Relaxing at "The River"

There is a development in Rancho Mirage where a lot of water has been used to "landscape" the area around the shops and restaurants.

Shops look out over water at "The River"

We met some Canada Geese.  They looked like some of the ones we know from home!

We sat by the trickling water - under a blue umbrella - and ... ate our
Ben & Jerry's ice cream!

After lots of shopping, we went for dinner at Babe's!

Below is the view we had from our table
as we had dinner.

An Adventure at "The Living Desert"

Today we all got together to plan an adventure for the day.

Then we are off - our GPS lady "Hillary" tells us the way.
(remember - you can click on these photos for a larger version)

Along the way we see orange and lemon trees by the side of the road.

Soon we are at "The Living Desert" and lined up to buy our tickets.

There are many different plants and animals from deserts around the world.

It's easy to imagine we're out in the desert.

Sometimes we just sit and watch the scenery.

Even though it's January - it was +27C - we were getting thirsty.

The trail went higher and higher - we were thirsty!

Rudy claimed this was a shortcut to water - but we decided to stay on the trail.

No shortcut through here!

We asked this Mountain Sheep where there was water.  He just said, "Go downhill."

We decided not to wake this Leopard from his nap to ask him. 
They can be grouchy when they first wake up.

Finally we got to a place called the Coyote Cafe where we all had cold, clear water!

Once we all had lots of water - we agreed we had really enjoyed our trip to
"The Living Desert"

Touring Old Town La Quinta, CA

Hello, from Jeremy.  Rudy has the night off.  The Den Parents did a detailed tour of Old Town La Quinta today.  Here are a few scenes.

A view from our breakfast spot.

An interesting fountain / staircase setting

An interesting gallery of a local artist Michael Logan
http://michaelloganfineart.com/

Den Mom explores an Olive Oil shop
http://laquintaoliveoilcompany.com

Another interesting shop featured floral art - see http://www.angels-crossing.com

The Hog's Breath Inn
(reputedly owned by Clint Eastwood)

And then there were the cars - they always attract Den Dad's interest.

Just a big ol' Cadillac

Just another Mercedes

But then there was this cute little Porsche

Tour over - back toward our home away from home

Good-night - Jeremy

Shopping in Desert Palms, CA

Hi! from Rudy.  Well the Den Parents were off today to shop for clothes for Den Dad.  [I could mention that we bears have been wearing the same clothes since we left home but, in fairness, there aren't many stores that stock our sizes.]  They ended up on El Paseo in Desert Palms - quite a few high end stores.  You know the ones with the big No Parking Zone right in front, but you can pull in and the nice young man will park your car for you in valet parking.  You go into the store and shop, and when you come out, you just give your chit to the man and he goes away and brings your car right up to the front of the store for you.  [Wal-Mart doesn't offer this service.]  We parked a few blocks away on a side street.  Parked right in front of us were two Mercedes E350's (one silver, one black) - and a Bentley. Den Dad said Bentleys were rare. Finally, though, he did get some clothes - at Tommy Bahama's.  I guess we can tease him about being a surfer boy?!

The McCallum Theatre
(we're not sure why we went there - it's to be a surprise)

Den Dad at the McCallum Theatre grounds!

Welcome to our Casita

Rudy here! Today I'm going to give you a tour of our casita (little house, or guest house).

Below is the view from our living room window.

Come in! I'll show you around.

Usually it's more exciting to watch the fireplace than TV!

We have a full kitchen but the Den Parents usually go out to eat!

There's a full bath with shower as well!

The bedroom has a walk-in closet!

We can all relax in the king-size bed when the Den Parents are out!

And over in the corner, there is a desk where I work on the blog!

 Although sometimes Den Dad helps me.

 Good-night!  I hope you enjoyed the tour
and keep following my our blog! Rudy

Welcome 2012!

This is how my day ended!
Read on to find out how we got there.

Right across the street from where we are staying is the John Adams Elementary School - it seems appropriate given Den Mom was an elementary teacher for many years - and since she read David McCullough's biography of John Adams; it seems references to Adams keep popping up around us.

Den Mom at John Adams Elementary School - La Quinta, California

 Then the Den Parents walked/scootered to Old Town (it's less than 3 blocks) to have breakfast.  They had oatmeal porridge, just like at home, but unlike at home, they were outside on the patio with a nice warm sun beaming down.  [It was high in the sky, if you know what I mean]

Den Mom eating her porridge for breakfast this "morning"!

The place where the Den Parents had breakfast.
(note: Ferrari parked to the right)

La Quinta Vacation Homes - the office of the nice man who
arranged for the nice "casita" where we are staying

 In the evening we all went out for dinner ... and ... we each got our own dessert !!

We all got to order our own individual dessert!!
Eating them was even more exciting!  I finished first!

 The nice waitress complimented us on finishing our desserts!

 So that's how our first day of 2012 went! This vacationing is fun - as well as exciting!  Good-night from Rudy!