Month: January 2018

Playing Golf!

by Simran Jayasinghe

Before our trip to Palm Springs in August of 2017, I had never played golf. I had played mini golf, but I don’t think that counts as real golf! I had never learned the right way to play golf. That all changed when we were at vacation at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs. The resort had a golf club, and my sisters and I went for a golf lesson.

When we arrived at the golf club, we were impressed with the lay out and style of the club house. There was a nice seating area, with a view of the golf course, a bar for adults, a pro shop, and there were tables where you could order food.

Lining up the ball
Lining up the ball
Putting is not easy as it looks!
Putting is not easy as it looks!

My sisters and I started our lesson on the putting green. Our instructor first taught us how to properly hold the putter, and let us try to get the ball into the hole. Putting looks easy from far away, but it was challenging for us. After a lot of practice, my sisters and I finally got the hang of it! After about half an hour we went to the driving range, in golf carts. Our mom really loved driving around in the golf carts!

At the driving range, we tried hitting golf balls using several different clubs. Our instructor was very calm and patient with us, which, probably wasn’t easy, since it took us a while to hit the ball properly so that it traveled some distance. We learnt how to hold the different clubs properly, and how to keep the ball on the tee and use a driver, and other clubs, called “irons” to try and hit the ball as far as we could.  After our lesson was over, we were all exhausted, and our parents surprised us by getting us breakfast from the restaurant inside the golf club. Kiran and I had toast, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Svara had toast, eggs, sausage, and cottage cheese. Also, all three of us shared a french toast.The meal was

scrumptious, and the view was beautiful from where we sat. All three of us enjoyed day of golfing.  I highly recommend trying out a golf lesson you ever find yourself at the La Quinta Resort!

Tinker Crate Review (December 2017)

by Svara Jayasinghe

This month in our Tinker Crate we found out that we were making paper circuits. I have never done anything like this before so I found it a little challenging. My dad helped me with some of the steps I had trouble with but I did several steps on my own.  Even when my dad helped he just helped me with the instructions and I actually did all the work!  The project was to make lanterns with different colored LED lights.  My dad said that LED stands for ‘Light Emitting Diode”.  I really don’t know what a diode is but I am sure I will learn about these later.  First I had to make the base that help the LED light in place.  We used copper tape to make the circuit and connect the LED to the battery.  We also had to use a resistor to make the LED light up.

The circuit was built using copper tape, two plastic rails, a resistor, two wires and a battery.
The circuit was built using copper tape, two plastic rails, a resistor, two wires and a battery.
The circuit with a blue LED touching the copper paper
The circuit with a blue LED touching the copper paper

After I made the base I made the lamp shades to complete the lanterns. The crate had material to make a flower, a pyramid, or a cylinder lantern.  I ended up making all three lanterns.  The crate also comes with different colored LED lights so that you can try out many different versions of the lantern.

Flower lantern with Red LED
Flower lantern with Red LED
Pyramid lantern with green LED
Pyramid lantern with green LED
Cylinder lantern with blue LED
Cylinder lantern with blue LED

This month’s Tinker Crate was kind of hard for me but I still enjoyed it, and I know my sisters did too. Before this I had never played with LED lights, or resistors, and making the lanterns gave me a chance to know how these worked.  I really enjoyed the project and I learned new things.

La Quinta Resort and Spa – A Review

by Simran Jayasinghe

On a Thursday morning, in August of 2017, our family piled into our car with all of our suitcases and bags. Every year, at the end of summer, our family takes a vacation, to just relax. My sisters and I were excited. We had packed a deck of cards, and were ready to be stuck in a car for three hours on the way to Palm Springs!

Our first stop was the Cabazon Outlets. There, we stretched our legs, and enjoyed Wetzel Pretzel’s in the relaxing shade of a tree. We also shopped for back to school items, like new sneakers, etc. After we were done shopping, we drove to our hotel, the La Quinta Resort & Club.

Fountain at the Entrance of the La Quinta Resort and Club
Fountain at the Entrance of the La Quinta Resort and Club

When we arrived at the resort, we found out that there were 41 pools throughout the resort! This got our attention, as pools are really important to us because our whole family loves the water. We checked in, and got to our hotel room. Our dad had booked a Spa Villa for us. The hotel room was delightful, especially because the A.C. was on, and it was really hot outside. The hotel room had a small kitchen, with a full size refrigerator, a countertop microwave, and a stove. The room had a master bedroom and a living space with a couch, a T.V. and a fireplace.

Master bedroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Master bedroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Living room at the La Quinta Resort and Club.
Living room at the La Quinta Resort and Club.
Full Kitchen at the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Full Kitchen at the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club

 

 

 

 

 

The pullout bed in the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
The pullout bed in the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Master bathroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Spa
Master bathroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Spa

The couch was a pullout bed for my sisters and I, so that our parents got to sleep in the big bed in the master bedroom. There were two bathrooms, one off the master bedroom, and another in the living area. The room did have a sort of outdoor patio, but on the patio space right outside the kitchen, we did discover some rolled up dirty diapers! P.U! We notified the resort staff, and it was quickly taken care of.

It didn’t take long for us to get relaxed in the hotel room, and at about 7 p.m we went to the pool because it had cooled down a little. We were so happy because our room was right next to the pool! My sisters and I swam around and relaxed in the pool, taking turns splashing our dad, who just sat in the pool the whole time. Our parents went to find some food to have for dinner, and we ended up having Subway. Then, we all fell soundly asleep, to wake up the next morning in Palm Springs!

Relaxing at one of the 41 pools at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Relaxing at one of the 41 pools at the La Quinta Resort and Club

Our family stayed at the resort for five days, which let us experience many things. We to go relax at the pools, play tennis and golf, go to restaurants, and shop. Our family really liked this resort, and recommend it if you need a vacation in the beautiful desert city of Palm Springs!