General Daily Insight for September 18, 2024

A few hurdles are ahead on our way to the end of the day. Confusion obscures the starting line as the Moon conjoins mystical Neptune in Pisces. On top of that, the planets will throw more mental roadblocks in front of us when Mercury opposes stoic Saturn at 4:50 am EDT. Satisfying conclusions could seem out of reach, especially once Luna stumbles into Aries and squares Mars in sensitive Cancer. We can push through if we don’t let our emotions overwhelm us.

Mayor Bobby Dyer described it as “a major snafu” at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “It’s our duty that when we have any event at the Oceanfront that there’s a positive light on it. This was not a positive light.”

He recommended that in order to rebuild trust, the festival organizers should commit to a long-term partnership, possibly for three-to-five years, and that the city must take a more proactive role.

“The city has been left out of the decision loop in terms of what goes on in operations,” said Dyer, who wants a contract with the festival team outlining the city’s expectations.

Festival organizers notified the city Friday afternoon, just hours after tickets went on sale, that the Oct. 12-13 event was canceled and they intend to reschedule it in April. Soon after the city was notified Friday, Pharrell Williams posted on social media that the festival wasn’t ready yet and ticket-buyers would be refunded.

While organizers are eyeing a move back to April, City Manager Patrick Duhaney said the decision to change the festival date hasn’t been solidified by the City Council.

Something in the Water was first held at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in 2019. Williams was originally asked to organize an event in late April to provide structured entertainment for college students who had been coming to the resort area each spring.

After inclement weather forced Williams to cancel the festival’s third day in 2023, he decided to move it to October this year in hopes of better conditions.

Duhaney noted money the city set aside for sponsorship — as much as $2 million — has not been spent. He read a letter from the festival team which indicated that issues with the lineup of performers prompted Williams to drop the October date.

“After spending considerable time with members of the music community, we have collectively decided that a festival in April will be far more substantial and impactful for the city of Virginia Beach and allow some of the participants who had committed and endured conflicts beyond Pharrell’s control to participate in April,” the festival organizers wrote.

The festival team promised to have “a concrete plan set within this calendar year.”

Councilmembers Amelia Ross-Hammond and Jennifer Rouse, liaisons to the festival, said Friday’s announcement came as a surprise to both of them.

“We felt blindsided,” said Ross-Hammond.

The two of them held several meetings with city officials and the festival organizers over the weekend.

“We received a lot of reactions, and questions and frustrations and concerns,” said Rouse. “We made sure to share that with the Something in the Water team as well as the city.”

Rouse is pushing the festival organizers to set the April date and lineup sooner than later, she said.

“They want to make an intentional effort to rebuild credibility and trust,” said Rouse.

Councilman Barbara Henley said the postponement is more than just a disappointment to business owners.

“It’s cost a lot of people some serious money,” she said, citing that some hotels are not going to have the income they were counting on.

“We take this as a learning experience,” Henley said. “We have to set benchmarks.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com

PITTSBURGH — Sarah Tuthill has a pretty straightforward philosophy to assemble a food board for parties: Keep things simple, but also make your spread memorable by arranging the food and drinks thoughtfully.

The made-to-order cheese and charcuterie boards crafted at her tiny storefront and commercial kitchen, EZPZ Gatherings in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania, are a case in point.

Not only are the cured meats, seasonal fruits, homemade spreads and various cheeses drool worthy, but they’re also artfully designed to make a table look pretty.

Richly layered and vibrant, they boast a contrasting mix of colors and textures. Some are traditionally arranged on wooden boards, but depending on the theme or season, Tuhill also might add a touch of whimsy by using woven harvest baskets or wooden bowls. Or she might opt for modern and minimalistic by placing pieces on acrylic or melamine boards.

As she details in her recently released how-to book, “Gathering Boards: Seasonal Cheese and Charcuterie Spreads” (Rowman & Littlefield, $27.95), the Aspinwall native and Penn State University grad also has been known to line up crackers on the vintage shirt-sleeve ironing board she found in an antique store. Big on repurposing, she also likes to tuck candles, jars of olives or flowers into a primitive wooden tool caddy.

“A lot of it comes down to social media,” Tuthill says of her distinctive displays. “Everyone is posting these beautiful pictures, and the bar is raised. You can’t just slap things on a [plain] board.”

Though she has always been a foodie and has dabbled in floral and interior design, Tuthill didn’t set out to be a food entrepreneur after graduating from college with a degree in advertising. Most of her career has been in communications, including many years as a freelance writer.

She only started toying with the idea of EZPZ Gatherings around 2018 because she longed to write a book and wanted to do something to “get my hands dirty” by doing it professionally.

“I love writing, but was drawn to doing something more hands-on, creating something tangible, but still creative,” she says.

While she has always loved to entertain and was known among family and friends for making beautiful hors d’oeuvres and other spreads, Tuthill knew she didn’t want to be a full-service caterer.

“So I zeroed in on appetizers,” she says, officially opening EZPZ Gathering in December 2019, just before the charcuterie craze took off during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initially, Tuthill worked out of the food incubator kitchen her friend, Josephine Caminos Oria, opened in 2013. Then the pandemic hit “and I was done before I even started,” she says with a rueful laugh.

Back to the drawing board

No one would have blamed her if she threw in the towel. But Tuthill dug in, using the downtime to continue honing her packaging skills and further educate herself about cheese varieties, flavors, textures and production methods.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” she says.

Because so many were stuck at home and in search of hobbies, it also allowed her to start teaching online classes. “So many Zoom book clubs wanted cute snacks,” she remembers. “People wanted to learn and experience something rather than just sitting around.”

The public’s desire to create beautiful gathering boards at home only grew once pandemic restrictions were lifted and the charcuterie board craze exploded.

Today, the one-room storefront Tuthill took over in 2022 — one of the first local niche businesses focused on creating boards for dinner parties, graduation parties and other celebrations — now doubles as a “boarding school” in which fellow Pittsburghers can take workshops to learn the art of cheese and charcuterie styling.

As she notes in her book, “The truth is, you don’t have to be a culinary genius to throw a good party. In fact, you don’t have to know how to cook at all. By merely presenting food and drinks in an inventive, beautiful or whimsical way, you can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.”

Many of her ingredients are sourced locally at specialty shops (Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. is a favorite haunt) but she also fills her boards with items from chain grocery stores like Trader Joe’s. “It’s a little bit of everything, depending on the season.”

Tuthill was approached to write her book on boards in 2022 in the most Pittsburgh manner. A woman saw a story about Tuthill’s shop and her background as a writer in a local paper. “And lo and behold, she cut it out like grandmas do and sent it to her son,” who works for Rowman & Littlefield Publishing. And the rest, she says, “is history.”

She closed her shop at the beginning of 2023 to focus on the project, and did most of the writing last summer. The tome hit bookshelves on May 13, and can be found on Amazon and in Barnes & Noble.

Meant as a “how-to-do-it” for people who like to entertain, the book — beautifully photographed by Kari Hilton and sprinkled throughout with family stories — includes specific suggestions for each season, along with styling tips. The section on summer gathering boards, for instance, includes “Picnic in the Park” and “Lakeside Snackle Box” boards while fall features a “Game Day Tailgate Box” and a Halloween-inspired “CharBOOterie.”

Along with a handful of recipes for go-to dips and sides, Tuthill offers tips on serving temperatures, knife selection and serving sizes. She also includes suggestions for wine pairings and decor, along with tips on glassware, lighting, party flow and post-party clean-up.

For an end-of-summer picnic, Tuthill recommends focusing on foods that are easy to pack and eat, and can withstand some heat, such as the skewers and Chautauqua Salad featured below.

“And of course a [pre-made] cocktail or fancy drink is always fun,” she says. She suggests using mason jars for a summer sangria because they’re super cute and close tightly.

“You just pour ice and vodka over the top,” she says, “and it’s all self contained.”

Summer on a Stick

Serves 6, PG tested

Skewers make for stress-free (and mess-free) picnicking, and take the guesswork out of what goes with what. This summer spin on Caprese salad swaps out the tomato for slices of juicy peach.

6 slices chilled prosciutto (slightly thicker slices work best)

1 ripe peach, sliced

6 small mozzarella balls (cherry-sized)

6 fresh basil leaves

Skewers or toothpicks

1. Fold prosciutto into ribbons: Fold a single slice in half longways, then gently fold it back and forth like an accordion. Pinch the bottom while fanning out the folds.
2. Thread a piece of peach onto a toothpick, followed by mozzarella ball, basil leaf (folded in half or into quarters if large). Finish with a prosciutto ribbon, then place onto a serving platter. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

— Sarah Tuthill

Mason Jar Sangria

Serves 2, PG tested

Mason jars make the perfect vessel for individual cocktails-to-go and can be found in just about any supermarket or craft store.

1 ripe peaches, sliced

1 ripe plumb, sliced

1/2 cup berries

3 ounces vodka

6 ounces dry white wine

6 ounces lemonade

1 12-ounce can sparkling water or club soda

1. Fill 2 half pint jars with seasonal fruit (You can use the same ones you’re serving for your picnic!)
2. Top each with a shot of vodka and 2 shots of white wine. (I prefer a dry white like sauvignon blanc in the summertime.) Add a couple ounces of something sweet like lemonade or lemonade concentrate.
3. Screw on the lids, give them a shake and let the jars sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
4. Pack them up and when you’re ready to enjoy, top off with chilled soda water and add a festive straw.

— Sarah Tuthill

Chautauqua Salad

Serves 2-4, PG tested

“This salad is a key component of our family’s favorite summer meal” in Chautauqua, N.Y., writes Tuthill.

There, it’s almost always served alongside nothing more than corn on the cob and a crusty loaf of bread on nights when it’s too hot for the oven or grill. But it’s also a refreshing salad that’s perfect for a picnic.

3/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly

2 large tomatoes, sliced

1. Prepare dressing: In a shallow bowl, dissolve sugar in the red wine vinegar. Whisk in the oil.
2. Gently fold in tomatoes and cucumbers and allow to sit, at room temp, for at least 20 minutes.

— Sarah Tuthill

©2024 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

It showcases 15 eateries, including La Poblanita Food Truck, Sabor Latino Cuban & Peruvian Cuisine and La Parrilla Mexican Grill. Explore a different spot each day and get discounts.  Guapo’s Mexican Grill is offering 30% off its menu, excluding alcohol. It has entrees such as ramen birria (Mexican beef stew), ostiones montados (raw oysters topped with ceviche) and enchiladas poblanas (chicken mole enchiladas).

El Rey Tequila has 10% off its menu, excluding alcohol. According to its website, street tacos, cheese dip and quesadillas are the most popular dishes.

Receive 20% off the menu at Peruvian Charcoal Chicken and Wings. The chicken comes in quarters, halves and whole. Pair it with plantains, yucca, pinto beans and other side dishes.

There’s another opportunity for people to score big. Enter a contest to win a gift card from participating restaurants. The VisitNewportNews site has the details, including on its social media pages.

Details and restaurants, bit.ly/HHRestaurantWeek

Owner Zakia Thom, a Morocco native, added the “spice” in honor of her dad who had a restaurant and spice store in Casablanca. She moved here in 2021 from New York where she worked as a caterer. She fell in love with the Italian frozen dessert after taking bakery and gelato training.

I’m glad she did. The quaint shop has about 30 flavors listed on its website such as chocolate chili, apple cinnamon and strawberry. Those marked with a logo indicate what’s available for the day. Thom makes sure to have at least one sugar-free and dairy-free option.

On my visit, I sampled most of the 12 available flavors. They were fantastic, except for one: Mango chili margarita sorbet. The fruit teleported me to a tropical island, lying on a hammock. Then came the spice to snatch my soul back to reality. Hot stuff. It could work by mixing another flavor.

Three, however, stood out on their own. The basil mojito sorbet had a cool herbaceousness that I wanted to re-create as a drink. It stayed on my mind like a new love interest.

The smooth goat cheese with a blueberry swirl gelato made me feel the same way. It had a delicate tang and sweetness in every bite. In the words of “J.J.” on the ’70s sitcom “Good Times:” Dy-no-mite!

The pistachio and pecan topped with stracciatella — a chocolate used to create shredded pieces —was delightful too. I sat in a bistro chair imagining myself in an Italian gelateria enjoying the creamy nutty taste. The chocolate solidified into a shell and made me smile. All was right with the world.

Rekaya Gibson, 757-295-8809, rekaya.gibson@virginiamedia.com; on X, @gibsonrekaya

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If you go

Where: 1115 Independence Blvd., Virginia Beach

Hours: 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday

Prices: $5 scoop, $7.75 for two scoops

Details: 757-763-7439; gelatovb.com

“The Devil Raises His Own” (Soho Crime, 368 pp., $27.95) is his latest novel to feature the photographer Bill Ogden, who was first seen in “Cottonwood,” set on the Kansas frontier in 1872.

Now, more than four decades removed from his “Cottonwood” shenanigans, he’s living in Los Angeles, still able to work (and score), albeit more slowly. His granddaughter, Flavia, fresh off killing her husband back in Kansas (“I recently collapsed Albert’s cranial vault,” she says), has taken on partner/successor duties at his photography studio.

Both are pulled into the orbit of the “blue movie” industry — milder in 1916, to be sure, but still prone to violence — where they encounter a vivid, pungent cast of scoundrels and flimflam artists, from a film star named Magnolia Sweetspire to a mousy postal inspector named Melvin de Kamp.

Phillips always adopts a wonderfully deadpan air, but beneath his black humor is a steely emotional core. “The Devil Raises His Own” is a romp, but it’s also a poignant exploration of chosen families, broken homes and desperate dreams.

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Hollywood muck also figures prominently in Morgan Richter’s “The Divide” (Knopf, 292 pp., $28), a wild ride of a novel that never quite proceeds in the expected direction.

Jenny St. John has been haunting the fringes of the film industry ever since her supposed big break — the lead role in an indie film called “The Divide” — evaporated. There’s only so much money she can make grifting people as a psychic life coach.

Then Serge Grumet, who directed the film she hoped to star in, turns up dead, and his ex-wife, Genevieve, goes missing. Problem is, the cops think Jenny is Gena because they look remarkably similar. Shown a picture of Gena, Jenny “felt a shock of recognition you get coming across a photo of yourself you didn’t know existed.”

As she is pulled into the world of her doppelgänger, one populated with other strivers and schemers and — it would seem — a killer, Jenny understands their resemblance has a biological connection, if only she can figure out what it is.

Richter, an industry veteran and pop culture critic, writes with the energy of a freshly charged battery, full of bright sparks, quick wit and vivid color. Even if I didn’t buy every plot twist, I found Jenny devilishly fun company.

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The opening line of Snowden Wright’s “The Queen City Detective Agency” (Morrow, 270 pp., $30) sets the tone immediately: “On New Year’s Day of 1985, Turnip Coogan, facing 20 to life for capital murder, decided he’d have to be dumb as a post not to break out of jail, and his mama didn’t raise no post.”

Turnip, a low-level Dixie Mafia guy, turns up dead in due course, shortly before the town of Meridian, Mississippi — Queen City — is overrun with those who make crime their business, and those who want to.

After Coogan tumbles off a roof, his mother hires Clementine Baldwin, the proprietor of the Queen City Detective Agency, to find his killer. Clementine is capable and confident, her skin thickened by too many instances of casual racism, but as the case moves in unexpected and upsetting directions, she discovers the cost of unearthing Queen City’s skeletons from their hiding places.

Wright writes sentences that beg to be quoted. He clearly has studied the pacing and syntax of hard-boiled fiction. And yet, enjoyable as this book was, I wanted it to be more in tune with itself rather than the rhythms of an entire genre.

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Finally, Jamie Harrison’s mysteries featuring Jules Clement, published between 1995 and 2000, were recommended to me in my bookseller days over 20 years ago, but it took their reissue — and the publication of a fifth, “The River View” (334 pp., Counterpoint, $28) — to read them all in a frenzied gulp.

Over the course of the series, Jules transforms from an East Coast doctoral student and archaeologist into the sheriff of Blue Deer, Montana — the post once held by his father, who was murdered when Jules was a teenager. “Maybe Jules chose archaeology because it was the perfect profession for facing the enormity and the inevitability of death,” Harrison writes, “but in the matter of his father’s death, he wanted nothing of the past.”

As the new book opens in 1997, Jules, married and with a young child, has resigned from the sheriff’s office and is working as a PI. He’s also dabbling in archaeology, plumbing the mysteries of old bones — even his father’s — as he tries to make peace with Blue Deer and forge a new path.

I can’t help wondering what he’s doing in 2024, and I hope Harrison catches readers up to the present soon.

Restaurants are welcoming fans to dine, watch a game and leave happy or sad, depending on your team.

This list isn’t exhaustive but it will get you through the season.

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Peninsula

Every Sunday District 41 Sports Bar has $5 food specials, $3 beers and $7 straight or mixed drinks. Try the mozzarella sticks, two jumbo whole wings with fries, two shrimp tacos or something else. Every seat is a good seat, according to its Facebook post. 605 Pilot House Drive, Newport News, 757-223-0552; bit.ly/District41SportsBar

The Greene Turtle has personal pitchers from 8 to 11 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. They include craft beers ($8), cocktails ($12) and crushes ($15). 3610 Von Schilling Drive, Hampton, 757-838-3854; bit.ly/GreenTurtleHVA

My Neighbors’ Pub has football specials starting at 6 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, and noon on Sundays, according to its Facebook page. They range from nachos ($7) to a hot dog and fries ($3) to popcorn ($.50). Get a pitcher ($11) or bucket ($12 for 4 bottles) of beers to wash down the food. 12743 Jefferson Ave., Newport News, 757-833-3333; bit.ly/MyNeighborsPub

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Southside

The tailgate menu at Ballyhoos sounds delicious. It features a loaded hot dog ($4), barbecue chicken nachos ($10), six buffalo shrimp ($10) and other delectables. Don’t forget about the orange crush ($6), Jameson green tea ($6) and the bucket of four beers ($13). Available 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. 2865 Lynnhaven Drive, Virginia Beach, 757-412-4441. bit.ly/Ballyhoos

On Sundays, Busky’s Chill & Grill rolls out specials from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., including beef brisket tacos ($11.99), pepperoni pita pizza ($8.99) and two beef hot dogs with the fixings ($7.99). On Monday nights, it’s serving hamburger sliders with chips ($9.99), loaded potato skins ($9.99) and two other football specials. 237 Hanbury Road, Chesapeake, 757-482-3864; buskyschillngrill.com/events

If dining out isn’t your thing, watch the games at home and pre-order football platters from Dave’s BBQ. The Rookie ($85) includes 2 pounds of pulled pork, 25 smoked wings, 2 quarts of sides and six buns. Got a hangry — slang for really hungry—bunch? Select the Hall of Fame ($170) that includes 5 pounds of pulled pork, 50 smoked wings, 3 quarts of sides and 12 buns. 1009 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, 757-434-6093; davesbbqvb.com

The Dirty Buffalo knows good food; it’s been around since 2012. The football menu is available every day which includes tailgate nachos ($16.99), cheesy porker sliders ($9.99) and a starter platter with onion rings, chicken dippers and pretzel bites ($17.99). 4012 Colley Ave., Norfolk, 757-226-7851; 4213 East Little Creek Road, Norfolk, 757-321-7242; 2080 South Independence Blvd., Virginia Beach, 757-937-1171; 612 Grassfield Parkway, Chesapeake, 757-819-7548; bit.ly/DirtyBuffalo

Swing down to Hackers Bar & Grille on Monday nights. It has a football buffet with pizzas, wings, sliders and hot dogs for $20. Happy hour drink prices run until 9 p.m. 1532 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, 757-351-3931; bit.ly/HackersVB

Socky’s Bar and Grill — opened in February— has a menu lineup that will make fans rejoice. It’s offering $2 off drafts and burgers on Monday nights; 4 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays get $1 off bottles and cans and $2 off appetizers. Round out the week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays with deals such as fried pickles ($7), 25-piece wing platter ($33) with a choice of three flavors, and a sampler platter ($18) with boneless wings, onion rings, corn dog nuggets, chips and choice of dip (tip: get the queso). 2401 Seaboard Road, Virginia Beach, 757-301-2274; sockysbarandgrill.com/events/

Watch the NFL season at the Waterside District. On Mondays and Thursdays (5 to 11 p.m.) and Sundays (all day), it’s serving libations such as a Field Goal Shooter for $5 but it’s $3 when a field goal is made; NFLIT (Long Island tea) for $5; Miller or Coors Beer tower (100 ounces) for $25, which includes four souvenir cups. The Game Day food specials are half off, including eight-piece wings, spinach artichoke dip and soft pretzels with cheese and honey mustard. Order at Guy’s Smokehouse kiosk. 333 Waterside Drive, Norfolk, 757-426-7433; bit.ly/WatersideNVA

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Isle of Wight

Fatboy’s Grill & Steamshack is punching the NFL Sunday Ticket from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Grub on banana pepper rings ($5), beef or chicken nachos ($8) and 10, 18 or 45 wings (naked, breaded or boneless) for $10, $18 and $45. Domestic beer ($2) and imported ($3) pints are also available. 15042 Carrollton Blvd., Carrollton, 757-745-8200; bit.ly/FatboysGrill

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Williamsburg

Football season isn’t complete without a pizza or two. Highway Pizza has a NFL Sunday Bundle with six-piece wings, a small pizza and a draft beer (16 ounces) for $24.89. It also has 10-piece boneless and 10 traditional wings for $24.99 and 20/20 for $39.99. Other shareable vittles include an appetizer platter ($21.99) and a slider platter ($23.79). Deals are available every Sunday throughout the season. 3044 Richmond Road, Williamsburg, 757-920-5242; bit.ly/HighwayPizza

Rekaya Gibson, 757-295-8809, rekaya.gibson@virginiamedia.com; on X, @gibsonrekaya

General Daily Insight for September 17, 2024

Our intuition can guide us to productive places at present. The Moon is moving through dreamy Pisces, spurring us to take meaningful action and have valuable conversations when it opposes messenger Mercury in Virgo before conjoining stoic Saturn. Luna then forms an excitable square to Jupiter in Gemini, before culminating in this year’s only Pisces Full Moon at 10:34 pm EDT. Following the ideal road ahead doesn’t require hard-headed stubbornness! Keeping our hearts and minds open should light our way forward.

Palm Springs has long served as a retreat, gaining popularity in the 1930s as Hollywood stars flocked to the desert oasis for sunshine, majestic mountain views and poolside play. It’s a tradition that continues today as a buzzy destination for creatives, artists and architecture aficionados.

But the original attraction here has always been the water. While that might seem to be a contradiction at first — this is the arid desert, after all — the natural spring is what sustained the ancestors of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians long before others arrived.

This is the original spring, the thing that gave Palm Springs its name. Known by the indigenous people as Séc-he, which means “the sound of boiling water” in Cahuilla, the Spanish, who arrived later, referred to it as Agua Caliente.

For generations, the Agua Caliente people served as stewards of this resource while sharing the water with visitors. Today, the spring still serves as one of the area’s most important cultural resources.

The first bathhouse was built on this site in 1886, so solace-seekers could soak in the mineral-rich water. As Palm Springs gained a reputation for wellness (many early travelers were tuberculosis patients), a succession of bathhouses were built around the spring. More recently, it was the Spa Hotel, constructed in the early 1960s, where Steve McQueen was a regular at the gym, Natalie Wood often popped into the salon, and Truman Capote got massaged. That structure was demolished in 2014 to build the current Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza.

This impressive site is a far cry from the two-room bathhouse of yore. It features a tribal museum, a desert trail that offers a glimpse of the tribe’s ancestral home in the nearby canyons, and a 73,000-square-foot spa complex, unveiled in April 2023.

Though the Spa at Séc-he has already drawn accolades, recently nabbing the No. 1 spot in the nation by Spas of America, it’s meant to be more than a place to get a massage. It’s the cornerstone of life in Palm Springs.

“The site of the Agua Caliente hot mineral spring is where it all began,” says Tribal Chairman Reid D. Milanovich. “It is a place rooted in tradition, healing and tranquility.”

The facility

While the water remains the showstopper (and I’ll get back to that), the Spa at Séc-he is remarkable beyond the spring.

Here, you can enjoy every conceivable way to heat, cool, knead, immerse and indulge a body. With 15 treatment rooms, a state-of-the-art cryotherapy chamber, invigorating cold plunge pools, serene float pods, and private spa suites, any desire for restoration or relaxation can be fulfilled. Most of these amenities are included with a day pass or any treatment over $200.

I opted for a therapeutic arnica treatment, one of the deep massages designed to relieve inflammation with a blend of stress-busting oils and the application of heated stones. The table is layered with light therapy, infrared heat and grounding earthing pads to maximize the therapeutic effects. Some of the other treatments, including the quartz and poultice massage, take place on tables lined with warmed quartz.

“We call it the Birkenstock of massage tables, because it forms to the contours of the body,” says spa director Daniel Spencer.

Between treatments, anti-gravity chairs invite moments of rest and reprieve, while grounded lounge areas beckon guests to sink into vibrational loungers with acoustic therapy or guided meditation. And, for those seeking an active escape, there’s also a boutique gym with an array of fitness equipment and free weights.

Inside two halotherapy rooms, generators disperse tiny, pharmaceutical-grade salt particles into the air. These salt caves offer a soothing, Mars-like orange glow, but they’re not just pretty; some studies have shown that halotherapy can have benefits for respiratory ailments, allergies and skin conditions.

“I think of it like putting salt on an icy road. It kind of does the same thing with the sinuses and lungs,” Spencer says. “It clears that pathway so you breathe better, sleep better and just feel more vibrant afterward.”

The spa’s full sensory experience includes the scentscape, which deliberately shifts throughout the facility. The outdoor garden, where guests wait for their treatments, smells like a verdant redwood forest. The steam room bursts with clouds of eucalyptus, while menthol crystals lend a hint of aroma to the dry sauna. Aromatherapy shower heads are infused with citrus.

“What usually happens is that you walk into a spa, and you’re like, ‘Oh, that smells so good.’ But then, once you’ve done that for a couple hours, you don’t really notice it anymore,” Spencer says. “So the trick was to change smells, so that throughout the day you’re always smelling something new and fresh. Keep your nose from getting bored.”

Outdoors, guests will find a tranquil oasis, with mineral pools, Jacuzzis and day beds nestled beneath swaying palms against a picturesque mountain backdrop. Once again, the elements here — the dramatic waterfall, rock formations, basket-like shapes of the cabanas and more — are nods to the ancient home and traditions of the Agua Caliente people.

When the urge to grab a bite strikes, guests can enjoy food from two on-site cafés. There’s the Málmal Café (also open to the public), which offers an array of wraps, salads, sandwiches and bowls. For those craving an al fresco experience, the outdoor Pál Bar echoes the offerings from the Málmal menu but with a few added entrées and enticing small bites.

Back to the source

The essential experience at the Spa at Séc-he is the Taking of the Waters ceremony, when guests spend 15 minutes in a private, clothing-optional bath, soaking in the 105-degree ancient spring water.

It’s a profoundly relaxing experience. I enjoy a good soak anyway, but the high mineral content gives this water a satiny texture, more of an embrace than a bath. As sand flows through the hourglass marking time on the wall, I feel an unspooling within my muscles. The minutes fly by.

But where did this special water come from? A 2011 United States Geological Survey study found that Séc-he comes from its own reservoir of rainwater and snowmelt about 8,000 feet below the San Jacinto Mountains. It emerges from the ground here for the first time after 12,000 years at a rate of approximately 25 gallons per minute.

“We’re not pumping the water out,” Spencer says. “It comes over here where the gathering plaza is (outside of the spa), and then as soon as it comes up, we’ll basically fill these big tanks underneath the parking structure, and that goes into some pumps to push them into the tubs. It’s not hitting the surface until it comes out in the baths during the Taking of the Waters.

“This is water in its purest form,” he continues. “When people say Palm Springs, well … here’s the spring.”

If you go

Ready to relax in the Palm Springs water? Enhance your stay with these ways to eat, stay and play.

Learn: The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is a fascinating trip back in time, where the local tribe shares their own stories in their own words. You’ll find ancient objects and artifacts, including some that were found on-site during the construction of the building, as well as exhibitions detailing modern milestones.

Eat: While Palm Springs restaurants have yet to nab a coveted Michelin star, eight local eateries have been recognized in the esteemed Michelin Guide. Among them: Bar Cecil is a lively option if you can score a reservation. Otherwise, The Colony Club and Tac/Quila are two faves, while Boozehounds is best for travelers with pups in tow.

Stay: Luxury boutique hotel group Kirkwood Collection recently acquired three historic hotel properties in downtown Palm Springs: La Serena Villas, a welcoming Spanish hacienda-style property, and two midcentury gems, the Del Marcos Hotel and The Three Fifty Hotel.

That feels particularly fitting considering the visually dazzling and heartfelt movie couldn’t have been made without both the latest and greatest tech has to offer and extremely talented people.

Based on the best-selling and award-winning 2016 middle-grade book of the same name by Peter Brown, “The Wild Robot” lands in theaters on Sept. 27.

On the screen, the titular advanced piece of machinery — ROZZUM unit 7134, which will become known as “Roz” — is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. Well, it’s uninhabited by people, but it is teeming with animal life. As the robot attempts to activate the beacon that will help the company that made it to locate it, the animals investigate the invader, considering her to be a “monster” and giving her a decidedly hard time.

With the beacon quickly damaged, Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) goes about exploring the unfamiliar territory, soon finding a gosling egg — which a fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) very much would like to eat.

Nevertheless, Roz and Fink enter into an uneasy alliance to protect the now-hatched gosling, Brightbill (Kit Connor, “Heartstopper”), even as Roz has her reservations.

“I do not have the programming to be a mother,” she tells a friendly possum, Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creek”).

“No one does,” says Pinktail, a mother herself.

Overcoming one’s programming is a major theme of the story that unfolds as Brightbill grows — away from the other larger goslings, some of whom bully him.

Roz and Fink do their best to teach him to swim and fly — the latter skill something he must master because of a ticking seasonal clock.

As the tale progresses, this unusual mother-son relationship endures the requisite ups and downs. When Brightbill gets a fuller picture of how he became in the care of Roz, he becomes rather upset.

Fortunately, a wise older goose, Longneck (Bill Nighy), takes Brightbill, well, under his wing as the migration time approaches.

Meanwhile, the island’s residents — who also include intimidating grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill), task-focused beaver Paddler (Matt Berry) and falcon Thunderbolt (Ving Rhames) — face a couple of serious challenges to their well-being. Fortunately, Roz is there to help all of them, despite her rough introduction to their home.

One of the threats comes in the form of Vontra (Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”), a robot who arrives late in the game with her own plans for Roz.

In the hands of writer-director Chris Sanders (“How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Croods”), “The Wild Robot” is lively — it’s an adventure with a pulse that delivers serious thrills here and there. It’s emotionally impactful, too, if not to the level of several animated classics, among them a movie it certainly brings to mind, 1999’s “The Iron Giant.”

Again, “The Wild Robot” is a feast for the eyes, thanks to Sanders collaborators including production designer Raymond Zibach (“The Kung Fu Panda” series) and the head of character animation, Jakob Hort Jensen (“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”). Their work is especially impressive when it comes to the cleverly designed Roz, who is a marvel to look upon and to watch move.

Their work on the character is complemented nicely by performance choices made by Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave,” “A Quiet Place: Day One”), the warmth of Roz growing as her character’s satisfying arc plays out.

The next most notable bit of voice work is turned in by the always delightful Nighy (“Living”), who gives Longneck quite a bit of personality without overdoing it.

We wouldn’t mind a little bit of overdoing it by Pascal (“The Mandalorian,” “The Last of Us”), who’s just a bit too understated as Fink.

Ultimately, any gripes with “The Wild Robot” are minor. This is an easy recommendation for families looking for a slice of entertainment that should offer something for a wide range of ages.

While the movie doesn’t conclude on a cliffhanger — at least not exactly — Brown has penned two sequels, “The Wild Robot Escapes” and “The Wild Robot Protects,” so there’s a good chance we’ll see further adventures of Roz on the big screen.

That’s a bit of programming we would not try to overcome.

‘The Wild Robot’

Where: Theaters

When: Sept. 27

Rated: PG for action/peril and thematic elements

Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Stars (of four): 3