Palm Desert: Part 2

Tuesday morning, the guys were out playing tennis again, so Mom and I walked down to meet up with them when they were done. We got there a little early so we were able to watch them for a bit, too.

tennis pros

fountain pic

After getting home and everyone was ready to go, we headed out to the Shields Date Farm for lunch. The farm has a cute little outdoor patio, so we got to sit and enjoy the nice weather.

They also have a cute garden area with all sorts of fun decor for sale. Mom found and purchased a rot iron ant for her yard.

glass mushrooms

We shopped around inside as well. Mom found some dates to bring home, and Bub and Papa split a date shake.

After lunch, we made the short drive to Indio to visit Aunt Gloria and Uncle Bill. We sat out on their enclosed patio and had a nice visit (well some of us visited nicely while others dished out digs at each other like a couple of grumpy old men...but all in good fun right? Guess that's what you get when you know each other for 60+ years).

Then it was back home to get another golf cart ride in!

the cool "Dr. Suess" like plants
growing around the property

driving range

passing by the country club

That night we stayed in again and ate the chicken cacciatore Papa prepared in the crock pot. It was pretty delicious, I'll have to try that recipe myself at home.

After dinner, the four of us went out for a walk. The moon was out again too, so the streets were lit up for us.

Wednesday was our last day to enjoy vacation and be in the warm weather. Bub and Papa left to play tennis again, while Mom and I put a batch of minestrone soup in the crock pot. We then froze it so my grandpa would have easy ready-to-go meals in the freezer.

When the guys got back, we met up with Aunt Gloria and Uncle Bill at The Kid's Business (TKB) for lunch, another one of our favorites. The place is owned by a nice couple, and their three kids run it. I couldn't choose from all the menu options, so I had them surprise me. They picked a delicious chicken salad sandwich on freshly baked pumpernickel. I wish they had a shop up here, I'd eat there everyday.

After lunch, we did some driving around in order to find my uncle a froyo shop. Fortunately Papa knew of one to take us to. It wasn't as close as the one that had closed down, but we're willing to drive any distance to get a frozen yogurt fix!

The BNP Paribas Open (a tennis tournament) is held in Palm Springs each year, so Bubba wanted to check out the grounds since it was open to the public before the tournament actually started the next week. It was pretty cool to see all the courts up close, and they had some people playing to qualify for the tournament. It looks like a pretty big deal with all the courts, the huge main stadium, and the giant screens they put up to broadcast the matches.

get it? it's like a tennis ball :)

if only we had brought our picker

fancy courts

It was getting closer to our flight time, so we headed back home to squeeze in one last golf cart ride. Once we were back, we packed up all our lemons and headed to the airport. We said our goodbyes, and came back to the Seattle rain (of course). We all had such a great time, and can't wait for Papa's visit here in the Summer!