Weekend Retreat

Last weekend Randy let me get away with some girlfriends for a whole 3 days! We traveled by car Thursday night all the way to La Quinta (a small town, east of Los Angeles, in the desert) to stay at Megahn's parents' home. Friday we enjoyed a 9-mile bike ride through the hills on the edge of town in the morning, relaxing by the pool in the afternoon, and a BBQ steak dinner on the patio, followed by drinks around the firepit. Saturday we woke up at the crack of dawn (literally) to hike 7 miles up the Art Smith trail in the desert cliffs dividing La Quinta from Palm Springs. It was a warm, strenuous hike (I'm glad we started as early as we did), but worth the effort for the views, the scenery, and the talks along the way. After going home for a short rest and a shower we headed into town for a light lunch, some shopping, some wine-tasting, and a late dinner at Arnold Palmer's restaurant. Sunday was pure relaxing...with a late start to the morning, coffee and biscotti in a cute shop in Old Town, and a browsing through their Sunday Farmers' Market. I got to try three kinds of local honey (orange blossom, avocado blossom, and one other I can't remember), 5 kinds of dates (the Halawy were my favorite), and a bumpy green fruit called a chiramoya that I'd never seen before (it tasted a lot like a mango)! We even got to "brush shoulders" with Arnold Palmer himself. We went home to make a lunch with our local finds from the Farmers' Market (muffins, a spinach strawberry salad, and scrambled eggs...they had quail eggs at the market!) and enjoy a couple more hours pool-side before the long drive home. It was a great weekend away with some fabulous friends! Dinner on the patio with (L-R) Andrea, Megahn's mom Sue, Megahn, and Myra.
(L-R) Christa, Myra, Andrea, Me and Megahn on the Art Smith Trail overlooking LaQuinta. This was early on when we still had on all our long sleeves. Andrea enjoying the pool in the backyard...overlooking the Dunes golf course. Christa, Andrea and I on the way to Arnold Palmer's. This imaginative picture of us five bathing beauties was Christa's idea! Since it's only our legs I was all for it...but guess who's white legs stand out in the middle? LOL!

I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband that took great care of the kids while I was away, even taking the Friday off work to get the kids to and from school! And thanks a million to Megahn and her mom for the gracious hospitality all weekend! It was fabulous!