So a few weeks ago, Uncle Jim called me up and said something along the lines of, “I don’t know where you’ll be around Thanksgiving, but I’ll be in Phoenix with Mari and the girls.” I NEVER have any idea where I’ll be at any given time, so I reference my life navigator and he informs me that we will be…. In Phoenix. How’s that for perfect timing!!! Mari’s parents were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, so the Fauchet family was getting together for a holiday celebration at CLIFF SOMETHING RESORT. Fancy! So the plan was to meet up with them and hangout out poolside for a day, and maybe sneak in a dinner. However, when we arrived at the hotel Uncle Jim instructed me to ask for Angela in the main lobby and she will show us to our room. Ricky and I were in for a treat, spending the night at this four star resort. THANK YOU UNCLE JIM!!! We settled into our luxury suite before heading down to the main pool to soak up the last bit of the days sun and sip on a glass of wine…. or 2. Let me just mention here, I’ve been on a bit of a drinking binge this past week. With the exception of an occasional lone glass of wine with dinner, this has been a fairly alcohol free trip. So needless to say I was ecstatic when Kanya and Liam arrived and I finally had people to drink with!!! Not to mention Hariot, our hostess for 2 days, shares my passion for white wine. I’ve been in my glory! A beer with lunch, and even three or four glasses of wine throughout the evening. Tonight’s dinner with Uncle Jim and Mari’s family was no exception to my wino streak. This time, however, I may have over indulged. I can’t say for certain how many chardonnays I had.. I kind of lost count. But I can say that I was starting to lose control of the volume of my voice as I threw around my opinion during political conversations at dinner, with intelligent people that I’ve never met before. I have no recollection of “falling asleep” that night, and I woke up in the morning in dire need of a bloody mary. Lucky for me, I was in a for a relaxing day. It’s 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I met up Uncle Jim and Romi at the pool and spend the better part of the day just sunning and taking intermittent dips in the water. Perfect weather, perfect day. Our stay here was short but sweet. Unfortunately, we had to get going to stay on schedule. Time is money, ya know? But I am so very glad that the timing could not have been better and I was able to see Uncle Jim and Mari and the girls. It felt good to see family.
This afternoon we finally made our way into southern California. It’s kind of crazy that we finally made it all the way west! I realized a little late that we were going to be in La Quinta, which is the home of my long lost friend Tony. I haven’t seen this guy in probably about 3 or 4 years. So I called him up, and he and his wife Janna were gracious hosts despite my last minute notice. I mean, it is the day before thanksgiving! How rude of me, right?? But I knew I was only gonna be there for a short time, and I didn’t want to miss them. Tony cooked up some delish BBQ, and their 1 year old son Cam provided all the entertainment. This little guy is pretty much a clone of Tony, and he is absolutely adorable. Very glad I got to meet him. Both Ricky and I have really enjoyed getting to meet up with friends along the way during the trip. Especially ones we haven’t seen in a while, it’s really cool. Thank you Tony and Janna for hosting us for dinner!! Hope to see ya’ll again soon.
-Jillian
Next Stop: Joshua Tree National Park, CA