Vacation 2013

After a grueling drive yesterday, we finally made it home from our week in Palm Springs!  I've spent most of today sitting on my butt trying to recover...you know, from sitting on my butt all day yesterday.  Anyway, while I'm just sitting here I thought I'd post about our vacation...

If I were to sum up the extent of our trip in one word it would be "HOT".  It was bloody hot in Palm Springs, but we made the best of it!  The trick was to stay in the room during the heat of the day (we watched a lot of House Hunters) and only went out in the evening.  The trip to Disneyland and Newport Beach was a welcome respite from the heat, and got us through the last couple days of triple digit temperatures.  

I will do my best to hit the high points, but it’s late and I’m tired so I make no guarantees.  I have also tried to use some of the photos not placed on FB, but there will defiantly be repeats.  Enjoy them!

We began our trek early, 5:30AM early, and were super happy to be on our way!  As you can see from the photos below, some of that enthusiasm dissipated as the hours and desert stretched before us.  

Again, it was hot in Palm Springs…which we knew going into it.  We still managed to venture out and enjoy some of the attractions in the city.  We visited the lovely Marilyn Monroe statue (yes, she's wearing underwear), and went to a mall.  There is one thing I do not understand; why would you build an outdoor mall in the middle of the freaking desert!?!  

"Nailed It"

It was difficult to find places that were inside.  We ended up seeing Despicable Me 2 to escape some of the heat.  I'm still not sure if it was worth it...

It wouldn't be a vacation without a little frozen yogurt

My grandpa and great aunt live in Palm Springs, so I went down with a plan to spend some time with them.  My grandpa took me to dinner one night, and I met up with my great aunt Patti and her husband, Bob for breakfast another day.  It was great seeing them and catching up!  Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures to share.  I forgot my camera when I went with my grandpa, and Patti was the one with the camera at breakfast.  Should I ever see those photos again…I will post them.  

On Tuesday morning we began our adventure to Anaheim.  We had a good time in Disneyland (minus the closure of several awesome rides), grabbed a quick dinner, and checked into our hotel.  Let’s just say that our hotel that night made us oh so grateful for our hotel in Palm Springs.  It. Was. Nasty. 

Wednesday morning we woke up and headed to the beach.  I would have to say that the trip to the beach was the highlight of the trip for me.  I LOVE the ocean, and the weather was perfect!  We played around for a bit and bailed as soon as the sun came out of hiding.

Every Thursday, Palm Springs shuts down the road running through their “downtown” district and hosts a street fair.  There were tons of booths selling food, art, jewelry, etc.  It was really nice walking around without the sun beating down on us.  It was still 96 degrees, but 96 in the dark is much more bearable than 96 in the sun. 

Overall, it was a good trip.  I feel that we lived it up as best we could.  We took advantage of the pool and exercise room (I managed to fit in all of my training runs), and spent enough time in the town to become familiar with the area.  I’m really grateful that I was able to visit with family, but should I return in the future, it will be in December.

I will leave you with this piece of wisdom that was laid on us as we were departing the fine state of California; “Get outta that like elbows and assholes!"