Ho Hum A Week In The Desert#1

Even Victorians need rest and diversion. In fact the wealthier ones would take a whole summer or winter vacation. The Catskill Mt's and the Adirondack Mt's. were the destinations of wealthy Easterners,especially New Yorkers,escaping the humid unbearable summer heat. Those mountains were peppered with elegant hotels and lakeside homes built by these wealthy Victorians. Until recent years these homes were falling into disrepair, ignored and unwanted. Air travel had led to their demise.
Some enterprising business men in the 50's did buy a few and turned them into summer camps and etc. As a teenager I was fortunate to attend one such in the Adirondacks. It had been built on an Island in the middle of a lake. I had not yet been won over by the all consuming passion for Victoriana but I did have a great appreciation for God's creation and the beauty there was breathtaking. Can you imagine the romance of living on an island for a week as a teenager?  The camp was Word Of Life , A great ministry to teenagers that inspired them to give their lives to the Lord.
Presently these beautiful homes are being snatched up for big prices and being refurbished and given new life.
Many extremely wealthy Easterners would travel by train to the West Coast to stay in Grand Hotels. One such is Greene Hotel in Pasadena. The thing of it is that they didn't just come with their kids and and maybe aging parents but they brought along with them their whole staff.,butlers,nannies, personal assistants, you name it.. Oh the romance of it all.

Ho Hum a Week in the Desert #2

looks like an old master painting, not southern ca. desert

r view from our "villa"

view from our "villa"

Whopps did we make a wrong turn and end up in Hawaii?!!. This little fella was on our curtain when we entered the room.

This Victorian doesn't have an extensive staff or a preponderance of money to spend a whole summer or winter someplace. I just rounded up my mom and hubby ,we packed tons of food from Costco piled into the Camry and drove two and a half hours to our desert destination.
My husband had made reservations ,so I had no idea where we were headed. What a pleasant surprise!
The Resort was grandly bedecked with waterfalls and impeccable landscaping. I never realized the desert plants could be so beautiful. I have a new appreciation for the bee balm bush. It is very striking against it's native environment.

sunset and ribs on the patio

grandma's private patio

just a dreamy view!

At any rate we were greeted graciously by the clerks at the registration desk and handed our key to our "villa". And what a villa it was...2 bedrooms,2 full baths, a kitchenette in mom's bedroom and a full kitchen ,dining room,and living room, and not to be ignored 3 flat screen TVs.To top this all off we had a great water view and mountain view plus golf court view. We were surrounded by breathtaking beauty.Desert #3 will have more pictures.