Palm Springs, daddio

Right.


Before we start this lovely little tale, put on the Best of The Rat Pack (or something with Sinatra, Davis Jr and Martin et al) on in the background, 'cuz we're going back to a time before hotels became many, many stories high and 'cool' became uncool.


Now, wave your hands over your head and cue the wibbly wobbly, timey wimey effect....

We rolled into Palm Springs after many hours driving through the Mojave Desert, a good chunk of which included that bastion of cool, Route 66.


We had a single stop on our way, at a tiny little Mom 'n Pop restaurant where we had a home-made burger, and some chili and fries.


The first thing that hits you about Palm Springs are the palm trees. They define the place (and give it half it's name). Somewhere there must be some springs too

Then the 26-foot tall Marilyn Monroe figure sidles into view, and you're reminded of it's place in cinema history. This is a place where the Rat Pack would come to relax, where Elvis got married and where numerous dalliances were... dallied.


We got to our hotel, and were transported back to this wonderous time - two stories tall, with a generous pool (and hot-tub sitting next to it). A balcony view of the San Bernadito mountains greeted us with open palms. This was a fantastic place to mark the halfway point of our holiday.


The hotel was good too - a little old-fashioned, but with lovely views and a balcony (for the first time on this whole trip). I loved the balcony, at about 8am the cool/ warm balance was perfect.


We spent the next three days relaxing by the pool, going out to various Indian Canyons and wondering why no bars near our hotel were open after 10pm.


It's a very relaxed place - hot again though... mid-90s most days, which if like me, you're not a big fan of high temperatures, can start to get to you in odd ways.


What also got to me in a big, bad way was altitude sickness. I got a little of twice before on this trip - at the Tioga Pass and at Bishop. We went on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway - a 2 1/2 mile ascent to the top of Mt. San Jacinto (at 10,834 feet high - the highest point on the holiday), with the intent to get a meal at the restaurant there.


It didn't happen. What did happen was 15 minutes of me feeling progressively worse and worse, to the point where I was out of breath and had pins and needles in my hands and feet. Lindsey asked what the best thing to do was... 'get off the mountain' was the answer. Well, duh... I had that figured out pretty quickly.


Which is a huge shame as the views from the top are spectacular. You can see for miles and miles - the whole of Palm Springs is visible below you.


L: It's was a good place to relax and work on my tan! Actually there's more here than just sitting by the pool....  Original Indian Canyons..... walking trails, water falls, hot springs,  spas etc. We stayed 3 days, I reckon you could chill out here for at least 2 weeks before having to repeat things......


We only had 3 days but I loved every minute and would definitely go back for more........