Day 2
Well we both slept like logs last night; we were in bed by 9PM and didn’t wake until 7AM! I lay in bed a checked the football scores – and to my dismay the “toon” (Newcastle United) were getting beat by Doncaster Rovers 1 – 0 after 54 minutes. I tried to calm myself and decided to read for a bit – anything could happen in the next 36 minutes right? I managed to loose myself in my current read – a great book that Sandra gave me: “Mistress of the Elgin Marbles” by Susan Nagel. It’s all about the wife of Lord Elgin and how the Elgin Marbles were taken from Greece to England in the late 18th century.
My how time flies – I’ve been so engrossed in my book I forgot to check the football score – oh joy, the toon have won 2 - 1 with a winning goal scored 2 minutes into injury time. Ah my day is made!
Now for breakfast – I’ve been sent on a scouting mission to hunt for coffee. This type of request usually comes in the in the form of a “yucan” – as in “Neil, yucan go and find some coffee”. The hotel has a little Starbucks café just off the lobby where I procure Sandra’s latte and I get a monster size cup of drip. On ordering a bagel, I’m asked if I would like “an original” – my quizzical look must have concerned the boy who was serving me, because he then went into a long explanation – it turns out that “an original” is just a plain bagel. I don’t know what the world is coming to. The boy disappeared into the back, an original being a rare item requiring some amount of hunting. He is replaced by a girl and I’m required to repeat my order all over again….ahh! All I want is a bagel and a couple of coffees – how hard can it be?
I eventually make it back to the room and we break out the precooked bacon – what a treat! So we are now sitting on our perch (balcony) overlooking the golf course and relaxing. Every 5 minutes we get to see a magnificent display of very senior golf prowess presented right before our eyes, as foursome after foursome parade down the fairway. There is much whacking about, cussing, abusing of trees and golf cart antics – it’s great fun. The folks playing this course are really pampered – there is a golf cart that has been converted into a mini-concession stand – a kind of golfing “roach coach” – they never had this when I played golf.
It’s so pleasant sitting hear we may just stay here all day!
Well that did not last long – we decided to take a quick tour of the area. Highway 111 runs from Indian Wells up through Ranch Mirage, Cathedral City and a bunch of other towns until you get to Palm Springs. It’s quite an interesting drive with the imposing mountains on the left and the towns on the right. Judging by the Maserati, Bentley and BMW dealerships there is obviously a bit of money down here.
We decide to find the Hilton in Palm Springs which will be our abode for the second 2 nights of our 4 night stay. I must admit it does look a bit dowdy after the very fancy Hyatt we are now at – but maybe the outside looks are deceiving. The hotel is very close to the downtown area, we drive down the main street – it’s very quaint; lots of shops and restaurant – many with lots of outdoor misters! We decide this is a good spot and are looking forward to the second half of our trip.
Just spotted a fast food place called Toro Loco – my Spanish is almost non-existent, but doesn’t that mean Mad Cow – ummm.
We stop at Borders to grab a cold drink and get some free internet time – we are such cheapos!
Well, rig
ht next door to Borders is a re
ally large restaurant / bar called Yard House – this place claims to have the largest selection of beers on tap in the world, after a brief inspection – they may well have. I order a pint of Tetley’s and it immediately takes me back to my college days in the pubs of Sheffield. They have a massive beer selection that takes up two full pages of a large menu – the beers are categorized by style – is this heaven or what? We order beef sliders and chicken nachos, when the food arrives we are dumbstruck at the size of the portions. We dive in and are quickly stuffed – the food was very good, we left behind a good bit but did not feel too bad as the prices were very reasonable.
My penance is now plain to see, as I’m sat outside Macy’s while Sandra shops for dresses. Actually I don’t mind as it’s cool in here and they have very comfy armchairs. Maybe I’ll have a quick nap, this is tough!
As a special treat we stopped at Ralph’s and picked up a small container of Ben and Jerry’s Pistachio ice cream. As we get some rest back in the hotel room the ice cream is wonderful.
I decide I can’t leave this hotel tomorrow without trying the pool; so I don the hotel-supplied robe and off I go. The pool area is almost empty – well it is almost 6PM, so I pick a lounger, remember to take off my specs and take the plunge. The water is cool and refreshing and, as I have this particular pool all to myself, I decide to do my best Johnny Weissmuller impression. After 3 laps I’m knackered, and then Sandra arrives – obviously not intending to take the plunge as she is fully dressed – and offers me encouragement and harassment simultaneously (it’s a skill), so I do two more laps.
I exit the pool to hear Sandra beckoning me over to the far end of the pool area, she has discovered yet another pool – the mysterious and long-lost “adult” pool! How could I have missed an entire pool on my first tour through this area yesterday? The adult pool is extra-nice; its serpentine shaped and is surrounded by loungers that are a grade above those in the other pool area. Behind, and above, the lounger area are very nice cabanas – again much higher class than the others. This hotel definitely has the nicest set of pools that we have ever seen.
Back in the room I shower and decide to have a Guinness, I’m hunting around the room in a mild panic as I can’t find a bottle opener – then Sandra reminds me that my flip-flops have an emergency bottle opener built into the bottom of them. The day is saved by my super-duper flip-flops!
Well it’s getting late, we just had a light snack in the hotel room and we are both running out of energy – it’s almost 9:30PM so we’ve managed to stay up later than last night J. Tomorrow we have to check out of this hotel and we plan to drive through the Joshua Tree Nation Park on our way to the next hotel.
Well we both slept like logs last night; we were in bed by 9PM and didn’t wake until 7AM! I lay in bed a checked the football scores – and to my dismay the “toon” (Newcastle United) were getting beat by Doncaster Rovers 1 – 0 after 54 minutes. I tried to calm myself and decided to read for a bit – anything could happen in the next 36 minutes right? I managed to loose myself in my current read – a great book that Sandra gave me: “Mistress of the Elgin Marbles” by Susan Nagel. It’s all about the wife of Lord Elgin and how the Elgin Marbles were taken from Greece to England in the late 18th century.
My how time flies – I’ve been so engrossed in my book I forgot to check the football score – oh joy, the toon have won 2 - 1 with a winning goal scored 2 minutes into injury time. Ah my day is made!
Now for breakfast – I’ve been sent on a scouting mission to hunt for coffee. This type of request usually comes in the in the form of a “yucan” – as in “Neil, yucan go and find some coffee”. The hotel has a little Starbucks café just off the lobby where I procure Sandra’s latte and I get a monster size cup of drip. On ordering a bagel, I’m asked if I would like “an original” – my quizzical look must have concerned the boy who was serving me, because he then went into a long explanation – it turns out that “an original” is just a plain bagel. I don’t know what the world is coming to. The boy disappeared into the back, an original being a rare item requiring some amount of hunting. He is replaced by a girl and I’m required to repeat my order all over again….ahh! All I want is a bagel and a couple of coffees – how hard can it be?
I eventually make it back to the room and we break out the precooked bacon – what a treat! So we are now sitting on our perch (balcony) overlooking the golf course and relaxing. Every 5 minutes we get to see a magnificent display of very senior golf prowess presented right before our eyes, as foursome after foursome parade down the fairway. There is much whacking about, cussing, abusing of trees and golf cart antics – it’s great fun. The folks playing this course are really pampered – there is a golf cart that has been converted into a mini-concession stand – a kind of golfing “roach coach” – they never had this when I played golf.
It’s so pleasant sitting hear we may just stay here all day!
Well that did not last long – we decided to take a quick tour of the area. Highway 111 runs from Indian Wells up through Ranch Mirage, Cathedral City and a bunch of other towns until you get to Palm Springs. It’s quite an interesting drive with the imposing mountains on the left and the towns on the right. Judging by the Maserati, Bentley and BMW dealerships there is obviously a bit of money down here.
We decide to find the Hilton in Palm Springs which will be our abode for the second 2 nights of our 4 night stay. I must admit it does look a bit dowdy after the very fancy Hyatt we are now at – but maybe the outside looks are deceiving. The hotel is very close to the downtown area, we drive down the main street – it’s very quaint; lots of shops and restaurant – many with lots of outdoor misters! We decide this is a good spot and are looking forward to the second half of our trip.
Just spotted a fast food place called Toro Loco – my Spanish is almost non-existent, but doesn’t that mean Mad Cow – ummm.
We stop at Borders to grab a cold drink and get some free internet time – we are such cheapos!
Well, rig
ht next door to Borders is a re
ally large restaurant / bar called Yard House – this place claims to have the largest selection of beers on tap in the world, after a brief inspection – they may well have. I order a pint of Tetley’s and it immediately takes me back to my college days in the pubs of Sheffield. They have a massive beer selection that takes up two full pages of a large menu – the beers are categorized by style – is this heaven or what? We order beef sliders and chicken nachos, when the food arrives we are dumbstruck at the size of the portions. We dive in and are quickly stuffed – the food was very good, we left behind a good bit but did not feel too bad as the prices were very reasonable.My penance is now plain to see, as I’m sat outside Macy’s while Sandra shops for dresses. Actually I don’t mind as it’s cool in here and they have very comfy armchairs. Maybe I’ll have a quick nap, this is tough!
As a special treat we stopped at Ralph’s and picked up a small container of Ben and Jerry’s Pistachio ice cream. As we get some rest back in the hotel room the ice cream is wonderful.
I decide I can’t leave this hotel tomorrow without trying the pool; so I don the hotel-supplied robe and off I go. The pool area is almost empty – well it is almost 6PM, so I pick a lounger, remember to take off my specs and take the plunge. The water is cool and refreshing and, as I have this particular pool all to myself, I decide to do my best Johnny Weissmuller impression. After 3 laps I’m knackered, and then Sandra arrives – obviously not intending to take the plunge as she is fully dressed – and offers me encouragement and harassment simultaneously (it’s a skill), so I do two more laps.
I exit the pool to hear Sandra beckoning me over to the far end of the pool area, she has discovered yet another pool – the mysterious and long-lost “adult” pool! How could I have missed an entire pool on my first tour through this area yesterday? The adult pool is extra-nice; its serpentine shaped and is surrounded by loungers that are a grade above those in the other pool area. Behind, and above, the lounger area are very nice cabanas – again much higher class than the others. This hotel definitely has the nicest set of pools that we have ever seen.
Back in the room I shower and decide to have a Guinness, I’m hunting around the room in a mild panic as I can’t find a bottle opener – then Sandra reminds me that my flip-flops have an emergency bottle opener built into the bottom of them. The day is saved by my super-duper flip-flops!
Well it’s getting late, we just had a light snack in the hotel room and we are both running out of energy – it’s almost 9:30PM so we’ve managed to stay up later than last night J. Tomorrow we have to check out of this hotel and we plan to drive through the Joshua Tree Nation Park on our way to the next hotel.
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