We went to California for my cousin's daughters wedding in Santa Monica, and decided to make a vacation out of it. LAX was surprisingly convenient and well marked. Getting a GPS on the rental car is an absolute must in California; and a life saver.
Day 1: Palm Springs was dissapointing. The cable car was closed. The celebrity tours was closed. The Indian desert place was closed. There was nothing to do there. The Plaza Hotel is really a timeshare and it was just fine. We went to Las Casuelas for dinner. The best Mexican food we've had since Cancun. Downtown was quaint but HOT. They have misters by some businesses on the sidewalk to make the walk more bearable. Day 2: Joshua Tree National Park was lovely , stark in contrast. a tru dessert with interesting Joshua Trees and boulders. we really enjoyed our morning there. only 90 minute away, we drove up to Big Bear Lake and the contrast of the green alpine village at 4,000 feet altitude to the desert was amazing. We also went to lake arrowhead village where they have nice restaurants and shops. Day 3: Seqouia National Park is about 5 hours from Palm Springs with a lunch stopover in Riverside and the outlet mall visit to Brighton and Columbia stores. Well worth the drive to get there. Seeing all the produce from olive trees, grapes, watermelon , tomatoes , oranges, pistachios and who knows what else. Fields as far as the eye can see. We got there at 5:30 just in time to go up the mountain and enjoy a magnificent sunset over the seqoias. It was almost a spiritual experience seeing those huge and beautiful trees. Day 4: out
Day 1: Palm Springs was dissapointing. The cable car was closed. The celebrity tours was closed. The Indian desert place was closed. There was nothing to do there. The Plaza Hotel is really a timeshare and it was just fine. We went to Las Casuelas for dinner. The best Mexican food we've had since Cancun. Downtown was quaint but HOT. They have misters by some businesses on the sidewalk to make the walk more bearable.
Day 2: Joshua Tree National Park was lovely , stark in contrast. a tru dessert with interesting Joshua Trees and boulders. we really enjoyed our morning there. only 90 minute away, we drove up to Big Bear Lake and the contrast of the green alpine village at 4,000 feet altitude to the desert was amazing. We also went to lake arrowhead village where they have nice restaurants and shops.
Day 3: Seqouia National Park is about 5 hours from Palm Springs with a lunch stopover in Riverside and the outlet mall visit to Brighton and Columbia stores. Well worth the drive to get there. Seeing all the produce from olive trees, grapes, watermelon , tomatoes , oranges, pistachios and who knows what else. Fields as far as the eye can see. We got there at 5:30 just in time to go up the mountain and enjoy a magnificent sunset over the seqoias. It was almost a spiritual experience seeing those huge and beautiful trees.
Day 4: out