DESTINATION PARTY

Number 108 on my life's to-do list is "Throw a Destination Party." Destination weddings I've heard of, but a destination party?

My biggest worry was: would any of our friends travel out of town just for a party? And then I thought to myself, even if no one shows up but me and Sarge, we'll still have fun! Still, it would be nice if our funnest friends joined us. (Is that even a word? It is now.)

So we rolled the dice.
We reserved 10 hotel rooms -- hoping to fill them with friends -- at the Doral Resort, which is near our home in Palm Springs, the ultimate destination for our party. I fashioned some flyers on my computer, tweaked the party playlist on the iPod, packed up the car and headed for the desert.

Fingers were crossed.

Sarge barbecued, as he is wont to do, while I handled all the trimmings. Our favorite couple to double-date -- the Diva and the Doctor-- decorated for this 4th of July pool party. Everything was prepared; now all we had to do was wait and see if anyone would show up.

As the clock struck 2 p.m., the start time for this summer soiree, I shimmied into my swimsuit, then waited. We fixed some margaritas, toasted to us, then waited some more. It was so quiet I could hear crickets, and I thought I saw a tumbleweed blow by. The weather was nice, not even 100 degrees which is downright pleasant for Palm Springs.

But before we could say, "Another round, bartender," people started rolling in by one's, two's and three's.

The party was in full force and effect. All in all about 25 to 30 friends loved us enough to come to our Destination Party. But the best part was it turned into an all weekend party. The next day, those who stayed overnight at the Doral met us for brunch at the Spa Casino and Resort the next day. Then we went back to our home for more swimming. That night we ate more barbecue, then played the Celebrity Guessing Game til midnight.

Scratch another item off my Bucket List.
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