I am sitting here on a lanai on the Big Island of Hawaii, as I write this. I know, I know, it's a rough life!!

I came here to do a juice fast on the rain forest side of the island. It was the longest time of my life!! The rain, the mosquitoes, the depressing atmosphere, the lack of information, lack of friendliness and encouragement...gee, the good news...I am now even more thrilled with the cleanse that I offer to people. That's the upside of it.

I couldn't wait to get over to the "sunny side" of the island, only to be greeted with huge spiders that looked like hands crawling around. Lucky me, they liked hiding under my bed!! So then I appreciated SLEEP, as I didn't for the next three nights and days for that matter. I kept thinking of them crawling all over me when I slept.

"You must really get over your phobia of spiders", the owner said to me straight-faced. I almost burst out laughing. Lady! Big spiders are the size of quarters where I come from, not these huge prehistoric monsters that I was encountering. Gee, didn't have any phobias prior to this! That was not why I came to the island to acquire NEW PHOBIAS, thank you very much!

Now I am in a better place on the island. More commercial, YES. I have rethought my idea of paradise and "exotic" retreat. It is not all it's cracked up to be. Better to look at it in a book or something. At least maybe not the best for a cleanse, that is.

Yes, I am making a point in all of this. I came to this island to do a juice fast and to hopefully find the perfect place to do my retreat a couple times a year. Yes, the perfect place.....only to realize that I already have it!! Isn't that how life works sometimes. You just don't know what you have until you have a different perspective on things.

The perfect place is back in beautiful California!!

When I find one just as good ...then you will be the first, ah, maybe the second to know.

So let me tell you about where the "Rejuvenate with Jan" Cleansing Fast Retreat is being held:

The Spring Resort and Spa is in the Palm Springs area in California. Desert Hot Springs to be exact.

This place is the perfect size (yes, it matters) as it is large enough for everyones privacy and yet small enough to have a very personal and intimate experience (if that's what you prefer).

What I have learned (amongst many things) on my travels around the world, going to different types of retreats and experiencing different methods of detoxification is the absolute luxury of having your very own CLEAN bathroom everyday!! How often have I shared bathrooms with others whose standards were not on par with mine. Hey, I am no prima donna, actually very easy going in the germ area only I do notice things and take note of everything. I do ALWAYS look at the big picture when I go on a detox but hey, let's face it....CLEAN IS GOOD!!

Now if you are going to have double occupancy and save $700 then it's still a great deal, both financially and also you already know that person anyhow. Win-win.

Also, there is housekeeping everyday, if you wish. That is very uncommon,you will find, if you check around.

The colonics are ON-SITE!! That is GREAT!! Believe me you will know this if you have tried driving back and forth to get them. You had better know where all the bathrooms are en route.

There is a full service spa on-site also to pamper your every need. Both the massage therapists and colon therapists are all really exceptional and do a great job. I am lucky they are there to help with the cleanse.

All the rooms have king-size beds and are comfy. There is air conditioning in all the rooms, with high speed wireless. All the rooms are located around the pools (swimming and jacuzzi). The "healing waters" are all hot mineral waters and are rejuvenating to go into as much as you possibly can. People come from all over the world to just sit in those waters. To do a cleanse in them is wonderful.

The sauna is free to use whenever you like. I have been charged for every minute that I have gone into the ones here on the island, except for one place. The first session was free.

There are no man/woman/people-eating mosquitoes!!

Oh, I forgot to mention, when I just did this juice fast, there was food being cooked all day for the "other" guests (that I didn't know were going to be there). That made it really hard smelling all that food and believe me that it is waaay easier if food/cooking smells are not around.

I do want to say that you will accomplish more on this retreat in 5 to 7 days than you would do in a 10 day juice or water only fast......I just experienced it!! All the supplements etc that you will be taking on pretty much an hourly basis will detox you waaaay more. Gosh, the Dr. there told me the first day I was there that she thought that I should be doing 20 days of juice. Who has that kind of time. I have to say that only juice or only water takes waaay longer to detox than what I will have you doing. Time is money also.

Okay, back to accommodations!!

It's almost always warm. There are beautiful views of the palm trees against the mountains. Great sun rises, sun sets, green grass (a luxury for the desert). Too many little nuances to mention.

Please check out The Spring's website as there is much more information and great pictures on there.

So come stay with me, play with me AND get healthy at the same time. I will share with you my never-to-be-taken-for-granted-again piece of paradise. ALOHA!!!