March 15, 2018

Mama/Daughter Trip to Palm Springs: Part 1


 
A couple of weeks ago, my mom, sister and I took a girls trip to Palm Springs, CA! My mom turned 60 last summer, and so we thought the perfect gift would be that of travel and time together, especially since my sister lives in Denver!  So, we planned and plotted for a couple of months, booked and then waited for our trip to come. 

I was really excited to escape the Kansas City winter and grey skies, trading them for blue skies, palm trees and mountains.  We wanted to go somewhere that we could eat good food, get some sun and be active! Palm Springs (and surrounding areas) was just that for us - and we did it all in our 4 day/3 night trip!  There is way to much to include in just one post, so today is the first two days and night of our trip.

We stayed our first night at a Airbnb near Joshua Tree National Park, called the Coyote House - technically in Yucca Valley. We wanted to spend the next morning hiking in Joshua Tree, which is about 45 minutes from Palm Springs, so this allowed for a different experience and to get a head start without a long commute.

The Coyote House:
{my mama!}

Plus the house was so cute, complete with a wonderful hot tub!  After flying into Ontario, CA that morning, renting a car and driving to Palm Springs to eat and walk around a bit - we then spent the afternoon in that hot tub after we checked into the home. It was super relaxing before heading back to Palm Springs for a really amazing dinner and experience.

The Barn Kitchen is at the Sparrows Lodge and it's a pre-fixed menu for a limited amount of guests, where you sit a community tables. It was really fun to talk to new people, and the food was so amazing. The experience itself was wonderful, too, complete with champaign upon walk in, fire pit until dinner and a 4-course meal + drinks.  You have to get reservations - and apparently spots fill up fast!

 The next morning we drove into Joshua Tree National Park - entering another world it felt like. Never have I seen so many cacti, and all the Joshua trees are so Dr. Seuss -like, I loved them!

We hiked Ryan Mountain Trail - which was about 1.5 miles up to a wonderful view (worth the work to get there!) and then back down for almost 3 mile roundtrip hike. It was a great leg workout! We also stopped by the Cholla Cactus Garden to explore all the Joshua Trees more up close and personal.  Both great places to explore, hike and spend the morning/day.

Here are our photos from our morning at Joshua Tree:

 After our hike and morning outside, we headed back to Palm Springs - this time for good - and straight to Ace Feel Good Spa for services. I had the Palm Springs Peel facial, and it was wonderful - with mini-massage, too.  After, our services, we hung out at the pool with margaritas before heading to check into our hotel at The Saguaro.


Our second dinner was also amazing (the food every where was just so good!). We hit up James Beard Winning restaurant, Workshop Kitchen + Bar.  This places was sooo cool. Outfitted in booths divided by concrete and long hanging lights, I felt like I was definitely somewhere new. The food and drinks were equally amazing.


...and these were just the first two days/one night of our trip! We were already having so much fun. Part 2 coming next, in the meantime, here are some of the clothing pieces worn in this post:



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