Per Mary’s request we started the day with another fun bike ride.
We then went to Sunnylands. Lily found out about it through research and it was such a delight. It turns out a wealthy media family, the Annenbergs (invented TV guide, owned stations etc), built Sunnylands as a retreat in Palm Springs with the specific intention to spread peace to those who came. Both the husband and wife served as ambassadors and they were highly connected to US Presidents and top political leaders. They were close with Nixon and Nixon came to Sunnylands to decompress and find refreshment after Watergate. Obama met with the leader of China to have talks. A trade dispute with Japan was resolved here. And the list goes on. They also famously had a New Years Eve party every year that drew dignitaries (such as Regan) to attend every year. It was awesome to learn about this beautiful place that I never knew existed.
The kids had fun playing tag on the grass.
Lily and I LOVE labyrinths! The kids seemed to enjoy it as well.
Then I played tag with the kids in the beautiful weather while Lily checked out the china and table setting pieces from Mrs. Annenberg. She was a master hostess, very detail oriented, and tried to use hosting as a means for building bridges and diplomacy with people. I got a chance to peak into the exhibit as well and I especially loved the yellow settings. Lily was so inspired that she bought a book about Mrs. Annenberg’s table settings.
We then walked through some additional gardens and headed home.
Back at the AirBNB, we thoroughly enjoyed the pool. Lily got a lot of sun which was great because she has still felt sick and we hoped all the sun would help. I had a lot of fun doing obstacle courses with the kids. I also spent a lot of time just floating on three noodles. It was unbelievably comfortable and highly soothing.
We also found an amazing Pho place that could doordash giant portions of veggie pho, which Lily went crazy for. It was especially soothing since she was still sick.