Throughout the walk back down the coast, I would get updates from her, saying: “We’re waiting for the room to open up...”; “Headed down to the pool area for a wine & cheese social...”, “Good selection of beers at the social as well...”, etc. I thought at the time that she was keeping me updated on things that really didn’t matter to me since I was still walking south towards my condo unit and didn’t bother responding. When I finally got home after dark, I texted her back saying I figured I’d leave about 10 on Sunday morning and would arrive early afternoon (planning to get my steps pretty much under control before martini time). I know you may not believe that there can be stunned silence while texting, but I swear for this one it existed. Layne responded with relief, because they had expected me to arrive Saturday afternoon, not Sunday, and were getting very worried about me getting stranded on the beach or being rolled by a criminal ocean element. We laughed pretty good about it later...after Sunday martinis of course.
The weather started out cool & damp at the Marriott’s resort complex (red x marks the spot), but being reunited with my friends and being a short distance from the beaches...it was awesome. We were pretty lazy for the week and as the weather started improving we got out a little more each day. The resort provides a shuttle up to Fashion Island (a large open air mall complex in the Newport Center) and a little south to the very relaxing Crystal Cove area.
We took the shuttle up to Fashion Island one day to get some “supplies” at Whole Foods and coffee at the Nespresso shop. Just walking around the shops was fun as there are lots of water sculptures and other places to sit and just enjoy the views. Fortunately we had to wait a bit for the shuttle back after shopping and (also very fortunately) The Back Bay Tavern inside the Whole Foods store was willing to serve us adult beverages...just in time I might add! Another day we drove (up a bit farther than the shuttles would take us) to the Balboa Peninsula and wandered the beaches of the area. After walking out the Newport Pier, we watched a pod of dolphins (porpoises?) play very close to the pier. They were having a great time jumping and making a real show of being there for us. As we headed back to the car, we decided a bit of nourishment would be in order...so, at Baja Sharkeez we took the opportunity to have some nibbles & drinks before heading home.
As the weather continued to improve, on our last day we took the shuttle down to Crystal Cove and walked the beach before settling in at a table with a view at the Beachcomber Café. Jim had their special seafood laced Bloody Mary to go with his lunch, while Layne and I just watched in awe (as we dug into our lunch plates stacked with generous portions).
The Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas is certainly one of my favorite places to stay. But on Saturday we packed our bags down to the cars and headed for Marriott’s Desert Springs Villas (in Palm Desert). Layne’s brother John and his wife Jan had introduced Jim & Layne to some extremely large and tasty strawberries out in the valley. The strawberries were sold in limited quantities to customers and with three of us in the car, we came home with plenty of “red gold”. Jim fixed Layne and I fruit and a lite breakfast every morning and frankly I got pretty spoiled! We tried to avoid making huge dinners and for the most part we succeeded...but with Layne being a fabulous cook, I must admit to overeating several nights...burp, yumm, burp!
I even got in the act and baked some bread and then used their new Insta-Pot to make a couple cans of Boston Baked Bread...Jim had never had that in his childhood, so now that pleasure void has been filled! They brought out a game called Oh Snap! at one point and it was really fun. Apparently it is an old game that has been rebranded and slightly redesigned. (I promptly ordered one when I got home.)
Of course, Layne’s favorite dish for company (nicoise salad) came out when John & Jan joined us for dinner one night. Not only tasty, but really a beautiful presentation when she does it for us.
I loved walking around the resort both inside and outside the “compound”...got in all my steps without problem every day! Lagoons were well maintained and there was a bunch of white pelicans that roamed the various waters. (“A group of pelicans has many collective nouns, including a “brief”, “pod”, “pouch”, “scoop”, and “squadron” of pelicans.” Note: I shamelessly copied that sentence from the Internet...first site I found...and whatever happened to flock?)
The resort has quite a few flamingos (a flamboyance, if you care...again, I think flock or bunch would work just fine.) out near the main entrance to the JW Marriot Desert Springs Resort & Spa building...but they’re old news...
After a fabulous goodbye dinner at Sherman’s Deli & Bakery with the Malicks, I packed up my large piece of carrot cake from the deli and half a corned beef sandwich (thanks Layne!) and headed back to Roseburg.
I basically took the same route home, the first day following Highway 10, then the 395 North to Kramer Junction, West on 58 to Bakersfield. Overnight there, then I-5 North and West 580 to Petaluma. Next morning I was off to Eureka on Highway 101. Had a wonderful walk along Humbolt bay...there’s an awesome trail that’s just uplifting to walk. (I had put in some pictures along that trail in part 1 of this long winded post set.) The next day I continued up the 101 and had terrific beef sliders & garlic/Parmesan fries for lunch (and a great porter) at SeaQuake Brewing.
Really enjoyed the walk around the coastal pathways in Crescent City (to wear off my beer and settle my fries) before making the jaunt back to I-5 via the curvy, narrow, and visually exciting Highway 199. I love the road, but primarily because it was basically deserted when I was driving it and road conditions were dry with sunny skies overhead...probably a nightmare at times with truck traffic and poor weather.
Exhausted and happy, I arrived home, turned on the water, water heater, brought the heat pump online to warm up the house, turned on the propane stove, unloaded the car, stacked the pile of mail on the kitchen table, and grabbed...you guessed it...a beer!
...and look, spring flowers awaited me the next morning in my yard (well, the bearded iris-top right- were in Bakersfield, but I was still amazed to see them blooming in February!)
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