palm spraaaangzzz: weekend in the land of bachelorette parties and gays

I read on one of those "Things To Do Before..." lists (and the internet is full of them) that you should vacation with friends at least once in your life and I couldn't agree more. I can't speak on what it's like to vacation with a spouse but I am almost certain you do not need to have been married to know it is not the same experience as vacationing with close friends. The best part about vacationing with friends is when you've reached the inevitable-- that you've had too much of each other in close quarters-- you go your separate ways at the end of the trip and take with you memories you'll forever refer to in conversations and social media.

Here are some photos from a short trip to Palm Springs with Bethany and Molly, who happen to be my favorite travel friends. The last time we took an actual vacation together was probably our trip to New York, which to this day has been one of the most fun trips of my life.


We stayed at the Riviera Resort and Spa (recommended on the Design Sponge Palm Springs City Guide. By the way, Design Sponge has the best city guides and they haven't failed me yet! I reference the San Diego city guide a lot whenever I visit that city).

Here we are "Mad Men-ing" it up. The hotel and Palm Springs itself is a mid-century modern lover's heaven. The city and the resorts do a fantastic job of exuding the days of old Hollywood when Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe frequented the desert city.

There's not much going on in Palm Springs except pool-side sunbathing and golfing, plus when it's 108 degrees out, there's no where else to be than by the pool. The Riviera has two pools, the main "cool" pool with all the hip people (bachelorettes, douche bags, old men trying to get young chicks) and the family friendly pool which is pretty much empty.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tram was on our itinerary and here's a tip, when they offer you to take a bus from the parking lot-- take the damn bus. Don't be judge-y and think you can walk to the base of the tram because it looks so close because it turns out to be a steep walk in very thin air. You will never feel so out of shape walking a distance of two blocks in your entire life.

Those are smiles on our faces but we're wishing we had some Xanax because once you're on the gondola/tram you realize you are dangling 8,000 feet above the ground on a cable. Then you start to trip out about how that cable can hold all of these people inside the gondola and you wonder why they do it by the amount of people and not by weight because I am totally cool with my fat ass being on the gondola with few people as long as my weight is supported. It was a long 10-15 minute ride.

You can calm your nerves by getting drunk at high altitude at the restaurant/bar. Apparently people go hiking and do outdoorsy things once they reach the top. 

You can't leave Palm Springs without taking the in-between Marilyn Monroe's legs photo-op (photo-bombed by some woman on her cell phone. She was so distracted by her call she didn't notice her son getting irritated with her trying to take her photo).*

Happy vacationing!

*I think the Marilyn Monroe statue will be moved by the end of June and will be moved to another city. She was in Chicago prior to Palm Springs.

**Another place I highly recommend in Palm Springs is Rick's Desert Grill and its sister breakfast restaurant Ricks Restaurant. It doesn't look like much but the food is amazing for diner type food. Get the lechon (pulled pork) and a date shake for breakfast.