Road Trip Recharge
Like many people living in the Pacific Northwest, I love to vacation in the desert. I like the contrast between the wet grey Seattle weather and the warm dry sun of Southern California and Arizona. Last week, I got to spend seven days in the desert, split between Palm Desert, California and Scottsdale, Arizona. It was a wonderful plan to leave the cold wet northwest and travel to the warmth and sun. Little did I know Seattle would have a record breaking heat wave and that the area I was traveling to would get a week of overcast and rain. Oh well.
Even though the weather wasn’t as grand as I had hoped, it was still wonderful to be on vacation to relax and recharge my creativity. Spending time somewhere so different than home really opens my eyes and allows the creative sparks to begin.
We got to stay in a vacation home, which was so much nicer than staying in a hotel. With a full kitchen, I was able to prepare dinners and we saved a lot of money. Most vacation homes aren’t outfitted with great kitchenware, so I brought along one of my favorite Le Creuset pans and small packages of all the basic salts and spices I use regularly. This way you don’t have to spend money on buying spices you will only end up leaving for the next vacationer.
I got into the Super Bowl spirit while I was in Scottsdale and represented Seattle proudly with all of the lead-up festivities. We even made a trip out to Glendale to visit the University of Phoenix Stadium where the Super Bowl was to be played. It was fun to see first hand what in a few days would be history-making TV.
We met up with friends in Palm Desert and they showed us around their new home. The real estate price difference between Seattle and the Palm Springs area is amazing. Our friends have a huge grapefruit tree in their backyard and it was loaded with fruit. This time of year citrus is at it’s peak and they let me pick as many as I wanted! Knowing we would only eat so many before we left town, I decided to zest the rind and use it to infuse vodka. Another great thing about California over Washington is that alcohol is cheaper. I got two large bottles to infuse and they were only $10 each (hint: no need to use top shelf vodka when you’re infusing). I poured half a cup out of each bottle and then inserted the zest of four grapefruit into each bottle. I will let them sit in a dark location at home for a few weeks. I can’t wait to make a cocktail recipe or two with this grapefruit vodka.
It was a wonderful time away and I feel recharged and ready to bring more creativity to this site and to all my current and future clients.
