Let’s face it. I didn’t have a vacation in 2015, and after everything that befell me (mostly good), I deserve to have two in 2016. Come along with me on my second sunny vacation in three months.
I wrote a tad about how this vacation came about earlier.
In fact, my class reunion in July 2015 became the springboard for a jaunt to a resort we’ve been eyeing for ten years.
The Resort
Indio, California is about twenty miles south of the famed Palm Springs, vacation home to numerous celebrities.
The town proper includes everything you might want for a vacation. We bought groceries at a WinCo located a couple miles from our home base. There was also a pharmacy and numerous restaurants in that shopping center.
A few miles in the other direction, we found the rest of our supplies at a WalMart Supercenter.
Worldmark Indio is a gigantic place. Fifteen buildings, three or four stories tall, house various condominiums. There are two large pools situated at either end of the lovely green space on the back side of these stucco monsters.
Thirty-six greens and fairways circle most of the resort. Palms whisper overhead. Birds offer up early-morning catcalls. Duck families enjoy the central pond network.
Since it was Easter, bunnies even hopped around the place. (Actually, I’m sure they live there full-time.)
Two basketball courts and a double tennis court offer outdoor recreational opportunities. A large recreation center houses billiards, Ping Pong, air hockey and a dozen video games-even classics like Centipede and Space Invaders.
The pool nearest our room (which included two hot tubs, wading pool and swimming pool, also featured a lazy river. This is a winding path of water with its own current. You plop onto the provided tubes and let the river do the rest.
Joshua Tree National Park
Obviously, there was plenty to do at the resort. Especially if you’re like me and think the best vacation involves a lounge chair and a good book.
However, a number of national parks are nearby, and one of them features forests of Joshua Trees.
Don’t know what a Joshua Tree is? Let me help you out.
And it’s Spring, so the desert flowers are blooming. On our outlined plan of action for the week, a trip to Joshua Tree National Park was a must for three out of four of us.
This is what the itinerary looked like:
Monday: Hang out at Resort
Tuesday: Joshua Tree
Wednesday: Spa and 18 holes of golf
Thursday: Palm Springs
Friday: Pool Day
I planned to hike a few trails in the park, so I dressed in tennis shoes. My friends warned that it would be ten to fifteen degrees cooler in the park, so I should dress warmly or bring warm clothes.
We left at 9AM and returned around 7PM. Here are the photographic highlights of the day:
The Living Desert I didn’t see
Come back on Thursday to hear the whole story, but the Thursday itinerary got an overhaul. Namely, only my friends went off to Palm Springs.
I’d been to The Living Desert-the local zoo-during our first trip to the area on our second honeymoon. I loved it and looked forward to a repeat.
After all, they had a baby giraffe now.
But I saw a real live desert on Tuesday and that was going to have to tide me over until my next trip this far south.
If you love dry sunny days, you should plan a trip to Indio (or Palm Springs or Palm Desert). I highly recommend using the traditional Spring Break timing for this trip. (In fact, a teacher I work with has been going there for a decade during Spring Break.)
The desert was in bloom, giving color to the brown canvas. Breezes cooled the high temperatures of 90 degrees to feel like a balmy, Hawaiian 75.
In fact, my husband enjoyed the location so much, he’s trying to convince our kids to take a family vacation there with us next year.
A sunny vacation is my ideal. What about you? What’s your ideal vacation getaway?