Our trip to Palm Springs was the result of a last minute cancellation of a trip scheduled for Mexico. A hurricane hit the area surrounding the resort where we were supposed to stay and, with flights grounded and tourists stranded, we opted to change our destination. With only two weeks to plan, our options were limited and Palm Springs sounded like as good a place as any to spend our anniversary.
We were fortunate enough to have planned our trip through RCI, a timeshare owners' organization where you can trade your timeshare weeks for different destinations. My mom had given us a gift of the use of her timeshare week for our anniversary, which is likely the reason it was so easy to change our destination, so at least we had that going for us.
There weren't a ton of options available to us and we wound up staying at the Lawrence Welk Resort, a place we were concerned would be filled with older guests and handicap accessible units. We were pleasantly surprised to find the resort was beautiful, had an amazing pool area and was not at all crowded due to our traveling during the off-season. The resort was surrounded by a golf course, giving us a beautiful view from our balcony.
Once we checked in, we grabbed every flier available to see what we could come up with for activities for the week. The extensive list of options was a bit overwhelming, but we managed to narrow it down and came up with some great plans.
First on our list was the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. This rotating tramcar takes you up the side of a mountain for a spectacular view of Palm Springs and the surrounding desert. With a restaurant at the top (8,516 feet up), we imagined watching the sunset while we dined. Sadly, we boarded the tram far too late to catch the sunset and, by the time we made it to the top, the sun had set and our gorgeous view was of nothing more than the amazing darkness, which was actually pretty cool considering how hard it is to get completely away from city lights these days. Nevertheless, while I might consider this a must-see tourist stop, I suggest skipping the excitement of watching the sunset and stick with an afternoon visit instead.
Next, we decided to try a Jeep tour (I believe we went through Desert Adventures) through the Coachella Valley and Joshua Tree National Park. They loaded 8 of us into an extended jeep and we rode through the desert (and some pretty rough terrain) to see some pretty cool sights and hear all about the history of the area. Our tour guide provided more information than I ever could have imagined wanting to know about a desert, but the ride was very entertaining. That being said, I do not recommend such a tour for anyone that isn't sure they can handle the rough terrain (its a very bumpy ride) and, depending on exactly what you're hoping to see, a Joshua Tree, as it turns out, is actually just a very strange looking tree and, spread out through the desert, they're not really much to look at. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our excursion and the people we met there.
Finally, for our last big adventure, we signed up for a limo tour of Hollywood, including tickets to a taping of the Dr. Phil show. The tour was handled by the resort, so I don't have a link I can provide you with, but if you're in the Palm Springs area, you're sure to find lots of similar tour options in all different price ranges. Ours was not a private tour and we shared our limo with a few other couples (most of which turned out to be pretty lame, so we kept ourselves entertained at each of our stops rather than hanging out with the rest of the group). Our stops included Rodeo Drive, a gorgeous area where I couldn't even imagine entering one of the stores... I would have loved to enjoy my own "Pretty Woman" moment, but our budget wasn't likely to cover the cost of a pair of socks, let alone a shopping spree. We drove through town for a quick peek at the Hollywood sign, visited an open air market with every kind of food you could imagine, and made our way to the Dr. Phil show taping. At the time, it was a show that my husband and I frequently watched, so to be in the audience and experience a more behind-the-scenes view of the show was pretty cool. I imagine many of the show taping options would be equally as entertaining, but I probably would have preferred to be in the audience for an"Oprah's Favorite Things" show :)
In our unscheduled time we did lots of eating and shopping, two things you'll have no trouble finding places for in Palm Springs. And, from what I hear, it's a great place for spotting all kinds of famous people, although we never did see anyone we recognized.
Truth be told, with all of our exciting excursions, we didn't even begin to scratch the surface of all there is to do in Palm Springs. For a more complete list of things to see and do, click here.
Tips & tricks for your vacation:
1. Based on our near disaster with the hurricane in Mexico, I suggest that you always give some consideration to travel insurance, if it is offered. The cost will sometimes outweigh the benefits and, personally, I never pay for it. However, in this situation, if we'd booked this trip on our own, we would have likely had a much more difficult time making last minute changes to our itinerary. It's always worth at least looking into.
2. If you're headed to Palm Springs, do plenty of research ahead of time. There is seriously so much to do there and, particularly if you enjoy tours and excursions, I imagine some of them book pretty quickly and you'll want to make sure you get tickets for anything that you really want to do.
3. Plan to spend some money. Sure, you can have a relaxing week in Palm Springs, but there are some amazing places and, trust me, you'll want to spend some time outside of your resort. Consider splurging on things you might not otherwise spend your money on. Many of the experiences are well worth the extra dough.
No comments:
Post a Comment