PiñaBlog

Thus begins the story of the Grand Piña Vacation of 2006.

The first leg of our journey was from Oakhurst to Desert Hot Springs, near Palm Springs. We left Oakhurst, and it rained just about all the way down. This drive was pretty normal for us since we went through Azusa, where both of us went to school. We stopped there for lunch at The Whole Enchilada to enjoy some Mama Mias.

As we drove the 10 Freeway, we could already see the exact spot where the clouds in the Los Angeles basin stopped, and the sunny desert began. It was really windy, and we were surrounded by those enormous windmills. We pulled into our hotel in the early evening, and we were already laughing when we hit the parking lot.

The La Toscana Resort and Spa features some lovely faux rock decorations and the lobby resembles the beginning of a Disneyland ride. The folks behind the desk weren’t exactly rude, but they weren’t exactly helpful or excited to see us either. When we told the woman we had reservations, she typed some things into the computer and said, “Ok… you get… what’s left.” She then attempted to give us the impression that she was only joking.

We found our room, showered, got unpacked, read terrible reviews of our hotel on the Internet, and headed out for dinner. But our car wouldn’t start.
We left our lights on and the battery was dead. Fortunately, an employee helped me push the car up a hill so we could pop the clutch and get moving to dinner. We ate some pizza in Palm Desert. The Desert area is made up of many cities, streets, and businesses which are all named using various combinations of the words, “Desert, Springs, Canyon, and Palm.” (Examples: Desert Springs Dentistry, Palm Canyon Avenue, Palm Desert Canyon Springs Country Club and Grille.)

The center of the La Toscana structure has a decent sized pool, an indoor spa, and another huge, outdoor spa. That night Lyndsay and I slipped into the larger, outdoor spa, where we enjoyed the warm mineral waters of Desert Hot Springs with 10 other men, none of whom spoke English as a primary language.

The next day was Go To The Pool And Do Nothing Day. The pool area was inhabited by a classy group of people, including many of our foreign friends. Among them was also a body-builder-looking man with his tropical model girlfriend. On the other side of the pool was a couple of women who seemed to frequent the La Toscana Resort and Spa. One of them dipped into the pool while I was the only one in the water. As I turned around she was shooting backwards, straight towards me. She stopped a few feet away, caught her breath, and yelled, “I’ve got to stop smoking so much marijuana!” At various intervals throughout the afternoon she yelled single words, such as, “Pot!” and “Asthma!” I should also mention the phrase, “I Burnt My Boob!”

That night we drove into Rancho Mirage for some good Mexican food at “Las Conseulas Nuevas.” Our server’s name was “Augie.” He looked very Hispanic, and had a very Non-Hispanic accent. We’re pretty sure he was a ninja.

The next morning we packed our bags, ate some muffins, and headed off to Tucson.
Next: Desert Hot Springs, California to Tucson, Arizona.