This is me celebrating making it on the plane. You see...we had a minor (okay major) issue getting to the airport. Our flight was an early one and we had planned on leaving the house by 5 AM to park our car, take the shuttle, check our bags, and get through security. However, we got all the way to the park-and-ride lot at the airport and I realized we didn't have my suitcase with all of my clothes and all of our toiletries. So, at 5:30 AM we had no other choice but to turn around and drive back to Tacoma and hope that we could beat the Monday morning rush hour traffic and make it to the airport in time to check our bags and get through security. Thank goodness traffic was okay and we were able to drive 80 MPH without getting a speeding ticket. We made it! Whew! However, we didn't have time to park and take the shuttle, so instead, had to park at the airport, which of course is much more expensive.
Here are some pictures and captions to walk you through our sunny, week-long vacation, day-by-day. But in a nutshell, Andi played tennis every morning, Clark golfed nearly every day, and it was over 100 degrees every day we were there. Clark ended up playing 5 rounds of golf. Andi golfed her first two full rounds of golf and made her first par 3, par 4, and par 5! No birdies yet, but was driving the ball straight between 200-220 yards! Not bad for a beginner! We spent most nights at the condo drinking beer and grilling on the BBQ. Andi worked on her suntan in the pool and we soaked in the dry heat.
DAY 1 - Monday, May 4th
Me giving Clark the thumb's up because we BARELY made our flight!
Me giving Clark the thumb's up because we BARELY made our flight!
Enjoying a mimosa to kick off our vacation
First stop...In-N-Out Burger
Yummy goodness
The view of the golf course from our condo
Sunset
So beautiful
Clark kicking off the vacation with some beer
Andi getting ready to work on her suntan by the pool in her new sun hat and sundress
DAY 2 - Tuesday, May 5th
In the morning, Andi went to play tennis while Clark went golfing. We ate lunch at the condo and then out to golf together.
Andi in her cute pink plaid golf outfit. This was her FIRST time golfing a full round of 18 holes (only playing a couple rounds of 9 holes, a few group lessons, and practices at the driving range).
Clark showing Andi how it's done
Clark showing Andi a good golf swing
Clark's good golf swing follow through
Andi teeing off over a water hazard
Andi celebrating because she made it onto the green OVER the water hazard without losing a ball!
Andi putting for par - she made it! Her FIRST par 3 - woo hoo!
Lots of cute little jack rabbits around the golf course
We had to celebrate Cinco de Mayo right with a margarita and some yummy Mexican food
DAY 3 - Wednesday, May 6th
Clark got to golf at the amazing golf course, PGA West
Clark's cool tech-savvy golf cart with GPS
The tennis courts at Palm Valley Country Club (where we were staying). Andi played tennis EVERY morning for 2-3 hours. It was AWESOME!
Andi in her cute, new pink tennis outfit
DAY 4 - Thursday, May 7th
Andi went and played tennis in the morning and Clark golfed in the morning. We golfed again together this afternoon at Desert Willow Golf Course, the nicest public course in Palm Desert.
What a pretty shot of Clark golfing as the sun was setting
The 18th hole
Andi showing the camera FIVE because she just nailed her putt for her first par 5 - woo hoo!
DAY 5 - Friday, May 8th
Today is Andi's 29th Birthday and at her request, she wanted to do some exploring and check out Joshua Tree National Park.
Today is Andi's 29th Birthday and at her request, she wanted to do some exploring and check out Joshua Tree National Park.
Palm Springs and Palm Desert is in a valley that can get really windy, which explains why there were so many windmills. Great source of renewable energy.
Andi and Clark at the front entrance of Joshua Tree National Park
Cool looking Joshua Trees
There were also large rock structures through the desert...interesting
Not sure if this the oldest Joshua Tree in the park, but it sure was cool looking
A scenic view point
The small, dark line at the bottom of the valley is the San Andreas Fault
Another view of San Andreas Fault
Rattlesnake holes
See the rock climber on top of that rock?
Skull Rock
Andi at Skull Rock
Graham and Erica at Skull Rock
Andi and Clark at Skull Rock
Pretty flowering cactus
Cool looking cactus
Cactus Garden
Famous Arch Rock
Andi in front of Arch Rock
Sunset at our condo
Out to dinner for my bday - this delicious Italian restaurant
DAY 6 - Saturday, May 9th
Today Clark's parents drove over from San Diego for what we thought would be the weekend, but they ended up staying just for the day. We started the day off checking out the free street fair/flea market and then hung out at the condo pool.
Andi in the pool floatie with two drinks - now this is the right kind of vacation!
Clark and Andi hanging out in the pool
Graham lounging on the floatie
Celebrated my birthday with a feast from the grill - veggies and chicken - and to top it off, a wonderful cake Clark had specially made!
The cake reads, "Happy 5th 25th Birthday!"
Mather Family
Brothers
Another shot of Mather Family at sunset
Chris and Nancy Mather
Graham and Erica
Mather Boys
Clark and Andi
A romantic kiss at sunset
Goof balls - Graham and Erica
A very cheesy and posed picture
DAY 7 - Sunday, May 10th
Today we got up early and cleaned the condo and then packed up and headed out to explore the surrounding area for a little bit before we headed home.
We visited the Coachella Valley Preserve - an oasis in the middle of the desert with trails and a house made out of palm trees!
It was weird to see a lush, green oasis in the middle of a brown, dry, and hot desert. What we learned was that natural oases are formed because deep below the earth's surface the plates' edges rub up against each other along fault lines and allow water to bubble to surface; therefore, allowing the lush greenery to take life in an otherwise hot and dead environment.
Andi pointing to San Andreas Fault - we were standing on it!!!
Along one of the hiking paths we came across this swamp and saw some fish. We didn't hike too far because we were terrified we would come across a rattlesnake.
We decided to ride up the tram, which takes you up to 8,000 feet in elevation and at the top of the mountains and offered beautiful views of the Palm Springs valley below.
Me in the tram
Clark in the tram
looking down at how far we'd gone
at this point, we started to see snow on the ground, so we knew we were high up
Here we are at the top - we went from 100 degrees to 70 degrees - WOW, what a difference that 6,000 feet in elevation will make!
Andi at the top of the mountain
The view of Palm Springs below
Check out the wind-blown tree to Clark's left
We LOVED our vacation to Palm Springs and already are trying to figure out a time to go back!
