Perfect Weekend

We had such a good time this past weekend in La Quinta with our friends, Jacquie and Bob. They are most hospitable!
We arrived on Saturday just in time for lunch. We drove over to the nearby Polo Grounds for lunch in the Tavern. The Polo Grounds are where the upcoming Coachella Music Festival will be held. The grounds are beautiful! They were starting to set up tents for the crowds.
After lunch, we toured the Polo Grounds and then drove thru Jacquie's and Bob's development to see the golf course, tennis courts, etc. There are grapefruit and orange trees throughout the area. We stopped to pick up a few grapefruit. Yes, it's the SoCal dream....you can pick perfect fruit right from the trees...to your table.

We stopped at a newish yarn shop in La Quinta called The Ultimate Point. Wow! What a great shop! They have all of the fancy yarns, with some fairly good prices (compared to L.A. shops). Everyone inside was super nice and very helpful. Jacquie knows how to crochet, but her knitting skills could use some brushing up. We signed Jacquie up for a series of knitting lessons and purchased some lovely birthday gift yarn. The Ultimate Point is right across the parking lot from Trader Joe's. I know that if I lived in La Quinta, I'd never have to go beyond this one shopping center.

That night Jacquie made a delicious barbecued chicken salad for dinner. We just stayed home and watched an old movie on TV. We needed to rest up for our big day-trip on Sunday.

Bob and Jacquie

We set off early on Sunday morning to the Coachella Valley Preserve in 1000 Palms Canyon. The San Andreas Fault Line runs right through the Preserve. It's fabulous to drive through miles and miles of barren desert sand and then suddenly see a huge oasis of overgrown palm trees. There was a bit of water running on the fault line. We took a short hike through the palms. It was very interesting. There's a small visitor center made from palm fronds and palm trunks. It was closed, but we could see inside.
After the Preserve, Bob drove us to Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo. It's a fascinating structure with a great story. It was super windy in Desert Hot Springs, so after the tour, we ducked into a Mexican Restaurant for lunch.
On our way back toward La Quinta we stopped at the nursery at the Living Desert. Larry always likes to pick up a cactus or succulent plants to add to our garden at home. The Living Desert is a zoo and wildlife center where animals live in their natural habitats. You really feel like you're walking through the African desert and deltas when you're inside. On hot days (it was 80+ degrees F.) the animals stay in the brush; they only come out of hiding in the cool early mornings and early evenings.
Once again, we were exhausted after a day of adventures. We went back to our Casita to rest up for dinner.

On Sunday, Larry and I drove home leisurely, stopping at a few places in downtown Palm Springs. All in all, it was a perfect weekend. Thanks again, Jacquie and Bob!