My aunt and uncle purchased a house in Palm Desert about five years ago. We just have not been coordinated enough to get down to visit them while they are there (they winter bird there, and spend the other half of the year in WA state). Finally, we made the trip! Unfortunately, we made the mistake of driving down at the same time as the Coachella festival. Because of this, we ended up having to add three hours EACH WAY of our drive.
First stop was to pick up the world famous split pea soup at Andersen’s. They are one of those legendary places that people have on their bucket list. We wanted to keep on the road, so we took it to go and drank the soup while driving. It was a treat and we all enjoyed it.
When we got to Pasadena, we stopped at a Trader Joe’s to pick up a healthy lunch, yet stay on the road. On the way out, we discovered that we were in the original Trader Joe’s! Here is a picture with my gang in front of the sign…
From Pasadena to La Quinta, what should have been a 45 minute drive, turned into 3 hours! This Coachella festival is apparently huge and draws many L.A. peeps. We made it to my aunt and uncle’s early evening. The boys took a plunge in the pool, and my aunt treated us to an amazing dinner, (she always does…)
After a good and early night sleep, we took off the next day to take a tram ride in Palm Springs. It goes up 8500 feet! There are only two trams like this in the whole world. It has a rotating floor so everyone has an equal opportunity for ascending/descending views…gorgeous!!! We hiked at the top for 1.5 miles, then had lunch at the nicer restaurant up there.
After a full day there, we headed for home, then enjoyed another wonderful meal by Annie.
Sunday, we went to service with them, then relaxed at home a little, then went and saw the movie, “McFarland, USA”. This is an incredible film. One worth watching over and over. My uncle said he was going to buy it, and he does not buy movies! Dinner at Red Robin after, then some more pool time. We left early the next day. Too short, but soon sweet!