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Published: February 16th 2023
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First trip of the year...crossing the Pacific Ocean...in a place I haven't been for 9 years! Bali airport is not the best place to get good deals out of the Island of the Gods...so my ticket is on EVA air, premium economy out of Singapore...and Singapore is just a short hop on SQ! Covid....well...when you read these few words, even in Asia...seems to be ages ago...and yes, it's just few months old!
I haven't been or crossed Singapore for over 10 years...so happy to say..the airport is still clean...bigger...and the duty free is still so expensive! Tried the new SQ Gold Lounge in T3...not bad! Next, Eva Airways premium economy. That was a cheap deal booked few months ago. Seats are nice...pillow, blanket and sleepers are nice...food is way below what it should be. So I slept and slept...and didn't eat much on my two flights to LAX! I left Taipei at 11pm...and got to LAX just before 7pm...the same day...speak of time travel!
General statement lately...Airlines post-covid do not fly on time and lose your bags...well, I'm lucky, over the coming few weeks...no bag was lost, and only one flight was delay by more
than 2 hours...but with nice end to it! So I land in LAX...nobody at immigration...nobody at customs...I'm at the rental desk less than an hour after landing...my next stop, four hours drive South-East, to El Centro next to the Mexican border!
I don't have a GPS or connection with me, it's night time, and the map is somewhere in my brain....well....good news, I didn't get lost and reached El Centro just after midnight. Did ride past Cochella....but it was to dark to tell you about the place! Happy to get to my hotel, the new Hampton Inn...and a late night midnight thirty dinner at the local In-N-Out....I do have a crunch for this burger place...even in the middle of nowhere!
In bed just after 1am....but what does it means when home is 16 hours behind...and up few hours later...before 6am local time...back on the desert road....heading East to Tuscon...where I get just before 12pm.
I've been 3 or 4 times before to Phoenix, but I never made it two hours South to Tucson. So here we are, first round of golf at Dove Mountain club managed by Ritz Carlton. Initially, I
was going to stay t the resort...but the deal has changed for me now and the Hilton El Conquistador was too cheap not to accept. Dove Mountain golf course was supposed to host a LIV tournament in 2023, but it's finally the Gallery, private club, next door that landed the deal.
My last visit to the area was in November...and I play 36 holes everyday. In January, it's freezing early morning and therefore the first people to be let go on the course is never before 9am. This means I can forget about 36 holes the same day! Well....my last visit was 9 years ago and inflation has hit big time too...so 18 holes, 5 hours on the course each day sounds perfect!
In Scottsdale, I'm play the Boulders South and North as well as the two top courses of Wekopa. Superb views, superb golf and some great people to play with. My stay will be at the top Boulders resort as well as the Waldorf Astoria. Playing only one round of golf per day has also allowed me some time for some solid shopping therapy...time to stock on some new trousers...golf equipment...and obviously....some
wine! I hope you enjoy the pictures...and I apologize if you are not into golf...beside this, there is not much other things to do around...and I'm not posting pics of my shopping spree!
On my last day, I had to be back to LAX to return my rental car by 8pm...last night by the airport before an early flight South. The drive from Scottsdale to LAX is around 6 hours. On the way out of LAX, I was lucky enough to avoid traffic...those famous LA traffic jams...I would encounter them on my way back obviously even if I was going in the opposite direction of most commuters!
Between Phoenix and LA...there is Phoenix...but that's for next time! This trip, I took my time to drive around one of the last main US National Park I've never seen, I name Joshua Tree National Park....obviously very famous for you name them..the trees!
Another day with some solid winds! The sun is out, the sky is blue...but it's middle January...it is pretty fresh! Was super nice to drive around. This place has the reputation to be super hot in summer, so very happy of
this experience!
Next...it's diving time....coming soon!
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