travel – Page 7 – My Friend Staci

Palm Springs Part Two: Things to Do

We got up bright and early for brunch at King’s Highway, the restaurant at Ace Hotel & Swim Club. A little research revealed that before it was remodled, it was a Denny’s! I seriously loved the interior at King’s Highway. The mid-century fab stone on the wall? Yes please! It’s a dream of mine to own a home with that kind of crazy retro stone on the exterior or interior someday. My favorite thing was looking at the marks on the ground where I could picture the outline of the old Denny’s booths and fixtures.

The food was great! Our host was a little pretentious, and the prices a little steep, especially for the coffee ($3 for a non-refillable iced coffee?) but the pancakes and french toast really hit the spot. The food tilted the scale from “eye-roll” to “awesome.” To be honest… we should have eaten all of our meals here!

After our bellies were full, I did my duty as a design blogger and snooped around the Ace. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to look in a room… they look incredible on the website… but we peeked over the gate into the pool area and walked around the grounds. Definitely a different vibe from our colorful hotel, but everything seemed very cool and went nicely with the desert landscape. I really wanted to hang out at the Saguaro pool the first day and at the Ace pool the second day, but the day-pass was $20! Yikes!

The Ace, Palm Springs

We rode our bikes back to the Saguaro and drove downtown and walked around–just a little bit. The midday sun was roasting! So we grabbed some food at the grocery store and hung out at the pool for the rest of the day. All day! It was so sublime!

Later we got dolled up and went out for dinner–it was our anniversary celebration after all! We went downtown and found a really yummy place, Matchbox Pizza. We had a half Prosciutto and Fig and half “Q Special,” which featured chicken, portabello mushrooms and red peppers. A finer pizza was never had! However, we still had room for more so we followed it up with a little Ben & Jerry’s as we walked around downtown at dusk (it had cooled off some).

Palm Springs

For our last day, we checked out of the hotel and headed to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. I had no idea what to expect but wow!! Heading from the desert floor to 8,000 feet of altitude was very, very cool! Of course, I was petrified on the tram the whole way up and down. I shudder to remember it! I’m not afraid of heights per se… tall buildings and such don’t bother me, but suspended on a cable? That’s another thing.

Here’s the tram. Can you see Palm Springs in the distance?

As some of you know, we try to fit it into the budget to take an anniversary trip every year. Travel is such a passion of ours and we make it a priority! For our first anniversary we visited St Louis (little trip), last year the whole family took a trip to Europe (big trip), and this year Palm Springs was our low-key destination. We were lucky enough to visit Kansas in May and this short but very sweet trip was the perfect getaway to feel refreshed and rejuvenated from work. Now, I guess we’ll stay put for a little while!

In case you missed it, Monday I shared some photos of our hotel The Saguaro.

Salvation Mountain

This week I had a day (plus a half day) off, so Angela and I sneaked away to the desert for a quick trip to see one of America’s best examples of large-scale folk art– Salvation Mountain.

Salvation Mountain, Outside Niland, CA

Seeing Salvation Mountain in person was very moving. I spent a lot of time thinking about the man who built it and his devotion to spreading The Gospel. For twenty years he labored out in the heat (it was 104° when we were there) first building, then maintaining and expanding this “mountain,” every inch packed with the message “God is Love” and important Bible verses. I compared this to other religious monuments I’ve seen… The Vatican, cathedrals like Notre Dame, Chartres, and Sacré Coeur in particular came to mind, as well as the Ali Ben Yousef Madrassa in Marrakech. Here in America we have not kept up the tradition of great religious monuments (for a variety of reasons–too many to discuss here), so seeing something like this that totally doesn’t fit in with the old tradition was very powerful… Even more so considering its ephemeral nature. Without diligent upkeep, the sun, heat, and desert winds can and will reduce this shrine to only a memory that lives on through photos and stories shared by those who made the trip to visit.

Salvation Mountain, Outside Niland, CA

Angela and I were greeted by two men representing a group that exists to continue the work of Leonard Knight now that he is in a home due to age and health. I overheard them reminiscing about the time when Leonard still lived at the mountain–it was said that he greeted each visitor personally and made a connection with them, sharing his story and often sending them home with a trinket to remember the experience. It is only fitting that a shrine-like dome built under the mountain was filled with trinkets from visitors (instant photos, ID cards, candles, etc) to commemorate their trip out to the desert.

Slab City, Outside Niland, CA

Adjacent to Salvation Mountain is Slab City, where a collection of hippies, nomads, and other unique individuals live. Some make this area their home full-time, others visit seasonally, and yet others are simply passing through. During the summer the population dwindles as not everyone can endure 100°+ days. This community is featured prominently in the book and film Into The Wild. I liked looking around, but we didn’t linger because I didn’t like the idea of violating anyone’s privacy.

After Slab City, we headed north a little more until we reached the Salton Sea. The area we found appeared as if at one time it had been a boating ramp with camping stations around it, but now the buildings have collapsed, the ramp is a memory, and the water stagnant. Instead of sand, we walked on the strangest ground made up of crushed fish bones. The Border Control officer we encountered was puzzled as to why we were visiting there. I was a little, too. It was kind of creepy! We took a lot of photos then headed to our hotel and dinner.

Salton Sea, CA

California desert trip

The next morning we headed back since I had to be at work after lunch. The trip overall was very brief but unlike one I have ever taken before! The desert is such a haunting, isolated place.

Most photos by me, with a select few by Angela.

Where Next?

Traveling to Kansas a couple of weeks ago made me realize that aside from trips to Temecula to say overnight at my parents’ house, we really haven’t gone anywhere since we moved here! No wonder I have been feeling so antsy. I need to see a new city!

When we got married we made a plan to visit somewhere cool for each anniversary. Traveling and having new experiences is simply a priority for us! For our first anniversary we visited St. Louis and last year we took an epic Europe vacation!

Where should we go this year? With our anniversary in just a few short weeks, we’re thinking of places to visit that aren’t very far from home, so a quick two or three day trip can be squeezed in.

First choice is a place that it seems like every blogger has gone to recently–Palm Springs! It seems like the place to be is the Ace Hotel, but that’s much too pricey–right now, anyway–and I found a couple of steals on priceline.com for places just as cool, like The Saguaro, recently documented by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess.

Secondly, last year’s West Elm catalogs and various articles in Sunset make me want to go glamping (glamorous camping) …possibly in a cabin or a yurt at Big Sur? I love the great outdoors–especially forests–but I’ve never been much of a camper… we don’t own a tent and I think we only have one sleeping bag between the two of us, so a luxurious cabin with a real bed seems like my style of camping.

Many So Cal people take advantage of our proximity to Las Vegas for a quick getaway–stay somewhere cool, gawk at the interiors of each strip hotel, shop, take in a show–eat sushi unreasonably late, etc. It seems like every time I turn around I hear of someone gearing up for a Vegas weekend or just getting back from one!

Lastly, it would be really neat to fly up to Portland, if we found a steal of a ticket. With a few friends in/near Portland, we could see friendly faces, check out all the must-see stores and restaurants, and reenact our favorites scenes from Portlandia.

*All photos used under Creative Commons. 
Click to be taken to photographer's gallery.

Like this? Share!

Like this? Share!

Like this? Share!