We are staying at the Emerald Desert Golf and RV Club in Palm Desert, just a few miles from our home park in Desert Hot Springs. Rick wanted to bring me here for some R & R after returning home from Ontario sick as a dog.

We first learned of this place when our RVing friends, Rich and Laura from Michigan were staying here in early December and the place is absolutely gorgeous. However, it is also costing us more for one week here than it does for one month at Catalina Spa, so it should be gorgeous. My laryngitis has finally given way to a “man-voice” and I feel fine with the exception of a cough which only gets bad at night (and apparently, I am snoring quite loudly, too!). When Laura and Rich stayed here, they were both sick for pretty much the whole duration and they missed a lot of the amenities as a result.

The upside of this resort (aside from the beauty, golf and Pilates classes) is that it is closer to Clark’s and Costco but the downside (aside from the initial price and additional costs for everything) is that the train, though not blowing a whistle, is so close the ground shakes and the highway noise can be heard all through the night. The crowd is younger here and evidently better off financially but there are so many, it’s hard to get to know anyone. The weather has been spectacular with highs reaching 25C everyday so we have no complaints at all but I miss our huge hot-springs pools at Catalina and the friends I have become fond of. As I have said many times before, change is good and staying here has made me appreciate some of the things across the highway in Desert Hot Springs that I took for granted before; the quiet nights, the stillness of the desert, the lack of chlorine in the pools and having a telephone that doesn’t cost a fortune to use.