Where to Stay
Our trip was planned for September to take advantage of the holiday weekend. We chose the Welk Resort Desert Oasis as our home away from home. We are a member of the Welk Timeshare Family and one of the reasons we chose Palm Springs is that we could stay here and spend points. We had a great experience here. Great pool, cabanas, and staff made this a great place to stay. It wasn't on the list by Kelly and her team, but it made sense financially for us.
Where to Eat
This is usually my husband's domain, but from time to time I'll get to sneak in a suggestion or two. This time most of my suggestions were on Kelly's list, so that worked. Here are the places we went to and our thoughts about each:
Ernest Coffee
My daughter and her husband loved this place so much that they went multiple times. They enjoyed their iced coffees. I had read about their almond milk latte, and I ordered it. It was so good, you'd never know it was almond milk, it was that creamy.
The Workshop Kitchen
The Workshop Kitchen was our splurge dinner night that we have for every trip we go on. This place was amazing. First, the decor. Floor to ceiling concrete, unique lighting, simple elegance. We loved how this place set the mood before we even sat down. The food, a farm to table type restaurant, was utterly amazing (we ordered and ate waaaaaay more than we needed.) We promised to return when we come back to PS.
Great Shakes
Just like the name suggests, this place has GREAT SHAKES! They come with a tiny donut on the straw. Not only are they crazy cute, they are delicious. We each ordered our own, a small, but we could have easily shared with one another!
Cheeky's
We cooked breakfast in our condo every day, but this restaurant serves breakfast all day long plus has a great lunch menu. I had a fabulous bloody Mary. The only regret I have is that they weren't ready for lunch by 11:30 on the day I was there. I had to order breakfast, when I was ready for a burger and chilled cilantro soup. However, my food was delicious!
Windmill Market
This was an unexpected stop as a part of our celebrity tour, but I wanted to include it here with the food as we were give the date shake here. Dates are a huge commodity in Palm Springs. The date shake is a local favorite and it is good. The dates are chopped super fine and are chewy bits. You can also find wonderful tacos at a great price. Don't miss this cute mom and pop shop.
Eight4nine
We were introduced to this charming restaurant by one of the employees of the Welk Resort. This is classic Palm Springs! The decor is simply amazing, colorful and fun, and the food is delicious.
Las Casuelas
We love Mexican food, and when our neighbors heard we were headed to Palm Springs, they told us about their favorite in Palm Springs, Las Casuelas. This is a traditional Mexican, where the food is delicious and plentiful. While there may be some nicer restaurants to go to, this one hit the spot for us. You have to try the blood orange Margaritas and the creamy guacamole!
The Purple Room
Each vacation we all separate one night for "date night." We ended up at the Purple Room, famous for the Rat Pack hangout and performance venue. We had dinner, which was classic and delicious, and then listed to a marvelous jazz singer. This was truly a wonderful date night. We plan to make Palm Springs one of our annual stops, and we promise to come back to the Purple Room! The Banana Foster Bread Pudding was outstanding.
Rooster and the Pig
This is a beautiful Vietmanese restaurant with creative and delicious food. Typically there is a huge line at this restaurant (they even have a clip board to sign in) but since we were there out of season we walked right in. Our service was wonderful.
Other food venues that deserve a mention are Villa Bakery and Manhattan's by the Desert. This is a Mexican Bakery that has gorgeous and delicious offerings. We went in and asked for their best sellers. They bagged up three and we ate them. We have no idea what they were! Also, Manhattan's by the Desert was another wonderful lunch spot where we got delicious deli sandwiches. Their bakery can't be ignored, we had banana cream pie and pineapple upside down cake. All wonderful.
Things to Do
Palm Springs Aerial Tram
One of our highlights was going on the Tramway. It is a 2.5 mile tram ride in a rotating tram car. On the way up you can see the most incredible scenery and it keeps changing due to the rotation. At the top, 8,516 feet up, you can explore a gift shop, nature exhibits, viewing decks, a state park and grab a cocktail, which I did! On the way down you will experience the same awesome views. It is about 20-30 degrees cooler on top of the mountain, too, a bonus from the 107 degree days were were experiencing.
#thatpinkdoor
I can't remember when I first heard about "that pink door" but it has been on my Palm Springs Bucket List ever since! We found the address and saw it. It is so beautiful, but the whole house is! There is a lovely stained glass window that largely gets ignored.
Celebrity Tour
Our driver, Anne, made this tour what it was. We saw celebrity homes of all the bygone era including Elvis, Marilyn, Dean, Frank, Lucille and many, many more. This is where we were given the date shake mentioned above. Tons and tons of fun!
Elvis' Honeymoon Cottage
Even though this was on the Celebrity Tour, we decided we wanted to go in and take a look around, so we booked tickets to this home. This is a mid-century modern home designed by Robert Alexander. We loved being in the home and marveled at some of the features such as a 64 foot long sofa and a built in barbeque grill and hood. Elvis memorabilia was everywhere.
Joshua Tree National Park
We only had a few hours to visit this wonderful park, but we are so glad that we did it! We entered at the west entrance and stayed mostly on the main road. I'm planning on writing a whole post on this national park, so stay tuned!
Cabot's Pueblo Museum
Another absolutely wonderful place to visit was the Cabot's Pueblo Museum. The Museum houses artifacts from the life of Cabot Yerxa who was a homesteader in the early 1900s. He built a 35 room, 5,000 square foot pueblo of existing materials from the area. You can go inside the pueblo when you purchase a tour ticket.
Visitor's Center
You wouldn't think this would make it as a thing to do, but going to the Visitor's Center early in our trip was a great way to get acclimated to the area. There are also one of a kind photo ops including the Palm Springs city sign and a great view of the numerous wind farms.
Shopping
I'm not a big shopper but I had a wonderful time in the shops along Palm Canyon Drive. My favorites included Destination PSP for fabulous tee shirts and other souvenirs, Pelago for fun and fabulous home decor, Trina Turk for gorgeous clothing for both women and men, Johnny Was for beautiful Bohemian type clothing, and Desert of Hats, where there are a lot of wonderful hats for both men and women. Every Thursday night there is a street fair full of vendors including clothing, arts, crafts and food and drink. It is a fun experience!
Things to Know
Since this was our first ever visit, we learned a few things that might help the next traveler who heads to Palm Springs.
- September is not "in season." Be prepared to have things closed. In season is October-June.
- Make reservations but you should be able to get in off season with little trouble.
- Sun dresses and shorts with nice tops will do for most Palm Springs places. Even our splurge meal was casual dress.
- Purchase a case of water for your condo. Take a bottle for each person each time you leave your resort.
- Try the date shake. It might not sound appealing but it is very good!
- Spend some time at the pool at your resort. We rented the cabana for the day and it was a lot of fun!
Palm Springs was a fun surprise to me and I know that I will be forever changed by the desert. It was an unexpected but delightful experience.
Now let's see what other things Pinterest inspired! Head over and visit the other hosts to see what they crafted, cooked, built, or tried!
Now let's see what other things Pinterest inspired! Head over and visit the other hosts to see what they crafted, cooked, built, or tried!
Lydia - Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen
