Sunnylands

We returned last Sunday from Palm Springs and Joshua Tree and hit the ground running. A week later I finally had time to finish downloading pictures from the trip -- although short it was a memorable getaway.
Our Palm Springs friends treated us to a tour of Sunnylands, the vacation home of the Annenberg family from 1967 until 2003. What a delight! I had only a vague idea what it is and had very little time in which to do research so we just showed up at our scheduled time with camera in hand and comfortable shoes. Our tour was made up of only seven tourists.  We tooled all over the grounds in an oversized golf cart that thankfully had a sunshade because it was "Tucson" hot!
The gardens at the visitor center are populated with geometrically arranged cacti, succulents and other desert-friendly plants that seem  to be more common in the Sonoran Arizona Deserts than California but who cares, they are spectacular.
Photographs were only permitted in the gardens and exterior of the A. Quincy Jones-designed house  so you'll have to use your imagination and the Sunnylands website to picture the unbelievably cool interiors by the creators of Hollywood Regency style--William Haines and Ted Graber. The Annenbergs lent Sunnylands for the only State Dinner to be hosted outside the White House and their New Year's Eve parties are legendary. Their massive art collection is now housed in the Philadelphia Museum but excellent copies of the original collection are displayed in the vast, gallery-like rooms at Sunnylands.
Take a look at our garden and exterior pictures and try to imagine the scope (and the water use...ouch) of this huge oasis in Rancho Mirage, California.

The house is surrounded by an enormous expanse of golf course. 

Have a great week!