Destination
Continued from Page 17
Orthodox tradition, even though, while traditional, the Barrons
would not classify themselves as Orthodox, illustrating that the
burdens of Pesach preparation need not be denominational.

“My mom had always wanted to do something like this because
she does the whole extreme cleaning-out of the whole kitchen,
switching out all the silverware and plates — like we have all new
utensils and cooking stuff,” Barron said. “So it’s a ton of work, plus
she does the most cooking during Passover because we can’t eat
out. But all of her cooking utensils are so sh---y because she says,
‘Well, I only use them a week out of the year, so I don’t get nice
ones,’ and we’re like, ‘But you do the most cooking this week!’ It’s
frustrating.” For reasons to which many can probably relate, the Barrons
had been wanting to treat themselves to a destination Passover for
some time, but with two daughters as public school teachers, the
timing never seemed to work out perfectly ... until one year when
it did.

They chose to go to Palm Springs with Kosherica after gaming
several similarly upmarket options because it was close enough
to their suburban Chicago home and also because Palm Springs
is known the world over as a spa and golf destination, not as a
foodie’s paradise — they wouldn’t be missing out on world-famous
local cuisine while keeping kosher for Passover.

“There were a lot of places where we were like, ‘We don’t want
to go there and not be able to eat the local food.’ There was one
program in Spain, and I was like, ‘No, if I go to Spain, I’m eating
ham,’” Barron said, laughing. “And we also wanted somewhere
warm, where there’d be some stuff to do aside from just laying
around, which is mostly what we did anyway.”
The Barrons did partially sit through the aforementioned
underwhelming comedy show, saw some acrobats “just walking
around,” and they even hit the resort’s casino night. But for all the
extras these programs provide, at the end of the day, it all comes
down to the food, which at nearly every tier of luxury seems to be
of high quality and even higher quantity.

“I will say I was pretty impressed by a lot of it, mostly by
just how much of it there was. It was just a ton of food, really,”
Barron said, clarifying that the kosher for Passover dessert table
was far more extensive than the candy fruit slices and assorted
Manischewitz macaroons that many of us associate with nostalgic
feelings instead of things that actually taste good.

And breakfast — well, breakfast was simply a whole different
ballgame. “Breakfast was awesome because they always had guys making
omelets. And they had pancake and waffle stations — somehow
Passover pancakes and waffles are actually good; they’ve figured
that out. And for dinner, they had these stations outside where
they’d have Chinese food and they’d somehow make kosher-for-
Passover fried orange chicken.”
Strange as it may sound, though, the Passover resort experience
can be about more than just stuffing your face — even though each
and every program will offer you the opportunity to do that to an
obscene degree.

Take Ayala Aidman’s experience. Aidman, a mother of four
living in Bala Cynwyd, has a 5-year-old daughter Shoshanna
who was born with Down syndrome. The holidays, as Aidman
explained, can be a particularly arduous, and often isolating,
time for children with special needs and their parents, who face
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