Palm Springs: Don Draper, Date Shakes, and Desert

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Palm Springs, California. The place might make you think of Bob Hope surrounded by palm trees in a desert. Or you might think of white sand beaches– isn’t there a Palm Springs in Florida? (Yes, but I avoid Florida at all costs). It may seem like a curious destination for a group of 30 y.o.-ish ladies and one very handsome gentlemen go to celebrate the impending wedding of our favorite bachelorette, Christina. But we wanted somewhere warm, with some kind of body of water (a backyard pool will definitely do!), that wasn’t too complicated to get to for a weekend trip, and would be relaxing. Florida was out (see above), flights to the Caribbean were too expensive, LA and San Diego wouldn’t be relaxing enough, and Sedona would have been beautiful but we’re more mid-century mod than crystals and vortexes (vorti? I don’t need to know the answer to that).

Wind Farms Near Palm Springs

So we found ourselves in a rental car driving from LAX to Palm Springs (about 120 miles), where the scenery goes from smog, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and In-N-Out signs set high above the highway interchanges to wind farms and desolate mountain ranges (don’t worry, we definitely stopped to eat Animal Style burgers well before 11 am). I’d been out to this area four times before for the Coachella Valley Music Festival, but I’d never actually been to Palm Springs on any of those trips. We had opted for a Don Draper-esque rental house over staying at the infamous Ace Hotel, and did not regret that decision one bit. The house was spacious, simply but elegantly furnished, and retained its 1950s kitchen with original stove (but luckily not original blender).

Backyard at Dusk

 

The backyard was the real highlight though: wide, with a pool that actually went deeper than 3 feet (us city folk don’t usually get to dunk our heads in any of those rooftop condo ‘pools’), and multiple citrus trees, providing us unlimited fresh grapefruit and orange juice for our jalapeno margaritas, as well as a few of the MOST DELICIOUS TANGERINES I HAVE EVER TASTED. When the sun began to set and the temperature dropped, there was a hot tub from which we had a perfect view of the San Jacinto Mountains that border Palm Springs to the west.

The Bride-To-Be Fetching Grapefruits

The town’s population is an interesting mix. There are of course retirees (as in any area that’s warm and sprinkled with citrus trees and golf courses), as well as a healthy older gay population that seems to flock there from LA on the weekends to enjoy some fresher air and quiet. The main drag, Palm Canyon Drive, is a mecca for mid-century mod aficionados and design geeks. If money was no object, I’d easily be able to furnish my entire house from a 5-block stretch of home stores. Palm Springs’ good taste in home furnishings was confirmed when we happened to walk by a store selling my father’s Solair Chair, a colorful plastic backyard piece that he and his business partner designed in Montreal in the early 70s. The chair is popular in the US and Canada, but I’d never actually seen it in a store (it’s mostly sold in Quebec and New England), and coming across it left me with an overwhelming sense of pride and happiness.

Stumbling Across My Dad’s Solair Chairs

Just an hour away is the otherworldly Joshua Tree National Park, with its classic desert landscape, including plenty of the eponymous trees, mountains, and crazy rock formations (and some amazing climbing opportunities). We did an easy 7 mile hike in the northern part of the park, which was a great way to see the varying landscape of this area.

Joshua Tree National Park Panorama
Chris and Amy with a Joshua Tree

Back to the reason we had flown across the country: to celebrate Chris’ final weeks as a bachelorette, and celebrate we did! We consumed copious amounts of homemade guacamole by the pool, grabbed a grapefruit off the tree whenever we needed a snack, ate some delicious dinners, including some of the yummiest pizza I’ve ever had in the US, and plotted how we could stay in our beautiful backyard forever. Oh and did I mention the date milkshakes? Life changing. Palm Springs’ nightlife isn’t exactly going to surpass NYC’s or LA’s anytime soon, but we found a townie karaoke bar and a divey seafood spot where oyster shooters are the star on the menu– and let’s be honest, does anyone really need more than that? It’s no surprise the town was filled with bachelorette parties; it’s the perfect place to relax, enjoy the California sun, and pretend that it’s totally natural to have a swimming pool and green lawn in the middle of a desert! We’ll be back for those delicious tangerines, and it’s not going to be pretty for that poor tree. Thank you Chris, for giving us an excellent excuse to experience Palm Springs!

Group Shot at Birba

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Pro Tips:

  • Get a date shake and one of the many fruit orchards, such as Hadley’s
  • Eat the amazing pizza at Birba, and don’t skip dessert!
  • Get oyster shooters and fish tacos at Shanghai Red’s
  • Have brunch at King’s Highway, next to the Ace Hotel
  • Palm Springs is about a 2.5 hour drive from LAX, which is often cheaper to fly into than PSP
  • Rental houses can be found on vrbo,com and many other sites, or stay at the Ace if you want a 24-hour hipster pool party (you can also buy a day pass to the pool there)

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