Odds and Ends

A few more tid bits of what to do, to occupy your time in Palm Springs...

Buy funky sunglasses,

Grab a Slurpee,

Drive out to view all the hundreds of windmills, impressively turning in the desert winds.

Get a manicure/pedicure for next to nothing! I mean it was so inexpensive. It was a popular and busy spa too. If you are crazy enough to go to Palm Springs in the summer, there are deals to be had!

AND, for you real thrill seekers, drive South of Palm Springs, almost to the Mexican boarder. Go on a really, really super hot day to get the full effect and check out the mud pots! They are hard to find and when you ask for directions from a worker at a remote and mysterious factory, and they look at you as if you are crazy, then you have found them.

The piece de la resistance, for me, was the fact we were so far south we actually went through a preliminary boarder patrol. The guards were in uniforms and there was even fierce looking dogs! I felt like I was in a movie or it was bad dream. I was brought back to reality when my shirtless son, crying in the back seat over how hot he got looking at the mud, asked when were we going to get him his beer! I just laughed nervously as the guard peered in to our car. (Some background information here would be that we promised him a root beer, if he got out of the car to have a look at the mud pots. It was going to be his first taste of this yummyness.)

What Max is thinking ..."This Root Beer stuff better be good, for this mud pot sucks."

In closing, we, the Beckers, would highly recommend Palm Springs for a get away, if you are looking for warmth and a lot to do.  Here are a few more snaps.

Code Lemon and His Sidekick

A.K.A. Chris and Max had an incident at Soak City today. I was an innocent bystander ( a wife and mother who amusingly watched the situation unfold, knowing full well how it happened. And, it was more fun to stay out of it and watch on.)

All of us were a top of the main water slide area. In one part you had the choice of the blue tube or the open red slide. The kids and Chris were in the line up for the blue, exciting ride. While I, the claustrophobic, was in the line up for the less cool but WIDE open red slide. It is quite painful to wait for a turn. They don't allow ANYONE to go until the previous person is down, out of the water and already on their way back up. It is a lesson in patience.

Amyah's turn came up and she was off like a shot! She is a thrill seeker extraordinaire. She is her father's daughter. Then it was Max's turn. He is becoming a thrill seeker but is always tentative the first time but then that is all it takes.The young lifeguard then told Max to go, and turned his attention back to our red tube line. A girl went and then he kind of turned towards Chris as he said this, so Chris thought it was his turn to go. I did think Max had not been gone long and why was Chris being told to go. It was hot and I was starting to feel delusional!

Then all of a sudden, the lifeguard, shouted "LEMON! I HAVE A LEMON, A CODE LEMON! THE BLUE SLIDE IS SHUT DOWN" (Then there is a low sigh and moan from the waiting masses.) Out of no where appears another lifeguard, perhaps a university student, but with a walkie talkie, so obviously someone higher up in the pecking order. Our lifeguard was frantically telling how this guy went down the blue tube only about 10 seconds after a small kid! He thought it might be his son.  So walkie talkie guy radioed down the description of the two renegades - a small boy in a life jacket and a tall guy in grey swim trunks. A voice over the radio asks if the kid is wearing a BLUE life jacket.

During all this I am quietly waiting with the crowd, not letting on or getting involved. It was entertaining to watch. A rather imposing guy behind, all tatted up good and muscles everywhere, says to his lady friend, "Gooossshhhh this place is strict!"

Soon the red and blue slides are opened again. Only when we find out from the lifeguard below everyone is safe! As I came out off the slide, I half expected to see Chris there, flanked by pimply lifeguards, being questioned. But, no! There was just Chris and the kids wondering why it took me so long to come down!

"What took you so long Mommy?!"

AHHHHHH!!!!!

You're taking the kids to Palm Springs!?

When we first came decided to take a trip to Palm Springs, a few people asked us, "Is Palm Springs really family friendly?" We were so looking forward to warmth and sunshine we had not given it a lot of thought. My answer was, "Well, there is a pool in the back yard, and they can pick a favorite toy to bring, plus a plethora of  books, so I think we will be good." Plus, it is only a three hour flight away!

Surprisingly, over the past few trips, we have seen more and more families on the flights down. It actually is a great family vacation get away! Like I said ,a pool is a must in the desert and it amuses the kids most of a day - really! We have also discovered fun places, and beautiful reserves and parks which surround the Coachella Valley.

 The Living Desert  - a cool zoo with a variety of animals not to mention a HUGE outdoor model train. Chris and Max cannot get enough of it! Plus at Christmas time Santa is there and you can sit on his lap, OUTDOORS!, all very nice and warm. Max & Amyah love the bag of animal crackers Santa passes out to the kids.

Outdoor Model Train

Desert inspired play ground

Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert is a cool place for kids to explore and create. A perfect activity for a cooler day, or a break from the heat.

Palm Springs Air Museum

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is an amazing tram which circles 360 degrees as it moves up the mountain. Another bonus is that it is only about plus 24 at the top -a nice refreshing break from the heat! There are nice trails to hike, from an easy level to more challenging, overnight hikes.

Last summer, we went to a movie theatre for the VERY FIRST TIME as a family, to see "Brave". Checking out a flick in the middle of a hot afternoon was a welcome treat! This summer we saw those adorable girlies and minions in, "Despicable Me 2"

Knott's Soak City  is an absolute blast! There are fun slides, a wave pool, plus a lazy river, all to help you "beat the heat" and have fun. It is a great day outing. The only thing is that is there not a lot of places with shade. If the day is really hot, it can be overwhelming. Also, there is absolutely NO outside food let in, what so ever. They do a thorough search of your bags. I know from personal experience it is thorough because I really, really, really thought I had some granola mix well hidden in my bag! There are places to buy overpriced and "so so" food. However, we are "that family", enjoying our homemade lunch out in the parking lot, eating it quickly because it is hot - no shade there either! We just bring towels, lots of water bottles and sunscreen. Another time, we plan on actually buying a season's pass and go about 3 times over the course of 2 weeks, for only about 3 hours at a time. We think this would be money saving, and you would not feel like you have to spend a whole day just to make your ticket pay.

Kahuna's Beach House! This is a 4-story interactive Family Fun House with water slides, hose jets, water curtains, a 1,000 gallon dropping bucket, and more!!

Chris cooling off under "the bucket"

Kim and the kids coming down "The Surf Rider"

Coolin' off and relaxing in the wave pool.

This gem of an area, Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, is actually pretty cool. It is a group of rather imposing palm trees, in the middle of the desert, along a fault line. An oasis, if you will. Yet another outing that can be a great for cooling off.

 The palms are massive and there is a trail around and through them. You can also do a hike up over looking them, as we did here.

We then take a trail back to the oasis. I do not enjoy this trail at all, if I am honest. If you have a phobia of snakes such as I, a HUGE phobia, then you don't see much other then the ground in front of you. It is also annoying with your family coming up behind you swishing long pieces of grass at your legs. No! I don't like this part much at all.

Once while staying in La Quinta, we discovered a lovely local library. It was the hot spot to be if you were a kid and staying in the area. They had story time, craft time, free movies on Friday, not to mention cool presentations. We saw a quirky lady that actually climbed in to a huge balloon, plus some reptiles from "The Living Desert" made an appearance one afternoon. Since then we always seek out the local library while traveling as usually they offer great programs for kids.

Markets, are always a neat place to find unique treasures from your travels. They often have local ethnic food to try out, plus a great variety of produce from surrounding farms. Here is the Tamlae festival in Indio. The kids enjoyed the play area plus we all tasted tamales for the first time.

A tamale is a corn based dough, which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables.

 There is a huge market in Palm Springs, on the campus of "College of the Desert".  It has everything from produce, to garden gnomes and glittery flip flops to handyman tools!

There are always many parks, with unique playgrounds that have water sprays parks along with them, for FREE! I also find it neat that playgrounds here, sometimes have coverings due to the heat, so that there is shade for the kids.Usually there are tennis courts which Chris enjoys too.

So, YES! Palm Springs is a great family destination. We have had great holidays here and hopefully will continue to do so.

Kids will have fun, where ever, when ever. Here is what happens when you don't closely supervise an almost 5 year old, in a sporting good store!  Oh, and also what they can get up to, in a hardware store too.

We also spend quiet time each day, practicing music, and working on educational things. Some days it is a science experiment or simply workbooks. There is for sure reading everyday, me to them and them to me. We adore books and I am so thrilled by their love of books. Amyah is quite serious about it all. Max, well, while he willingly does it, he is our "class clown". :)

AND, there is always time to get creative! Check out the cool, Crayola paint sets. They felt quite professional with their palettes. :)