31 Trips in Cali, Day 13: Palm Springs Escape

Escape, as in escape from the drudgery of routine.  Escape from gray skies. Escape from the children.  Those are all reasons that we've escaped, as a couple, to Palm Springs numerous times over the years. 

I can't remember the first time we visited the desert together. Maybe we just drove out for a day trip.  Or maybe it was that time we accompanied some of my husband's family and stayed at the old, pre-renovated Riviera Hotel.  What I know for sure is that we got engaged in Palm Springs, in August of 1996.  What a long time ago!

We stayed here, in a room with french doors that opened onto a balcony:

And that was one of the few times we've stayed in a big chain hotel. For nearly the past decade, we've stayed pretty much exclusively in small, quirky bungalow hotels that better reflect the mid-century, retro vibe of the town.

In 2003, we stayed at the Del Marcos Hotel for the first time.

Not our Porsche!

Where I got my retro on full-force in the kitchenette in our upstairs room:

Then, in 2005, we moved a few blocks over to the Desert Hills Hotel:

2008 found us back at the Del Marcos. This is the same trip where we drove out to the Salton Sea, and I'd set my camera on a weird gray & green mode:

 But the Husband put the camera to rights before the end of our stay:

We didn't make it back to the desert for a couples-only weekend again, until last year. This time, based on the rave reviews I read on Trip Advisor, we checked out the Hotel California, and traded mid-century modern for a Mediterranean/hacienda style. (Insert lame Eagles joke here.)

The nice, private little patio in front of our room. At night, the manager came around and lit votive candles on each table. 

What, you might ask, does one actually DO in Palm Springs?  Especially since we like to go in the full-bore heat of high summer?  Well.  We walk around on Palm Canyon Drive and poke around in the stores.  (This is how I found a great vintage shop, where I bought my big blue Blenko glass piece.)  We go out to a  nice dinner (since we try to visit on or around our anniversary). We might go to the movies, or drive around dreaming and drooling over the great mid-century homes in some of the neighborhoods. We hang out at the pool after dark, basking in the hot desert air under the stars.  We just...chill. Together.  And it's perfect.

And we don't always go as a couple.  You can check out this post on things to do (and where to stay) in Palm Springs with kids. Or you can see this post from earlier this year, when I introduced my sister to the charms of the desert, on a one-night girls' getaway. 

Can you tell that we like the desert? The Husband jokes about retiring to one of the areas many 55+ mobile home communities set on a golf course, like his own grandparents did, before him. We'll tool around on a golf cart and drink our bourbons at 5 sharp, every day.  That's a joke we tell ourselves.  At least, I think it's a joke? There are worse places to end up, if not.

Thanks for coming along! Come back for Day 14 of my 31 Trips in California series. I'm a couple of trips behind, as I went on a Girl Scouts camping trip with Lily this weekend.  One of our activities was apple picking....and so for my next post, we'll go apple picking at my family's favorite day-trip destination of all time.

Don't miss a single trip: Head over to Day 1 for all the links, or Like me on Facebook.