So last week we took about 42 hours out of our normal life, to slow down, do only relaxing enjoyable stuff, and get away from the normal responsibilities of life, cats, phones , messy house
all that stuff. We stayed at a place called Candlewood Suites (which was decent enough). It was like a DVC studio only with a two burner stove and full refrigerator. Other than that it was modest accommodations, but we didnt need much more than that. I didnt take any pictures as it wasnt anything special.
The first night we checked in, I hauled up the luggage and Fran went right to sleep so I turned on the computer
.I wondered what was different from home life? Well there was AC set to freeze and I had no cats crawling on me! Not that we dont have AC at home and not that I mind the cats, but Fran doesnt like to use the AC because it costs money, sometimes the cats can be
well annoying. However as I write this, my little princess is perched on my knee (thigh) and behaving quite ladylike.
So after a good long nap and I actually caught up on DISboards posts and other emails we headed out for dinner. Tonight was California Shabu Shabu. If you are not familiar with the concept of Shabu Shabu, they bring you the raw ingredients (a plate of vegetables, noodles and tofu)
They provide you with a boiling bowl of water, and some dipping sauces
And a plate of meat, your choice, but most people seem to choose beef.
Now first off you need to realize that at the end of the meal you want a tasty soup. The only way to get that is to season your water. The first thing I do is toss the carrots from my plate into the boiling water. There are also little tubs of garlic, green onions and Japanese radish, so a spoonful or two of those go into my pot. Soy sauce, chili oil and Schichimi (sp?) powder as well. Maybe even a splash of sake. Now that I have the makings of a good stock going time to make dinner!
Its all about how you cook your meat. Some dump the whole plate of meat into the bowl and pull it out once its overcooked, however, I like to take my piece of meat and put it inside a piece of spinach or cabbage. Ill swish it a few times and then pull it from the boiling water so that Its still rare to medium rare. Ill dip it in the mustard sauce and then let it cool over the white rice.
And then you pop it in your mouth!
Repeat with your remaining meat slices. I usually save about two of my slices of meat for the last part which is soup making. At this point I tear the meat up into spoon size pieces and drop it in, toss in the remaining cabbage pieces, a little tofu, the noodles and anything else you have left on your plate. If you like you can add the rice to the soup if you already ate all your noodles.
This place will bring you a bowl for your soup and it has about a teaspoon of some sort of soup base in the bowl which makes it a little heartier when you add your soup mixture.
By the time I leave I am thoroughly stuffed!
We headed back to the ranch and I was asleep within moments. Fran however, decided to stay up until about 2:30AM playing around on the computer. Well she took a nap earlier that day.
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When we went to sleep we had thought we would go out to breakfast, however someone stayed up a little too late the night before and couldnt seem to get out of bed! Finally about 9:30 I said that I was going go to the Starbucks around the corner to get some coffee, and we could have some of the donettes I had purchased before we started on our trip. No we cant came a voice from the bed. Evidently in her insomnia she had finished off the bag of donettes! I ended up with a slice of lemon loaf and we agreed to have an early lunch at Souplantation.
We arrived right at 11:00AM when they were opening. I like my divided kiddie plate. That way none of my salads are touching.
Fran evidently doesnt mind touching.
I enjoyed a piece of the cheese flatbread. She had one of the chocolate muffins that you see in the background.
Some Potato Leek Soup
Macaroni & Cheese, Cottage Cheese and Cantaloupe
I went back for some four cheese penne, which I couldnt taste any cheese on!
And we both finished off with a bowl of ice cream and caramel sauce.
It was just before noon and so it was time to head to the spa. I wanted to get there in plenty of time to enjoy the additional amenities before going into my treatments. I got there about 12:25 and they gave me my key to the locker. I changed into my robe and decided the steam room would be a good start. I dont know why American women are so strange about nudity. Everyone there had a bathing suit on underneath their robe, well everyone except me! I dont know if I freaked out the gal in the steam room, but she didnt stay too long after I came in! I sat in there for about two cycles of the steam and decided that was enough. I took a quick dip in the shower to rinse the sweat off and then got in the Jacuzzi tub.
It was a little warm so I went into the misting room for about 10 minutes and got back in the tub. Much better! However it was 1:15 and I had a 1:30 Mustard bath so I figured I better go relax a bit before my next bath! I decided to begin reading Naked Heat again. However I forgot everything that happened and had to start again from the beginning! After I finished the first chapter they called me for my bath. Ive done these before so it was no surprise. They let me into a room with two tubs, the water was drawn, and it was warm. They had a plate with slices of apple & orange and frozen grapes there for me. Plus there were two cucumber slices, I knew these were for my eyes, not my mouth!
They put some sort of Mustard detox into the bath and left me there to chill (or boil). I ate the fruit, basked in the tub, but sadly the jets stopped too soon, and I knew that part was over. I put my robe back on and went back to the womens quiet room. I finished Chapter 2 while I was waiting and the gal called me for my next treatment. I was surprised when she led me to the wet room. I did not realize I had booked a treatment with the Vichy Shower! I thought I had booked a seaweed wrap, the last time I did a Vichy shower treatment I got all worked up arguing with the lady about why she had to cover up my private parts with a towel! The towel made everything feel wet and soggy and wasnt so enjoyable. However, since I didnt argue with the technician this time was much better.
If you dont know what a Vichy Shower is, voila!
Throughout the course of the treatment, she scrubbed and rubbed four different oils, soaps, whatever on me, back first then front side. All followed by a wonderful rinse of the shower.
I felt all tingly and clean, and covered in peppermint lotion by the time I left. Back to the womens quiet room, however, I barely got a page read when the masseuse came for me. This gal did a GREAT job, at first I thought she wasnt using enough pressure, but I think I might have fallen asleep towards the end. Hope I didnt snore! I went back to the locker room and decided that another dip in the Jacuzzi sounded perfect, so I spent about 15 minutes in there and then showered and got dressed.
Fran was waiting for me outside and we went back to the room to relax for a couple hours before dinner.
Our reservations were for 7PM at the Anaheim White House. I should have taken pictures outside, but it didnt occur to me. We were running a little late anyways. We were seated immediately and probably didnt need reservations, the place wasnt very full but we werent the only ones there. Our napkins were all dressed up.
And a shot of the room
We settled on two appetizers, an entrée and desserts. We started with the Caprese Salad. This Mozzarella was so delicious and creamy! Just the right balance with the red onions and tomatoes!
And we also had the Portabello Mushroom Ravioli served with glace and green peppercorns over a bed of spinach.
The entrée was a Beef Tenderloin and a Lamb Loin served with mashed potatoes and their special flat bread. It was a special so I cant remember the sauces. I know the filet had a green peppercorn sauce that made it really tasty and flavorful and the lamb was probably a Cabernet sauce. Oh yeah and a side of creamed spinach
And my plate
We both ordered dessert, I got the Grand Mariner Soufflé, which was good, not as great as the one from Andres in January, but I did eat all of it!
Fran got the Chocolate Banana Tart. It had cotton candy on top, thats about all I can tell you! It must have been good cause she ate it all.
If I were in the area, I'd take you up on that 
