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. :)