May 28-30, 2023 - Palm Desert

Sunday we took what we call a sea day (on a cruise we have days at sea where there are no excursions and you just hang out on the ship). We took advantage of our site and the pool entertainment and catching up on some household chores. As mentioned our site is within easy earshot of the pool music which on this holiday weekend was great. The pool was packed and so it should be for the Memorial Day weekend. The crowd was friendly with everyone enjoying beverages of their choice by and in the pool. I went for a few swims and was relaxing at the edge of the pool when a fellow camper came by who had his cooler right there and he offered me a beer, or soda or even water - so yes a nice crowd. 

That night Ron suggested that we go out for an Italian dinner, so we all checked out a place named, Waldo’s. Ron said the place he wanted to go was unfortunately not open this night. Waldo’s was good, especially when the waiter said that all wine by the bottle is half price tonight, lol. After dinner Ron suggested that we have a nightcap at the beautiful Mariott hotel close by. The place was packed with only one table left in the lounge, so a wonderful nightcap was enjoyed by all. We had a very nice Sunday.

Monday we had arrangements to join fellow cruise friends, Lucia and Henk for lunch at J’s Deli. This is a relatively new eatery here in Palm Springs and it did not disappoint. They have a full menu, breakfast through dinner with excellent food and very good portions. It was so wonderful seeing our friends here in their home base city. The last time we saw Lucia and Henk was last year on the Voyage of the Vikings on the beautiful Zaandam. Thank you so much Lucia for organizing our get together, so nice catching up with you two. We will now be back here in November, let’s do this again.

Tuesday was getting organized day and picking up a few items as we leave this oasis paradise to continue our journey to our next location, the Grand Canyon. We have three nights to get there with our first stop at Buckskin State Park in Arizona. Time to pack up.

Our pics of our last few days here at Emerald Desert, hope you enjoy…

Beautiful sunset in this very busy weekend RV Park

Andiamo shines at sunset

Our site #683



Sunday pool with entertainment 









Some of the grounds here at Emerald Park





Three excellent areas for dog here









Very nice dinner at Waldo’s 



The Marriot 



Fantastic get together lunch at J’s Deli















Good night from Emerald Desert RV Park.

May 25-27, 2023 - Andiamo to Palm Desert

So on this Memorial Day Long Weekend in our RV Park we are able to enjoy some nice live music around the pool. Very good musicians playing some great classic rock music. The bonus for us is that our site is in good earshot allowing us to enjoy the music beside our Andiamo under the shade of a beautiful tree. Yes, we are enjoying our RV resort and break here in the desert.

Thursday night I was invited to see Game one of the semi finals of the AHL, the American Hockey League is the step down league of the NHL - the Farm Teams of the National Hockey League. The Coachella Valley Firebirds play here in a brand new arena, the Acrisure Arena only opened this past January - a great 10,000 seat venue. We had some fantastic seats about 6 rows up from the ice. A 6 to 4 win made for an exciting game and atmosphere in the building.

Friday, the 26th we shopped a bit and relaxed at the Resort. I did visit the Apple store and had someone help me create a US Apple account do that I could download the Airstream Smart Controller to my iPhone. So step one is complete, I now have the app, now moving to step two and linking Andiamo to my phone, easier said than done. Stayed tuned on this as it is an exercise that has me and my buddy, Ron, scratching our heads.

Today, Saturday the 27th was a fun day with a relaxing morning around the pool, some nice poolside music and then we went and had a visit with some cruise ship friends living in the close by community of Palm Springs. George Geary and Neil invited us over to their beautiful retro 60’s complex, Palm Springs retreat. The bonus was that Dee and Wells Wescott were also invited for and afternoon soirée. We have had some wonderful shared experiences with former HAL Guest Chef George and the Wescotts. Thank you George and Neil for you wonderful hospitality and showing us your wonderful retro oasis getaway here in Palm Springs.

Some pics of our last few days, hope you enjoy.

A great treat to see the energy at this wonderful arena. Go Firebirds Go!









Even the fans were on fire…

The swimming pool at Racquet Club in Palm Springs.



Home of 63 bungalow style homes





We made a pretty good dent in this wonderful cheese masterpiece. Thank you George.

The gangs all here. What a wonderful afternoon…

Thank you George and Neil for having us in your oasis in the desert.



Great to see Dee and Wells. 

Thanks again, until next time…

Good night from Emerald Desert RV Park. Another great day.