From Mother’s Day to Mountains

It has been an exciting month since I last wrote on our blog.

BBQ and family gatherings started the weekend before Mother’s Day.  Paul grilled burgers, brats and some chicken legs and breasts on our two grills.  Homemade potato salad, some corn on the cob and we had a feast fit for kings!  My son happened to be in the area working which was a fantastic treat for me. It’s not often that I have the opportunity to have my children gathered together as they live all over this beautiful nation. The girls drove out from the San Francisco area, and my son made the trip from where he was working in Sacramento.  Being in a campground seemed to bring back some very fond memories of old childhood camp songs.  Listening to the laughter and friendly brother/sister teasing brought joy to my heart and a smile to my face.

Playing Wii games

Mother’s Day:  We gathered together again at my youngest daughter’s house.  She had prepared a “Mother’s Day Brunch” which would have put the fanciest restaurants to shame.  Two types of quiche, stuffed pancakes, yogurt and fresh fruit parfaits and enough snacking foods to get us through the 3 hours of playing different games on her Wii!  We danced, bowled, boxed, raced and laughed so hard our sides hurt!  Who knew you could do all that in a living room filled with the people you love most! It was a great Mother’s Day for me and the first official Mother's Day celebration for my daughter with her new baby who blessed our lives in February.   

Our family's newest blessing

A wonderful day spent with my children and grandson

Caliente Springs Resort

On to the mountains. We had planned on spending our summer in the beautiful pine treed Colorado Mountains, but we received a call from Caliente Springs Resort which is located very near Palm Springs, California.  They contacted Paul regarding a long-term position.  So we were off once again to explore a new area and possibly a new job. Life changes and sometimes its best not to question why, but to go with the flow!  Caliente Springs is a 55+ resort that offers many activities for the 55+ age group.  Not only are there four natural heated (volcanic) mineral spas and  two pools filled with the same natural flowing hot mineral springs, but also golf, tennis, a fitness room, shuffleboard and many groups to fill our hours including everything from cards games to quilting.  Of course, we had to spend one evening enjoying the relaxing hot bubbly spas and a dip in the warm pool for a swim.   It was marvelous!

Caliente Springs has a sister resort, Sky Valley.  Sky Valley is an all age group, and offers much of the same resources, mineral spas, pools, tennis courts, a restaurant, and activities. In the off-season (Summer) Paul would be Assistant Manager for both resorts. In the on-season (Winter) the work toll would be so high and the resorts filled to the max with snowbirds, that Paul would just manage the Caliente Springs Resort.  I would be working in the office and doing whatever they find for me to fill my days.  

Tram cables and towers

While in the Palm Springs area, we explored some of the desert, the surrounding city of Desert Hot Springs, the mountains and of course the casinos!   We did visit a couple of the many casino’s in the area and even came home with some of their money!  Now that’s a great way to feel good about a new adventure.  We also went up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the San Jacinto State Park which took us through four temperate zones within a 6000 foot, upward, ride! They say it's like going from the Caribbean beaches to the Canadian tundra in just 10 minutes.   The State Park offers novice hiking, a one and half mile loop with incredible views of the Coachella Valley to hiking for the expert hiker, a 12 mile round trip to the top of the second highest peak in southern California.   We shouldn't have been surprised  at the amount of snow still on the mountain; there can be up to a 40 degree difference in temperature from the Valley Station which is at 2,643 feet to the Mountain Station which is at 8,516 feet. 

Paul standing near the Cable car

Cable car going up as we descended

We plan on doing a lot of hiking up there and hopefully will spot the abundant wildlife that the Ranger spoke about.  Bluebirds, Bighorn Sheep, hawks, owls and Mule deer are just a few of the many animals that roam the mountain. The city of Palm Springs offers everything we will need from the big box retail stores such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart to small specialty shops where you can find those “one of a kind” creations!  Yes, we know it will be a HOT, HOT summer.  But, can you imagine a winter day when it's 60 or 70?  

A view of the San Jacinto Mountain Range

We also had the delight of Paul meeting up with his in-laws, Norb and Barbara, who graciously invited us to their home for dinner.  Barbara is a very amazing woman as she cares for her husband who is recovering from a very bad fall. She is full of good cheer and even shared some of her life experiences and stories with us.  She and Norb have lived in the Palm Springs area for many years and are sure to be a great resource of information as we head into this new part of our lives.

  

I never realized that so much of California is mountains!  If we weren’t driving up and down, we were gazing into the near and far distance in awe at the wonders of the majestic landscape.  For several hundred miles, without even a home in sight, just an occasional farm warehouse, we drove through acres and acres of fruit trees, crops of tomatoes, corn, lemons, oranges, even pistachio and almond trees.  The amount of food grown in this region is amazing and most don’t really give it much thought.  But after this last trip, it made me more aware and appreciate all the hard work that goes on before walking into the local market/store and picking up the food needed to feed ourselves.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jo and Paul




"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity."
— Gilda Radner