Finally! The day we have been looking forward to has arrived! We are leaving Quartzsite and heading to Palm Springs! We have managed to find an RV Resort that will store our truck and trailer for the week we are in the condo, so we are arriving 2 days early to get the trailer cleaned up. Right after our week away, we will be back to spend one night in it before starting our trek north. The bonus is that we are only being charged $40 for the 7 nights we will not be in the trailer and we do not have to unhitch the truck/trailer or move it to a storage area. We have a pull-through site when we arrive and the rig will stay there until we leave on March 21...perfect!
After a stop at La Posa South LTVA to dump the tanks, we were on I-10 heading west. We have been monitoring the weather forecast for Palm Springs and unfortunately it is not great...with a real mixed bag. Pretty ugly clouds with some rain as we head west into the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs area…
We were greeted by Jim, the manager, while the guest services rep was busy with other customers. I had been dealing with Jim over the phone and by email making arrangements and found him extremely friendly and personable. He was the same in person...thanks for your hospitality, Jim!
We made our way to site 291 (purple site marked with red in the pic below), a large pull-thru site that is about 80' long and 30-34' wide...with full hookups, YAY!
We saved our walk around the resort and picture taking until Wednesday (Mar. 12) when it was sunny. It is really a huge, beautiful resort.
We were the only rig in this middle loop...
This is the family pool (5 on the map)...it appears to be closed for the season...
Thursday (Mar. 13)...and the day Chris, Angela and Isaac fly in from Vancouver, BC. Their flight arrives at noon, so we had a lot to do before then. We were picked up by a fellow from Enterprise Car Rental who took us to their office in Indio. After all the paperwork was done, we drove off in a nice Dodge Charger, back to the RV Resort to pick up our suitcases and food, etc from the trailer. We drove to The Oasis Resort in Palm Springs, and although our condo wouldn't be ready until 4 pm, they let us store our suitcases and bags. There would not have been enough room in the car trunk for their suitcases with all of the stuff we had, LOL!
The Palm Springs Airport is absolutely crazy busy! Of course it's Spring Break, so I'm sure that is part of the reason. Anyway we drove around and around trying to find a parking spot. Finally about 20 minutes later a fellow backed out of a spot and we quickly pulled in...we would be just in time for Chris and Angela's arrival. While we were waiting in the arrivals area, I received a text from Chris...they had landed but had to wait for 15 minutes for another plane to leave their spot. While we waited, it just poured out...thankfully by the time they had disembarked and gathered their luggage, it had stopped raining.
Since the condo wouldn't be ready for awhile, we went to Bongo Johnny's for lunch. We had discovered this spot 3 years ago when were were here with Earl and Allison. Bongo Johnny's is on the upper level and La Quinta Brewing Company is below...
After lunch we made our way to The Oasis Resort in hopes that our 2-bedroom condo would be ready...but alas, it wasn't! So Angela and I left Steve, Chris and Isaac in the clubhouse playing games while we went to pick up some groceries. Von's is nearby, so that is very handy!
The view out front at the top of the stairs before entering ...rather dramatic clouds and fresh snow in the mountains!
And the kitchen and breakfast nook at the other end...
There are 2 bedrooms on the opposite side of the living area...both with full bathrooms. Our bedroom had a king bed, while the other a queen bed. There is also a queen wall-bed in the living room...oh, plus a powder-room between the 2 bedrooms. I had requested a unit near a pool (there are 8 pools) and was happy to get one near the main pool and definitely being on the upper floor is the way to go!
Unfortunately, while trying to buckle Isaac into the middle seat of the car, we discovered that the seatbelt wouldn't latch. Well, that's no good...so Steve called Enterprise and we had to return the car for a replacement. We were there at the 5:30 (at their request) only to wait until 6:30 as they were extremely busy and had to find and clean a car for us. We ended up with a Chevy Malibu which ain't no Charger! It's a good 30 minute drive back from Indio, so it was well after 7:00 by the we got back to The Oasis. Angela had a beer ready for Steve and a glass of wine for me, along with the light dinner on the table...thanks, Ang!
Friday (Mar. 14) started off cool and cloudy. Steve took a couple of pictures of the interior of the condo. One side has the dining table and living room with sliding glass doors out to the patio...
After breakfast we went for a walk around the resort...
The walkway runs through the middle of the resort with units on either side...along with fountains and pools...
One of 8 pools...
By the afternoon, the clouds had broken and it had warmed up a bit. This is the view of the main pool by the office and clubhouse (called pool #4) from our sundeck...
Pool time! The pool is heated to 28C/82F, so even if it is a little cool outside it was great in the water! We pretty well had the pool and hot tub to ourselves for the first couple of days...
Stay tuned for Part 2....
