Our second weekend away proved to be just as gluttonous as our first. This weekend, I was determined to enjoy, but not overindulged, as my lesson learned at the Stratosphere was still fresh in my mind. We made Waffle Works in Lake Arrowhead Village our first stop. When we went in July, I ordered a Monte Cristo Waffle Sandwich, which was okay, but just can't compare to the simplicity of their fruit waffles. This time, i went with a peach melba waffle.

Peach Melba Waffle.

The peach melba waffle was the right choice all of the way. It's like having pie for breakfast! In my book, pie is an anytime food. I also love how Waffle Works offers a variety of flavored creamers. I can drink coffee with vanilla cream all day long. I probably shouldn't, but I could.

September is a great time to visit Arrowhead, as we didn't encounter waits for anything. The last time we visited Waffle Works, this patio was jammed with people waiting to be seated and we had to wait an hour.

Waffle Ghost Town.

In addition to Waffle Works, we also went back to Bin 189, the steakhouse located in our hotel, the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa. It was another quiet dining experience. There was a crying baby at an adjacent table, but the family was finishing their dinner and left before we placed our order. Both our server and the manager offered to move us away from the baby. Great staff at Bin.

I should have written down specifics of the meal to tag the picture, but I was in vacation mode and not thinking ahead. I will do my best to be specific. All of the food was excellent though and we all left, full and happy.

Here is my spinach salad. On the menu, it was listed as a side-salad, but it is clearly meal sized. It was so completely delicious, that next time, I will go with this salad and the rare tuna appetizer as my meal. The best part of the salad was hunks of brie cheese.

My enormous and delicious side salad.

The tuna appetizer that Dan ordered.

Ahi starter.

Dan's mom had humus with pita bread.

Hummus starter.

Dan's dad had the daily soup starter. I think that it may have been lobster bisque.

Lobster Bisque starter.

I'm not sure how I missed it, but I have pictures of all the main courses, except mine. I had a spicy grilled salmon, that was very good, although I think that I prefered the steak that I had on the last visit. Dan and his dad both had the steak.

Filet.

Dan's mom is vegetarian.

Vegetarian dish

Just like he did last time, Dan went with the cheese platter for dessert.

Fruit and cheese plate.

Knowing that I would burst if I ordered more food, I stuck with an alcoholic coffee beverage. It was a twist on Irish Coffee and probably had more calories than if I had just ordered dessert. Totally worth it though!

Irish coffee

The next morning, we committed a three-peat and went back to the Old Country Coffee Shop that Dan and I went to on our last drive to Big Bear.

A must stop for breakfast.

I don't know how anyone could see it and not stop. It's a great hole-in-the-wall experience that feels very americana. Plus, they have these cool coffee cups.

Local coffee cups

In Big Bear, we stopped for a mid-afternoon coffee and snack at a local recommended (and highly praised on Yelp) spot called The Copper Q.

A must stop for a snack in Big Bear.

The Copper Q was so yummy and completely adorable, that I actually said that if I worked there, I probably be happy all of the time. It was just such a unique coffee-house. In the back, they had a giant kitchen with bar stools around the stove island and a chef gives cooking demonstrations. Did I mention that my lemon bar was amazing? The Copper Q is a must do when visiting Big Bear. There is no reason to go to a Starbucks, if a place like this is right in Big Bear Village. Go. Now.

Our first night dinner in Palm Springs was at a Cheesecake Factory, which was walking distance from the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa. There is not much to report, as I think that most people have eaten at the mega chain. I used to not like the Cheesecake Factory ( except for dessert), but I've come around and in the last few years have found menu items that I have enjoyed.

Our stay at Rancho Las Palmas included breakfast at the Blue Ember Restaurant, located on the property.

BluEmber

Going with the theme, they have a blue fire pit at the entrance.

BluEmber firepit.

The restaurant is very pretty and would probably have been nice for dinner. The breakfast was okay. We went with the buffet, that had both hot and cold choices. It didn't have a huge selection, but included most things that a person might want at breakfast. Overall, it wasn't a very memorable dining experience.

If you see a giant pig statue, you have to stop. You just have to. Or maybe I just have to stop. In any case, we stopped to take a picture of the pig in front of Babe's in Palm Springs (located at The Lakes complex, near Cheesecake Factory) and wound up eating there.

Inside, they had more pig statues, lots of them.

Babe, it's what's for dinner.

The name Babe's is sadistic enough, but all of the pig statues really drive it home that this is the place to eat some pork. Babe's is very clearly a Texas BBQ place and the server was very detailed when explaining the offerings. In addition to the pigs, they have the following decor on the wall.

Texas stuff.

I love good BBQ. Babe's is a chain restaurant, although I am not sure how big and they have their own award-winning sauce that the server was very proud to explain. I stuck with something that I know I always like, a BBQ pulled pork sandwich washed down with sweet tea. Sweet Tea is a must get everytime I see it on the menu.

It was good, but I have had much better in local BBQ dives. The Sweet tea had a chemical taste, like it was mass manufactured and came out of a fountain. The BBQ sauce was more smoky than sweet and although it was good, my preference is sweet. I also didn't care for the lack of healthy options for side dishes. If I am going to eat fatty BBQ, I like to pair it with veggies or a salad. Dan's mom had a vegetarian entrée salad that looked absolutely delicious. I would give them another try, but would probably steer clear of the pulled pork and go with a salad.

As amazing as it was to have two weekends of great food, I was kind of glad to get back to simplier meals. I even managed to luck out and hardly put on any weight. I have no idea how I escaped packing on the pounds!

Our weekend at Tahiti Village was going to be hard to top, but we attempted to do it with two different resorts the following weekend. Our first stop was the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa. Dan and I had stayed here for his birthday weekend in July, but as I am going to compare it to another resort, I am going to do another review in this post.

We loved it back in July and this was the reason that we thought that Dan's parents had to experience it. The Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa is a beautiful property and ideally located just a five-minute walk from Arrowhead Village, that has a ton of shops, restaurants and activities.

What makes this resort special to me, is both times I have left feeling completely revitalized. It has gorgeous views and a laid back vibe. I love the pool. When we went in July, the resort was sold out and although the pool was full, it didn't feel over crowded. We easily found lounge chairs and a spot in the hot tub. On this trip, the pool area was very quiet, only a few other people were sunbathing. Since it was a slow day, the pool bar was closed (alcohol was a two-minute walk inside and the bar had plastic cups for the pool) and we had to walk into the spa to get our towels, but it wasn't a problem. It was so utterly relaxing and peaceful, that the lack of extra services didn't matter.

Here are a few pictures of the pool, taken from a balcony where we were having drinks. The area has two hot tubs, one set at a lower temperature for kids. This is a very family friendly resort.

A nice pool is even nicer when we have it to ourselves.

Serene

This time, we had rooms with a lake view. We didn't spend time on the balcony, but it would have been a great place to read a book or have a cocktail.

A room with a view.

Sunset on the lake.

The rooms are a little bigger than the average hotel room and have a sitting area. The bathrooms are big with a separate vanity that has a make-up mirror, which always scores bonus points with me. The only negative for the room is it didn't have a bathtub. That's a small negative, as the resort is overwhelmingly fantastic.

Here is one final picture, taken of the lobby during check out.

The lobby.

The next day, we drove to the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage for a two night stay. I was very excited about this hotel, because I had heard that it had an amazing pool. The pool even has a lazy river. I was all set for Tahiti Village part two.

We checked in around four on a Friday and it was a madhouse. Dan got out of the car to process the check in, while we waited...and waited...and waited... It took over half an hour. We found out that our rooms were in the very back of the property, overlooking the golf course. A great location.

Here is the pretty view from our room on the second floor. The property is set up motel style, with outdoor hallways.

A view of the golf course as we walked around the property.

The room was very nice and spacious. It had a decent sized bathtub and the all important vanity area with make-up mirror. The bed was plush and comfortable. The only issue with the room is that it needed a bit of an update. It seemed worn and the handle to flush the toilet snapped off when I touched it.

Here are a few pictures of the grounds. It was a pretty area, but a little too spread out for walking around during the hot summer. I liked that it is located across the street from a shopping/dining/movie complex. Great location. I also liked the outdoor courtyard with the rocking chairs.

Palms at sunset.

The courtyard at night.

Golf course

As soon as we unpacked, we were ready to hit the pool. During the summer, a good pool is my #1 criteria for a hotel. The hype for this particular pool was only amplified by the wrist bands that we were given at check in.

Splashtopia wristbands.

The area of the pool that contains the lazy river and a kids water play area has been given the corny name of Splashtopia. This should have been our first clue to lower our expectations. The wrist bands are part of the resort fee, which, if I am remembering correctly, is twenty per person/per day. Steep, but again, this made us believe that the pool was going to be something special.

We headed straight to Splashtopia, which we sadly learned closed at five. They were already in the process of kicking everyone over to the main pool, that stays open until ten. We were allowed to walk through Splashtopia and got a good look at it. It was utterly depressing. Unlike the Lazy River in Tahiti Village, which is an island oasis with lots of foliage and waterfalls, Splashtopia is a concrete jungle. It's also a third of the size of the one at Tahiti Village. It looked so unappealing.

We made our way over to the small and overcrowded main pool. Ten minutes later, we had decided that we just couldn't stay at this resort. The pool area killed it for us. Part of the problem was the resort is under construction and the adult only pool is closed. It looks like they moved all of the lounge chairs from the adult area into the main pool, which created major overcrowded and ate up all of the sidewalk space. It made me think of a discount retailer, like TJ Max, where everything is crammed into the space and people are combing through the racks. This pool set up was a disaster and was the antithesis of relaxing. My nerves felt jangled.

Here are a few pictures, that unfortunately don't do justice to my above comments.

One of the worst hotel pools ever.

Pool at night.

The worst rooms on the property have to be those that are adjacent to the pool. If we had been placed in one of the pool rooms, we absolutely would have refused them. The noise would have been unbearable. I'm not just talking about kids in the pool. Nope. The noise from the kids would easily have been drowned out by the awful radio station, commercials and all, that they were blasting over multiple loudspeakers. It was horrendous! Lake Arrowhead did not play music by the pool, it was just peaceful mountain breezes rustling the leaves and birds chirping. Tahiti Village had soft rock muted as background noise. At Rancho Las Palmas, it's like being in a club, if DJ's stopped the dance music to play commercials.

We liked the rooms, so we decided to just stay one night and cut our trip short by a day. The staff was nice at check out, but we couldn't get a refund on the missed day. We left knowing that next time, we would find a better pool in Palm Springs. I mean, any pool is better than Splashtopia!

Getting Out of L.A. with Dan's Parents - Gluttony Revisited

Getting Out of L.A. with Dan's Parents - A Tale of Two Resorts