A place for dogs is a place for me

Hello and good morning. It is June 1, 2022, and half of this year is in the rear view. Right now, it is around 5:30 AM and the sky is just waking up. The temperature is just perfect at 73 degrees F, just like heaven. Hubby and I spent Monday night in Anza at the Cahuilla Casino as the hotel offered great deals when we were looking for inexpensive lodging for an overnight, date night. I was looking forward to having a great view of both the sunset and sunrise and I surely wasn’t disappointed.

This is one of the sights as you enter the parking lot. By the way, this is not a sponsored post!

This past Saturday, after Hubby returned from work, he mentioned something about going to Borrego Springs Monday night, as he had a three-day weekend. My eyes probably perked up with excitement! Even though I was exhausted from the trip last weekend, I said “Cool!” Anyhow, he did what he does best, and that is to book our accommodations. One thing about Hubby is that he does really well in getting great deals by using Hotels.com for all of our booking. Personally, my kids and now Hubby, know how much I like a deal. When my kids were young, I would take them on weekend getaways to faraway places like Newport Beach, CA or Long Beach, CA. Not really faraway and exotic, but definitely not San Gabriel or Alhambra where we lived when they were young. I used to score great hotel deals when Priceline first started business. One time I entered $25 and chose the location and what I got in my search was an Extended Stay in Huntington Beach, about 2 miles from PCH. It was the best, really. I always tried to treat those little “vacations” like we were not cash poor, when we really were. I was always looking for ways to keep up, sort, with everyone else. Things never change and I married a man who is lots like me or maybe I am lots like him. He did a great job this time, as the hotel was wonderful and smokefree, even though the casino is not. The hotel is four stories and apparently, staying on the fourth floor is special because 4th floor guests have a social hour table that is set up in the lobby with bags of snacks and goodies. My eyes got so big when we walked by to get to our room. When I walk back by an hour later, the table was still there, and I took a few chocolates but then was asked if I was a 4th floor guest. Ooops! Egg on my face, but chocolate in my belly! The nice lady explained everything and then said that I could keep the booty. Next time, we will try and book one of the 4th floor rooms. I didn’t take any photos inside the casino or lobby area as I know permission is needed. Trust me, the lobby was super clean and inviting.

This was snapped in the hotel room. We stayed on the 3rd floor and had a great sunrise view.

If you look closely, you can see a prairie dog, or at least that is what I thought it was. This was the view from our room.

I did take photos of the room as it was very nice. The view was amazing. At night, I turned off all the lights and sat by the window and could see the stars, even with the glow of the interfering hotel lights. The hotel has only been open for a few years. Hubby and I had traveled to the casino not long after his cancer surgery in 2015. Truthfully, I remembered thinking that if I never came back there it would not be soon enough. There was no hotel, and the casino was dark and dingy. It just wreaked of desperation and sadness. However, that has all changed. It is quite nice and clean. Every staff member that I encountered was professional and just great ambassadors for this mini resort. Also, right now, the website indicates that gas is only $5.52. We filled up there before heading back to the CV.

After checking in, we rested from the drive for a bit. Naps are such a DO lately. Around 5 PM, we headed out for a fancy meal at the DQ.

If you order the combo, you get dessert!!

Hubby parked on an unpaved road. We sat in the car and ate our meal as we watched the cows in the yard next to us. The occasional sound of wind moving through the farm equipment and fences made a great soundtrack for that moment. Every once in a while, we would see a hawk or hawks, riding the air in lazy circles. That just reminded me, a few days ago while we were driving around, we saw a hawk fly over us and it had a prize rodent in its claws. Then we saw a large, black bird dart after it and then try to steal the mouse. The entertainment of nature! Wish I would have caught a photo. Oh well. Below are some of the views from our dinner drive.

The city where the sculptures are located. Aguanga means “a place for dogs” according to wikipedia.

The next morning, we lounged in the room till right before checkout. Honestly, I could have stayed there one more night as I am still tired from the previous trip to Utah. After checkout, we headed to Aguanga, CA. I had never heard of this city before, but we had passed through it several times on the way to San Diego. I had learned about it when I was researching metal artist, Ricardo Breceda. He is the artist that created the Sky Art Sculptures in Borrego Springs, CA. I did not know what to expect before pulling up to the parking lot but oh my goodness!

Meet my friend Chaka.

There is a large sign on the fence that indicates that everything on the property is for sale. My mind started spinning as I zeroed in on a large sculpture of rooster. It will be mine one day! Then I looked over to the hill and could see a large rodent and Transformer replicas. I think I “oohed and aahed” several times before we even paid for admission. By the way, the price of admission is $10, free for ages 12 and under. It was worth it!

I snapped this while he had his head down. I want to geta candid shot of the artist. Trust me, I was like a nervous schoolgirl and was almost too afraid to ask him for a picture.

The iron sculptures pictured above are on a hill in the artist’s land. Due to my walking issues, I was only able to view the work on that hill from the ground. Other than the hill, I had an easy time walking around the property. There were so many cool sculptures, like the cobra and the flying pigs.

We spent about45 minutes walking around exploring before we found each other. I made mental notes of all the items that I would love to own. I found another rooster that would look good in our patio as well as a few pieces of wall art. Now to save money to add to my collection!

Before we left, I got up the nerve to speak with the artist and even got a photo with him! We asked him about how long it takes to create a sculpture and how long he has been creating them. It was really inspiring to learn that he has only been creating these for about 20 years.

The ride home was quick. As we were leaving Mr. Breceda’s gallery, I checked Google maps and saw that we were only about 40ish miles from home. Forty long miles, but very scenic.

The sky was so blue yesterday and clear! I could see the reflection of the water at the country clubs from the lookout with the Nikon.

It was such a nice trip and it felt like we had traveled far away. I highly recommend visiting the Anza if you are looking for a quick day trip away from the Coachella Valley. There is lots of beautiful scenery for photographing and lots of places to hike.

Thank you, dear reader, for visiting! May you have a day filled with adventure. Hugs!

For more info on artist Ricardo Breceda do check out his website or visit his gallery: 44450 Hwy 79 S. Aguanga, CA 92536