Borrego Springs Hits the Trifecta!

THERE'S A NEW RESORT IN TOWN!

La casa del Zorro starts renting rooms tomorrow, June 15th, during its "soft opening".  Guests receive a buffet breakfast and the resort fee will be waived until the official opening in September, 2013.  The Fox Den at La Casa Del Zorro  will be open for business serving drinks, snacks and a 1/2 lb bar burger, from 4 - 9 pm this Saturday, June 15.

My husband and I booked a room during the 4th of July week to see what all the fuss is about so I'll make sure to take pictures and share them on this blog.  Our pool view room was about $210/night.

The resort has been posting news and pictures on its facebook page:www.facebook.com/LaCasaDelZorro.  You can also visit the resort webpage at www.lacasadelzorro.com. 

THE BORREGAN

 

THERE IS A NEW NEWSPAPER IN TOWN!   Web address:   www.sea2mountainmedia.com/The_Borregan.html

Daily news is also posted via the Daily Borregan @ http://www.sea2mountainmedia.com/The_Daily_Borregan.html

THERE IS A NEW GROCERY STORE IN TOWN!  The Desert Pantry.  Focusing on food, the market will be open 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  300 cartons of yogurt were sold opening day! 

Information is on its facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/DesertPantry?ref=ts&fref=ts

The Wonder of Borrego Springs

We survived April's low desert windstorms.  My raised vegetable garden is going to seed (but not before producing some amazingly large beets... think softball size).  Bright, beautiful orioles made their visit and are planning their departure now.  The community is filled with excitement surrounding the June soft opening of La Casa Del Zorro.  Cactus are blooming.  The new Borrego Art Institute is an official success and there are other positive signs of growth within the community. 

The official low desert "season" has almost ended, but I haven't been able to rip my husband and two dogs away from Borrego Springs.  

With age, Yogi has become more flexible, kind of.



As neighbors leave to spend their summers in cooler locations, Borrego becomes more magical.  Hotter.  Quieter.  Slower and sleepier.  Off-season hours are adopted by many of the local business owners.  Some close altogether. 

Those remaining in Borrego Springs put on their rally caps and hunker down for the opposite of Chicago's cold winters.  This is hot weather at its finest!

Every day, the very happy Mr. W calls to fill me in on everything that's going on in Borrego.  Some days it's a very short conversation.  Recent reports:

• During their morning walk on de Anza Golf Course, Mr. W quietly watched a male and female roadrunner mating.  The male had a little lizard hanging out of its mouth the entire time.  After they finished, the male offered the lizard to his partner as a gift and she accepted.  A link to four Greater Roadrunner calls.

• There's a gas station in Borrego Springs where the attendant fills your car like in the good 'ol days.  That's why it's called a "service station", we were told.  While there earlier this week, another driver pulled in concerned about her tires.  Before anyone could begin checking it out, one of her tires exploded violently.  What?

• The dining room at de Anza was in the home stretch this week, and it finally closed Friday night.  So Mr. W and two buddies had dinner at the club Wednesday... chicken Marsala that was missing the usual Marsala and tasted a lot like teriyaki.  Oh Borrego!

• There's a rumor floating around town that the Borrego Springs Resort is being purchased by a San Diego investment group that plans to transform it into a Chinese Golf Academy.  Just here say.  Hey Doc, Borrego may end up with that Chinese restaurant you've been missing for the past 20 years!

Oh, and several good sized Koi magically appeared in the de Anza Golf Course lake. 

How about an "Orange Julius"? It's Orange Season in Borrego Springs!

 The icy cold, creamy orange drink we know as "Orange Julius" grew out of an orange juice stand that opened in Los Angeles, CA in 1926.  Julius Freed was the owner/ operator. 

The drink was so popular, people began lining up at the store shouting "Give me an Orange, Julius!"  Eventually the new drink was simply called the "Orange Julius". 

During the 1950s and 1960s, Orange Julius was sold at state and county fairs and freestanding Orange Julius stands (which also sold medicinal "tonics" and bible tracts).  And in 1964, Orange Julius was named the official drink of the New York World's Fair.

LOGO FROM THE 1970'S AND 1980'S

I remember loving these frothy cold drinks as a kid, but they were expensive so my mom and I experimented by blending orange juice, powdered milk, powdered sugar and ice. 



SELEY FARMS, BORREGO SPRINGS, CA

 Well, the oranges are ripe for the picking in Borrego Springs and are available by the bag from a couple of roadside fruit stands around town.   Grab some oranges and lets make our own Orange Julius!

Homemade Orange Julius

(two servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/4 cups fresh squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup cold low fat milk

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cup ice cubes

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all the ingredients except the ice cubes in a blender and blend until smooth and frothy. Then add the ice cubes and blend to your desired consistency.  The authentic drink always included a few irregular nubs of ice. 

For a Strawberry/Orange drink, throw in a few fresh or frozen strawberries.

Want more "froth"?  Add an egg white or a little powdered egg white.

 

When are you going to visit Borrego Springs?

Roadrunner Tree Farm - Go visit Frank!

Almost two years ago, we had landscaping installed on the street side of our house with the help of a Borrego Springs gardener, his wife and their son.  They worked for several days in the scorching sun covered head to toe with long sleeves, long pants, hats, gloves and loose scarfs to keep the sun off their skin. You'd think dressing this way would make them hot, but not true.  Wearing loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide brim hats protects your skin and helps keep you cooler when working in the sun. 

It has been less than two years, but already two of my agave were so happy that they sent up the monster asparagus looking shoots, bloomed, and fell over.  Hundreds of baby Agave emerged from the bloom and were blown around, some taking hold.  Nature!

Agave plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once in its lifetime and then dies (semelparous - a species characterized by a single reproductive episode before death).  

So rather than look at the bare holes in our garden, what did we do?  We went to visit Frank, of course!


Frank is the high energy "motor" of the Roadrunner Tree Farm retail operations who helps us choose landscape plants.  Very knowledgeable.  Very helpful.  A really nice man. 

If you haven't met Frank or been to the Roadrunner nursery, stop by for a visit.  Cacti, trees, citrus, dates, honey, perennials, clay pots, some gift items.  Pure fun!

I believe the nursery is open during the season from 9:00 to 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but you may want to call before visiting.

A mind-boggling amount of options were available at Roadrunner!  We ended up choosing three Shark Skin Agave  (Agave ferdinandi-regis x scabra) in five gallon containers.  Beautiful, reasonably priced and delivered to our house for a very reasonable delivery fee. 


SHARK SKIN AGAVE

A NEW BEGINNING FOR LA CASA DEL ZORRO AND BORREGO SPRINGS!



WAITING IN THE ARID DESERT AREA OF BORREGO SPRINGS, CA... A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH.

My husband and I bought our Borrego Springs home in December 2010.  By that time, Borrego Ranch (formerly La Casa Del Zorro) was closed.  For the last two years, we've heard over and over from Borrego residents what a huge loss the resort's closing has been.  It wasn't until we took a strole through the property this week and we fully understood what has been lost.

Its closing has impacted the community and so many locals - dozens of jobs were lost that have not been replaced and tourism continues to suffer.  

Excuse my language, but HOLY COW!  The quality and beauty of the resort is breathtaking, even in its current state.  We parked on a back road and walked past the casitas with their private swimming pools, past the huge checker board, archery range and then to the climbing rock.  Heading toward the main area of the resort, our mouths dropped open. 



Here's the good news...

LA CASA DEL ZORRO RETURNS!

A January 31 newspaper article states:

La Casa del Zorro, a luxury Borrego Springs resort that's been shuttered for the last three years, has sold for $2.4 million.

The new ownership, led by three San Diegans, closed escrow Thursday on the 42-acre resort and hopes to reopen it by May 1.

Casa del Zorro, which includes 44 hotel rooms and 19 stand-alone casitas, last changed hands in 2007 when then owner Greg Pearlman purchased it for $2.5 million and subsequently invested an additional $7 million in renovations. Just 14 months later, the resort, which he had renamed renamed Borrego Springs Ranch, closed.

"Anyone who’s been around San Diego for a while has been there, and this has always been a colorful and historic resort," said former San Diego City Manager Jack McGrory, one of the new Casa del Zorro owners. "Borrego has gone through some very tough years but it’s coming back. They were trying to sell this during a very bad real estate market, and I think the market is coming back."

In the past, business at the resort likely suffered because of its high room rates, said McGrory, CEO of La Jolla Management LLC, a real estate and investment company. "That should change with the new owners, who plan to bring the rates down below $200 a night, he added."

Joining McGrory in the Casa del Zorro purchase are Casey Brown, a San Diego developer, and Jack Giacomino, chairman of San Diego-based Hotel Managers Group, which will operate the resort.

Giacomino's plan, McGrory said, is to partner with one of the major hotel chains to brand the property and take advantage of its central reservations system. The owners expect to spend about $1 million to fix up the property in advance of reopening it.

"We also want to redevelop the fitness club and tennis for the community as a whole," McGrory said. "When Greg (Pearlman) had it, he discouraged the community from coming to the restaurant or bar."

We heard today that locals have already been hired and have begun cleaning the resort, which was basically shuttered three years ago leaving all of the furniture and decor intact. 

Can't wait to experience what all the locals have been talking about!