January 31st – This was a relatively light day which started with a morning walk (George) around town and then into San Luis Obispo for lunch.We toured the lovely Mission San Luis Obispo de Toloso. Founded in 1722 by Spanish priest, Junipero Serra, it is the fifth of 21 missions founded along the California coast. It remains an active Catholic parish today and is found in a beautiful setting with the Mission Plaza, a community gathering spot, in front and the San Luis Creek running through the property.

After touring the Mission, we enjoyed lunch sitting outside by the Creek. When we got back to Morro Bay, we went to see Hidden Figures, a movie that won big at the SAG awards and will likely win at the Oscars. Dinner was leftovers from last night eaten in our hotel room.

February 1st – Today was a driving day as the trip from Morro Bay to Palm Desert takes about six hours. We took a small detour to the town of Solvang – a Danish heritage town in the middle of California!

It’s a cute little town even though it really is a tourist trap. The best part was a Danish bakery at which we dropped a few dollars. Not surprisingly the danish were a hit!

Over breakfast, we chatted with two bikers who had driven the route the day before (in the opposite direction). They told us about an old stagecoach inn up near Cachuma Lake. Dating back to 1886, it hasn’t changed much over the years and maintains an historic menu including Tri-Tip French Baguette sandwiches, which are the house specialty. On the weekends, the place is so busy they barbecue them outside and sell them non-stop all day.

It was only 11:30am when we arrived, but we still enjoyed our lunch and ate every crumb!

We rolled into Palm Desert about 4:30pm and met Paula who provided the keys to our house. She isn’t the owner so really didn’t know too much about the house. We gradually made ourselves at home and decamped. The hardest part was finding the password for the internet!

February 3rd – Yesterday and today were spent reorienting ourselves to Palm Desert, finding the closest grocery store and purchasing needed supplies. We’re farther north and east of where we were last year so that requires a whole new set of stores and restaurants. Some of our favourite spots like the tennis courts and Whole Foods are not too far away and we’ll still be over that way from time to time. This morning we played tennis and did a bit of shopping before returning for lunch on the patio.

Our house is in a gated community and ideally situated on the third tee box. The course doesn’t appear to be really busy this early in the month. We’ve booked a tee time for Monday and will report back.

Scrabble update – George has won three in a row. I need to pull up my socks!