We were only two weeks late celebrating our wedding anniversary where we had
our honeymoon 12 years ago. In the desert at
The Rancho Mirage Marriott. Now
after many Marriott stays the service we received this time in comparison to
our first visit was vastly different. Upgraded to an Executive Suite
with a private balcony overlooking the golf course. Waiting for us was a
nice cold bottle of champagne and strawberries dipped in chocolate. A
welcome sight after a hectic drive from LA but the new Mustang convertible
Hertz
gave us made it a little more enjoyable. That night we walked over to
"The River", a new shopping and restaurant complex. A martini
or two and late dinner at our favorite chain restaurant,
PF Chang's helped. us relax.
Saturday morning we were up bright and early, Cheri read the paper and we were
off to hopefully snatch a few bargains at the local outdoor market which
is held every Saturday and Sunday between 7:00 am and noon at
The
College of the Desert.
Then we went for a walk on
El Paseo Drive,
which is the complete opposite, no bargains here except a cold beer and a
mojito at The Tommy Bahama Tropical Cafe.
IT WAS GETTING HOT
So it was up into the mountains where it was
slightly cooler.
Take a drive up highway 74
You will need water and of course champagne.
Celebrating our anniversary
On the way down Cheri wanted to stay the same as our car, topless, Tony lost
his hat and somehow Cheri lost her clothes again, must have been that
champagne, or the sun!
So a recap, take plenty of water, sandwiches from
Vons,
a bottle of champagne, a few towels to sit on and don't forget the camera.
Saturday
Night was our anniversary dinner and no
better place to celebrate was at Castelli's
in Palm Desert just off Hwy 111. Great service and wonderful food, it's
now on our terrific restaurant list.
Sunday
is Brunch at The
Marriott. It's a great spread and with a
bottomless glass of champagne it makes a real treat for only $75 for 2
The sun was out and the sky was blue but the pool was crowded but no topless
sunbathing here so we were fortunate when friends we had met in St. Martin
invited us over to sunbathe without clothes at The Aquafinity Hotel and
Spa. We soon found out it was more than just a place to sunbathe nude
though. No problem for us but we just wanted to relax..
Afterwards we really fancied a Mexican dinner and the only place to go in the
desert is Las Casaelas Nuevas. Great
food and a margarita or two certainly helps.
The next morning we had a few hours to just laze around the pool, not sure
everybody appreciated Cheri's swimsuit but at least she was showing the flag.
We had to get back to the room but our key had melted by the pool and the maid
was getting closer as Cheri got out of her wet swimsuit.
We had a wonderful weekend and we now had to pack and prepare ourselves for
the drive to LA and the flight home. Well at least with the top down
Cheri could improve on her tan and the truck drivers were the lucky ones!
