Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Not All Who Wander Are Lost
June, 2019 - Mount Denali, Alaska

Friday, December 10, 2010

Happy Birthday Sweetheart

Today is Kevin’s 55th birthday.  I think he is now officially a senior citizen since the resort we are currently staying at is a 55+ resort :)

We left Cherry Valley Lakes yesterday and had to back out of our pull-through site.  Remember how I told you the sites were extremely tight.  The pull-through sites are short so most rigs are hanging out into the road a bit.  It was too tight to pull out of our site so Kevin did an expert job of backing out.    We will never camp there again!

Our drive to Caliente Springs Resort in Desert Hot Springs was only about an hour.  Outside of Palm Springs we passed a windmill farm.  There are hundreds of them all along the interstate and up in the hills.  I love seeing them.  I figure every time I see windmills there is less oil being used, and that makes me happy for a number of reasons!

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We love this new location.  It is by far the nicest resort we have stayed at.  Surprisingly, they are Passport America members so we are only paying $23.50 a night with a 7 day limit.  We needed someplace to stay for 8 nights before our reservation starts in San Diego so the last night is at the 10% Good Sam discount. 

There are 4 hot tub pools and 2 large pools.   The water in all of them comes from the underground mineral hot springs.  The 2 larger pools are at a temperature of between 87 to 94 degrees.  The hot tubs range from 96 to 104.  The temperatures are posted so you can decide how hot you want to be.

We went for a swim last night.  We went into the second hottest tub, and it was hot.  It was too hot for Kevin’s liking, but I loved it.  My arthritic joints were dancing a jig :)

After a bit, we went into the big pool and swam some laps.  It was awesome swimming on my back and looking at the moon and stars.  This life sure is great!!!

There is lap swimming every morning.  I think I’ll swim before Kevin gets up.  I didn’t this morning because it’s his birthday, and I didn’t want to be gone when he woke up.  Plus I wanted to bake him a cake.

His favorite birthday cake is a poppy seed cake his mom used to make for his birthday.  It has a custard filling and cream cheese frosting.  It’s time consuming to make, but it sure is good. 

A whole cake would just be too much for us so I used half of the ingredients and baked one layer and cut it in half.   I cheated and used store bought cream cheese frosting.  I think it will still be quite yummy!

We rode our bikes around this beautiful resort community and then played some shuffleboard.

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The shuffleboard courts are behind the clubhouse and pools.  You can see some of it in the background.  There are also tennis courts, a 9 hole executive style golf course, horseshoe pits, a fitness room, a bistro, laundry facilities, a library, and a public room for activities. 

There are all kinds of daily activities scheduled.  There is definitely something for everyone.  The only facility that costs extra is the golf.  After looking over the course, we decided not to play.  The holes are very short and narrow with park model homes all around each hole.  I’m not confident enough in my game to risk hitting someone’s house.

Time to go and see what Kevin has planned to do next.  I told him it’s his day, and we’ll do whatever he wants.  Tonight we’re going out to dinner.

By the way, as you can see in the picture, it’s warm enough to be wearing shorts and a tank top.  Highs are predicted to be in the 80s all weekend. 

We hope all of our Wisconsin family and friends are enjoying the pretty snow they are experiencing :)

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!