Summertime seems to run “officially” from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The seasonal calendar and, of course, the Southern California weather tells us otherwise, but in honor of this official winding down of summer, I decided to take a little vacation. Even though we didn’t go far, escaping out of San Diego to Orange County, Los Angeles and the desert cities can seem like venturing to another part of the world.

The rumors were flying. The Boom Boom Room, a gay Laguna Beach institution, actually a Southern California institution, is scheduled to close. For decades, this legendary restaurant, bar and café has been a “boom” in our nightlife options. Certainly it’s not the ritziest of Laguna Beach establishments, but it has a feeling, flavor and history that is unique. If you haven’t been up to the Boom Boom Room, you’re still in luck. The club is making an encore of sorts, as they were very recently granted another year or so on their lease.

Because of the way our travel plans worked out, we arrived in Laguna Beach on a Tuesday. My first thought was to head over to the Boom because I wanted to visit the place one last time before it closed (when we visited, they hadn’t yet announced the one- year extension). At first disappointed with how empty the place was, the evening turned out just fine. The front café wasn’t too crowded or lively, and throngs of hot boyz weren’t lining the block waiting to get in. There was just a small party of six at a table and a few random people scattered around the bar. I noticed a poster listing the weekly nights at the bar and realized we had popped in on Locals Night. The few locals didn’t seem to mind our presence and we enjoyed live piano entertainment by Lynda Roth. As the friendly bartenders kept the drinks flowing, we headed into the game room to play some pool. One of the barbacks offered to turn on the Ms. Pac-Man game with a 1980 copyright sticker on it, but pool suited us fine. It was one of those chill evenings, and we headed to the beach just steps away from the club for an evening walk after our time at the Boom.

The Boom Boom Room will be open through September 2007. The club is open Tuesday through Sunday with special events each night of the week. Check out www.boomboomroom.com for more information.

After our evening in the O.C., we headed off to the Coachella Valley to visit Palm Springs. Yes, in the middle of August. Visiting Palm Springs at this time of the year, considered the off season, is a different experience than, say, White Party weekend. Mostly just locals with a few random visitors around, the pace is just right for a summer holiday. After fun-filled days of water sports (Knott’s Soak City) and recreation, the hot summer nights were ours. After sipping a few drinks and watching a cheesy Frank Sinatra impersonator in our hotel’s lobby, we headed into Palm Springs’ gay nightlife. Our first night started with a stop off at the SpurLine. It was the middle of the week, which meant it was Wicked Wednesday at the bar. This included two-for-one drink specials and great video hits. In fact, unlike other video bars I’ve been to, this place played music videos going as far back as the 1950s. That was cool.

After spending a bit of time at SpurLine, we walked over to Hunters. The music was happening there and the medium-sized crowd was fun. The doorman mentioned that Wednesdays were one of their busier nights, so I was expecting the place to be wall-to-wall. But I suppose in the Palm Springs off-season, “packed” means something different than it would here in San Diego. On Wednesday nights, Tulita Pepsi, Hunters’ resident drag queen, hosts the underwear contest. I was recruited and pushed into the contest. But guess what? I won second place. OK, so there were only two of us competing, but the free drink and $25 cash prize wasn’t such a bad consolation for the embarrassment of having to stand almost naked on stage next to the beautifully toned, super-buff, very well-endowed body-builder I competed against. It was a great night and I definitely recommend this club next time you are in Palm Springs.

On Thursday night, we had dinner at a restaurant and bar called Bongo Johnny’s. After dinner, we decided we wanted to try something different, so we headed over to Toucans. This seemed to be the place to be that night, because it was packed (by Palm Springs standards). The music was great and progressed from 1970s disco tunes to the most current hits (my travel companion requested Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” and it was played just before we left for the evening). This tropical-themed bar was filled with happy people, dancing and merrymaking.

One thing that always strikes me when I make my annual August trek up to Palm Springs is how incredibly friendly and welcoming the locals seem to be. Even the security guards at the front door will make conversation with you and get to know your name (and not because we had gotten into trouble). The bartenders don’t seem rushed, the crowd is not stuck up and everyone really seems to have a handle on that laid-back SoCal attitude that we all lay claim to. Next time you want a short weekend getaway, don’t forget about our nearby gay oasis in the desert!

I made it home just in time to hit another installment of the popular Spin Cycle Rinse foam party held at Rich’s. This was the third such event, and it lived up to the usual expectations. Lots of boys and girls covered in foam were gyrating up against each other, and there seemed to be a lot more foam this time. I mean, there were massive mountains of foam. I don’t want to know what was going on in there…

Lots of September fun coming your way in the next Barfly. Please send any information about your event or venue to editor@uptownpub.com.