What can be said about 2020 that hasn’t already been said? It was a rough year, but we had it better than most. The biggest impact was we had to cancel two vacations with my step-kids: their summer trip and a fall trip to England. It was depressing, especially as we had not seen them since the summer of 2019 and they are still young. However, they are with us now for the winter holidays and we are extremely grateful. Vacation disappointment aside, we are most grateful that all of our family ( and friends as far as I’m aware) have stayed healthy. There has been job loss and hardship, but people are healthy.

We spent most of the year sheltering in our home, which we bought in November 2019. We are settled, but it still feels new. We have met many of our neighbors, who are wonderful and are new friends. It was even possible to have some socially distanced events with them in the summer. I’m constantly reminded about how lucky we are to have ended up in Sterling Ranch. I love it here.

We had our garden completed in the spring, including a gate to connect with our neighbor’s yard. I tried to plant flowers and I managed to kill half of them. I do not have a green thumb, but I like to try!

We took a few trips, two to Florida ( where we nearly bought a vacation property), a California/Nevada/New Mexico road trip, and several shorter vacations around Colorado. We visited Breckenridge, Vail, and Colorado Springs. In Colorado Springs we biked down Pike’s Peak, which was one of the most thrilling and perhaps dangerous things I have ever done.

At the end of this year, we will be taking a road trip to Florida. I’m still not sure of our route, but before the end of the year, I will see a few more new-to-me states. I believe I will see Texas and Louisiana! I want to eat in a real Texas road house.

Other than Covid, the presidential election was a big event. I was thrilled that Biden/Harris won and I feel hopeful that life will be better in 2021.

I was published in Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, which was a really big deal for me. I also joined a writer’s group where I feel a bit intimidated, but it is good for me.

I didn’t read as much as I wanted, but I improved my cooking skills. Before Covid, we were on a successful workout schedule, but when the gyms closed, we started on evening cocktails and cakes. We are getting a home gym in March, so I’m anticipating a return to healthy habits in 2021. In the meantime, I’m being forgiving of myself. I’m going to enjoy all of the chocolate!

There isn’t much more to add. It was a low-key year and one to feel thankful for all we have. I don’t take for granted our health or fortune in life. I hope that 2021 will bring us back to a sense of normalcy.

One of our favorite vacation destinations is the La Quinta Resort & Club. The pandemic made this year hard enough, but moving to Colorado also made it difficult to vacation in Palm Desert. On our drive back to Colorado, we stopped for two nights at La Quinta for sunbathing and pool time. It was like visiting with an old friend.

We have had the good fortune to experience many of the room styles at the resort, from the Pueblo Suite with its own garden and private pool, to the starlight casitas, and even a room located adjacent to actress Ginger Roger’s favorite swimming pool. On this trip, we were budget conscious and tried one of the standard rooms.

Only the La Quinta Resort & Club doesn’t have standard rooms. The resort was built in the 1920’s and every room has a unique layout. Nothing is cookie-cutter. We had the ability to pick our exact room using the Hilton app and it was difficult. We tried to gauge the size of the rooms by looking at the resort map and ended up picking a room in Santa Ursula section, primarily due to its proximity to the pools. The resort has 41 pools, so you are never far from the water!

We arrived late at night after a very long day of travel, so uncharacteristically, I did not photograph our room. It was the smallest of the rooms that we have stayed in at La Quinta, but quite comfortable. It had an enormous bathtub, which we both enjoyed, using bath bombs that Dan had given me for my birthday. Our home doesn’t currently have a large tub, so this is a real luxury for us.

In addition to the customary souvenir tile, we were give a bottle of hand sanitizer and wipes. Due to Covid, we did not check-in at the hotel reception desk, opting to head straight to our room using a digital key. The resort also didn’t bother with parking passes.

We woke-up around ten ( La Quinta has the best beds and I always sleep well) to discover a crisp November day. November is always a tricky month with weather. It was sunny, with a high of 71 degrees. When I lived in California, I would have worn a sweater and my Ugg boots, however, now I am accustomed to cold weather and I had no problem wearing a bikini and flip flops.

While walking around the resort, we encountered very few guests. Masks were mandatory and we only removed them for a few quick photos. I felt very safe visiting La Quinta.

The property is landscaped with citrus trees and a gardener caught us admiring the oranges. He urged us to pick one and try it.

We headed into town for breakfast at Koffi Coffee. Koffi Coffee is one of our Palm Desert favorite stops. The lattes are fabulous, but what we really love is their pineapple muffins. Unfortunately, we were too late for the muffins, as they had sold out!

One surreal aspect of our stay was due to the fall 2020 season of The Bachelorette, which is currently airing. The show would usually include fancy destinations around the world, but due to covid, they filmed a quarantined season where the contestants stayed exclusively at La Quinta. It’s strange to see a resort that feels like a second home used for the show.

This season’s bachelorette’s ( two of them), Tayshia Adams and Clare Crawley, both stayed in the El Presidente suite.

And the tennis courts have been used for many activities, including strip dodgeball! Scandalous!!!

Our primary objective was to get some pool time. We even splurged on a glass of bubbly.

Due to California covid restrictions, the hot tubs were closed. We have not experienced this with the pools in Colorado or Florida, but I’m guessing it is because of the difficulty of social distancing in spas. They kept the spas unheated to deter anyone thinking of ignoring the restrictions.

When another couple joined our pool, we decided to move on to the main pool. The main pool is enormous and we had the entire pool to ourselves, which we enjoyed until sunset.

The La Quinta Resort & Club is magical at night. We even saw the truck arrive with the Christmas tree. We were told that there is usually a big tree lightening ceremony, but this year it will go without fanfare due to the pandemic.

The Adobe Grill was open for outdoor dining and they had tables arranged with plenty of social distancing and space heaters to keep warm. It felt like a private dining experience. We were able to meet our friends Dan and Meg, who were spending a few months in the desert to escape from the Oregon cold. We hadn’t seen them since living in Portland, and even though we couldn’t hug, it still felt great to see them. We caught up over margaritas and fajitas.

We considered staying for another night, but we really needed to get back to Colorado, so bright and early the following morning, we hit the road for Arizona. It was difficult leaving both California and La Quinta. I hope that we will be back in 2021.

2020 Wrap-Up

November 2020 Road Trip: La Quinta Resort & Club