Christmas in Indian Wells

Our bus to Indio left 40 minutes late (I think that is one of the longest delayed departures we've had in the entire trip!), and so we arrived a bit late in Indio where both my Mum and aunt Una were waiting for us. It was great to see my dear 'auld Ma after so long, and so after all the hugs and kisses it was back to Una's gorgeous house in Indian Wells.

I'd been in this house on holiday when I was about 10 years old, but it was uncanny how much I remembered and in how much detail. Anyway my Ma had asked that I cook a Thai dinner for all the girls, so after relaxing for a bit I got stuck into it. It was a bit of a disaster though, as I had to use slightly unfamiliar vegetables and the curry paste was new to me (and I was way too overcautious in using it 'cos the ladies don't like overly spicy food) - ah well, it was all eaten anyway.

After dinner and catching up a bit Una dropped us back to the fabulous Indian Wells Resort Hotel, as there wasn't really room for us in Una's house. The hotel is literally only around the corner (amazing really, given the spread-out nature of American developments), and it was all very plush, comfortable and 5-starry.

The next day, Christmas Eve, we popped around to Una's for lunch and dinner with my Ma (Una and Eithne were out for a traditional Christmas Eve dinner with an old friend). We had a great big Irish fry for dinner, which was great for me and Sarah after so long.

So on Christmas Day, again after our daily hotel breakfast followed by a swim in the huge hotel pool and roasting hot jacuzzi, we again strolled around to Una's. After all the opening of Christmas presents (where both myself and Sarah were spoilt rotten), we relaxed as the girls prepared the dinner. About 5pm Una's great friend Virginia arrived to join us all for the meal.

Virginia is a fantastic character, with another fantastic accent to rival Jimmy's neighbour Hank in Rosarito, this time from Georgia. She used to be Una's next-door neighbour, but recently moved into a nearby care home, but is totally independent and very vivacious - a great example to us all at a sprightly 85 years old. So we had a great time chatting over a huge, perfectly prepared Christmas dinner, and somehow I even had space for some trifle and Eithne's specialty chrimbo-pud!

The next day myself and Sarah just relaxed in the hotel for the morning and afternoon, and headed around to Una's again for dinner, this time having my Ma's gorgeous traditional (for me anyway) turkey soup for starters. After dinner I had a bit of an ordeal getting our photos transferred to DVD's for my Ma to take home (the battery on the camera is dead and I couldn't find a power adapter to recharge it anywhere - nor would any of the hotels in Las Vegas give us one, until eventually I found one on the very new and snazzy Virgin America Airbus flight to San Francisco!).

Next morning, again after the usual leisurely breakfast, swim and jacuzzi, we strolled around to Una's for the last time for a spot of lunch before Una dropped us back to the Greyhound station for our bus to Las Vegas. We both had a fantastic time in Indian Wells - the luxury of the hotel was a really huge treat, the genuinely cosy homeliness of Una's house wonderfully decked out with decorations, and having my Ma and aunts prepare such fantastic meals from home really made this Christmas very memorable.

It was a bit strange to be packing up our rucksacks and hitting the road again after being taken care of for so long, firstly by Jimmy and his family, and then my Mother and aunts. All the usual little niggly fears and anxieties about heading out into the big unknown reappeared but the big consolation this time (along with the ever-present consolation of 'adventure' of course), was that we were headed for Vegas baby!