Palm Springs

The first weekend in December we joined my mom at a conference just outside Palm Springs at the La Quinta Resort & Club.

It proved to be a wonderfully relaxing weekend. The resort features 200 some pools and hot tubs that were all set at the perfect temperature for the chilly weather the Santa Anna Winds had blown into Palm Springs.

Friday we checked out the resort making good use of the gym and walking trails, the pools and the small basketball court just behind the waterfall. The afternoon found us all in a rousing croquet match (which I won!). We stuck to the property for dinner trying out Twenty6. Twenty6 features a menu reminiscent of a dinner - they even have a meal that comes out on a divided TV tray. Don't be confused this place produces gourmet food. They also offered a wide selection of specialty non-alcoholic drinks such as the no-hijto - which somehow tasted just like the real thing!


Saturday I started the day at the Spa La Quinta for a pre-natal massage. It was one of the most relaxing places ever with a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces to be enjoyed between treatments.

After grabbing lunch at Louise's Pantry, a little cafe just outside the LaQuinta Resorts gates we headed into downtown Palm Springs for a performance of the Nutcracker at the Palm Springs Art Museum. The Desert Dance Company has been perofrming the Nutcracker in Palm Springs for 15 years. It is a strange mix of professional ballet and dance recital. There were several stunning performances and several equally as disastrous ones. There is also the introduction of a new "french maid" character in the opening scene which just got everything off on the wrong note. Regardless, it was a fun holiday activity.

The 3pm show ended just in time for us to catch the start of the Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade. The parade is three hours of Christmas lit cars, balloons and local bands marching the mile long main drag. We were fortunate enough to have dinner reservations at a place we could see the parade from - by the time desert arrived the final lit snow plow was making its way down the road.


Sunday we went to early chuch at St Francis of Assisi Church, grabbed coffee and a bagel at Panera and then drove my mom to the Ontario airport.

Just after dropping her off, we stopped for gas and our car battery died. Fortunately there was an auto-zone across the street and a Cronic Taco in the plaza. Before the tow truck could arrive we had the battery replaced, we were fed and back on our way home. Just another road trip adventure I suppose!


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