My previous winters in Chicago always left me wishing I could be somewhere warm and wonderful. I needed to end the year traveling with a little adventure, a little bit of city, a little bit of luxury, a little culture, and of course, a little bit of nature. So I met JD in Palm Springs, the closest point to halfway between Phoenix and Los Angeles as we could get. It was a great way to get together one last time before the end of the year and start to ring in 2018.
After Christmas, but before New Years is that “in between” time where you are not sure what you should be celebrating, so we both stayed at The Hard Rock Hotel in Palm Springs. It’s right in the heart of downtown and within walking distance of shopping, the Thursday night Village Street Fair, restaurants, and the Walk of Stars. Being in Palm Springs, the centerpiece of the hotel is the pool, and being a Hard Rock property, it has that rock and roll vibe and memorabilia.
Strolling through Palm Springs downtown has that Mid Century Pop feel, bright colors, welcoming and a little bit of Hollywood glamour and history. You’ll find tributes to Marilyn, Frank, Sonny, and Lucille throughout the area. Great Shakes is a great pit stop to try their guaranteed delicious homemade creations such as Cake Shake, topped with a mini donut, or the refreshing Lemon Lavender Blueberry.
Other places we explored included The Palm Springs Art Museum (free after 4 PM on Thursdays). Great exhibits we saw included No Glass Ceiling! Women working in Glass, Part I and Champions photography series of athletes. We also checked out the Moorten Botanical Gardens and the cactarium. Highly recommend LuLu’s California Bistro for lunch, the food was amazing.
Check out JD’s adventure up the San Jacinto Mountain in the Palm Springs Aerial Tram and her Red Jeep excursion to Indian Canyon. We will also be posting our hike through the Thousand Palms Oasis in the Coachella Valley Preserve.
