an uncommon activity at my school. But these guys were world class. They smoked every day and every night. I don’t even know how they made it to class. BUT…none of them progressed to harder stuff during the two years I knew them; one of them is now a doctor, one is a lawyer, and one is a talented musician.

All this to say that I was curious about the sale of pot in California. Was smoking rampant? Are there stores everywhere? In strip malls? Did they look like candy stores or were they more like the cafes in Amsterdam? So Jean and I visited a dispensary. Well, I visited while she took this picture from the car.

A quick google search revealed that dispensaries are NOT located on main streets or in strip malls. They are not integrated into the retail sector. They are relegated to light industry areas and have a distinctly underground feel to them. Heavy locked doors and people talking to you through bulletproof plexiglass. I only had to show my license and wait my turn to be ushered into the inner sanctum where only one person is allowed at a time. The other people in the waiting room did not appear to be from the upper crust of society. Upon my turn, I was greeted by a young guy with a man-bun who brought me to the back. I explained that I was curious about how this all worked and he appeared to have no concerns that I was not going to buy anything. He gave me a thorough tour of the rather small room that contained all forms of weed. He explained that more than half of their sales were in forms other than smokable flower buds. Edibles, oils, and the most popular: cartridges for vaping pens. The edibles were a bit disconcerting because they were things that could easily be mistaken by adults and children as regular food: cookies, candies, chocolate, nuts and berries. And the vaping items have no real smell he explained so could be used discreetly anywhere. (then he told me a heartwarming story of how he vaped right over his grandmother’s head on Thanksgiving without her suspecting a thing.) Everything was locked down and the stock appeared light. There were many choices but just a few of each item and many slots were empty. I asked him if this dispensary was typical and he quickly said “No way”. He then made it clear that this was one of the best; much better than the one he worked at previously. He also gave me more information than I wanted on the relative effects of a dizzying array of strains for sale. It became clear that they have a long way to go to make this safer for all involved and, sad to say, more regulation is definitely in order. And the big hand-lettered sign that read CASH ONLY in this top-shelf establishment just reinforced my conclusion that there is much more work to be done.

SO, where was I? Oh yes, East versus West. Well, I’ve digressed so much here that I’ll save the case for East until next time. Suffice it to say, the West has a strong pull. The weather in winter is phenomenal. There is so much to do. But, it’s a very long drive, so we’d probably just fly and rent a car while out there, adding expense. And most of my friends and relatives are in the East. So it’s not a slam dunk for West, but it is an enticing location.

 

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