Chefprefers BLOG

As mentioned in the previous post, the timeshare resort offers an American-style vacation. golf courses, pools, kids activities and large one to two-bedroom apartments. My sister had organised two apartments next to each other with connecting doors. Her husband had to work so it was just the three of us for the week. We planned to hang out at Palm Desert in the morning and in the afternoon, head to the Resort pool. It was a Saturday, so we drove to the City of Palm Desert for brunch where we dined at a popular place Wilma & Frieda’s Cafe. We had to wait an hour for a table to be vacant. The text came through and we sat down for our dining experience. By this time, my food baby was extending past my chest, so I decided to have a salad. Even though my sister’s waffles looked really good, I had to be strong. It was interesting to look at the patrons and what they were ordering. There were some big plates dished out and one would wonder whether these people hadn’t eaten in a week and it was their time to feast. Like when it’s Ramadan, the Muslims would dive into their dinner after the sun went down. My salad wasn’t as good as the assortment of Benny dishes, pancakes and Belgian waffles.

Palm Desert El Paseo district appeared to be the place to shop with 9 blocks of store outlets. Anything from Tiffany’s to Gucci to retail stores that labelled items at stupid prices. My sister has a shopping addiction, so it was good to not spend too much time there. After our big walk yesterday at the Joshua Tree National Park, we were feeling worn out and it was time for a little pool time. 

As I sat in the reclined chair next to my companions, I scanned the pool surroundings. I see lots of vacationers relaxing and basking in the afternoon sun. There was a tall man standing at the pool’s edge where the water was just touching his waist. The pool appeared to be shallow. He was talking to the adjacent woman where the water was levelled at her midriff. Next to her, was another woman who submerged to her neck. I could hear their stories about where they came from and where to next. Over to the right, a row of reclining chairs populated by couples and groups of women. Most had their phones in tacked, rarely would you see a book or a magazine. Apart from the odd conversation, the pool was quiet. There’s a young girl in the water splashing to get the attention of the parents who were absorbed wanting peace and quiet. I got up from my position and strolled through the low-hanging umbrellas to test the water. Kicking the water felt the true worthiness for a nice relaxing dip. I stepped down into the cool substance which came to my waist. I kneeled to cleanse. I beckoned for my wife to join me and she came to the water’s edge and emerged into the pool. We both smiled and enjoyed the refreshing salt water liquid.

We headed back to the room and relaxed, cooking a steak & salad dinner with a few drinks. We had heard that the prevailing winds were going to appear the next day, so we thought to peruse the list of museums we had discovered.

The next day we visited three museums. oh btw The day was sunny and beautiful. We drove the 8 miles North of Palm Springs out to Cabot’s Pueblo Museum … It’s a crazy Pueblo-style house built out of recycled materials from the 1940s-’60s.

Sorry, not very interesting. The second was the art museum. Boy, we were in for a treat. It happened to be the el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations, so the Museum had free entry and they had Mexican Jarabe dance performances in the entrance hall as we walked in. The Day of the Dead is associated with All Saints Day and I have written a story about that in the Streets of Wilderness. The museum took on a festive atmosphere and there were a lot of people attending. Some of the art was good and some was uninspiring.

Our next stop was the air museum out at the airport. Went straight for the the stealth bomber plane and had a first-hand view of it. The aeroplane would have been top-secret at some stage but here it is for me to look and touch. The museum had three areas, Golf, Vietnam, first and Second World War. If you are in the district, worth the trip. 

After our museum tours, we decided to visit the only Greek restaurant in town “the Santorini Gyro”  Greek food must have dived recently because I don’t see a lot of places which serve Greek food. I know in Canberra there is only the Hellentic Club and that’s it. There used to be more but they are gone. Next up San Diego and the southern California coast.