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.

vd week (posted a month late)

There really is no way to write a post (or more like a criticism) about Valentines Day without coming off like a bitter old maid, albeit that criticism is justified. But here are some thoughts--mostly questions regarding our favorite holiday to hate: 

1.) I'm pretty sure men and women when buying their Valentine a gift take into account whether or not the gift can be Instagrammed, Facebooked or Tweeted.

2. ) If you don't thank or wish your Valentine a Happy VD on a social network for your friends to see, does that mean you don't love them?

3.) If you don't get thanked on social network (for all to see) would you be offended?

4.) Why do people complain about not having a valentine? If you are an adult and you do this, slap yourself and stop acting like a 14-year-old.

With that said, here are photos from my Valentines Day week in SoCal where I was traveling for work. I saw friends, had some local craft beer, took a VD selfie, ordered room service and even got a kiss (from a dog). Overall it was a great week.

monterey peninsula

My work sent me on a (very long) two days to Monterey and like all work trips, I made the most of it. Monterey is about three hours southwest of Sacramento. 

I don't initially look forward to long drives but once I'm on the road I always find a new appreciation for California's expansive and diverse landscape. On my route from Sacramento to Monterey, I passed through Silicon Valley, where I saw a Lexus Google satellite car (presumably one of those self driving ones), the abundant agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley invoking imagery from Steinbeck's East of Eden and finally the Monterey Bay coast, which after three hours of driving felt like a breath of fresh air. I live in the valley where the only body of water I have easy access to is a river so, when I see the ocean, I perk up with excitement. Every. Time. 

This is the furthest I've driven my car, unlike my previous car (may it rest in peace) that I only had for 3 years but put tens of thousands of miles going up and down, left and right of California multiple times. 

A trip to the Monterey Peninsula is not complete without visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea (the official name) and you cannot resist its charm. I want to be one of the old rich people who live in this beautiful town that’s filled with expensive stores and quaint art galleries. I would have to be old and rich to live here otherwise a fun single woman in her thirties will shrivel up and die of having to go to bed early because everything closes early, the lack of interaction with people under the age of 50 and the lack of seeing men we might be remotely attractive to and having other young people who act like a drunken fool so you don't look so bad—all the essentials of a healthy thirties life. 

Downtown Monterey at night.

When I took this shameless “selfie”, some psychological fear briefly reared its ugly head and said to me, “This is how it’s going to be for the rest of your life, traveling alone and you’ll have to take “selfies” to get any photos of yourself on your vacations.” Then I killed that thought--killed it good with booze positive thoughts.

Whenever I visit a city, I always try to eat at a place that is specific to the city. In Monterey, I went to Restaurant 1833, a James Beard award nominee for best new restaurant in 2012. Because I'm a sucker for things that say "nominated for", I had to go. The restaurant is the historic Stokes Adobe and you can dine in various rooms (e.g. the living room, the loft, the library, etc.).

Of course, I had to visit Monterey's only brewery, which was conveniently located at my hotel! (The Portola). Peter B's only serves their beer. I had their IPA and an artichoke grown in the Salinas Valley. I enjoyed the beer, the artichoke not so much. It turns out I only like marinated artichokes.

While we are on the subject of food and beer, I've started another blog focused on beer and food. I came up with this idea last week when I was looking for an old blogpost I wrote about a beer and had to sift through dozens of posts just to find it. The blog, called "The Back Pages Beer and Food Blog" (backpagesbeerandfoodblog.blogspot.com) is to function as a log of all of the beers I drink and restaurants worth noting. I can look back on what I liked and didn't like and because I have delusions of grandeur I believe the public should read about what I think. I will post everything I post there to this current blog but likely in a shorten revised form.

explore your city

Sometimes when you've lived in a city practically your entire life it's easy to take it for granted. I recently spent a Saturday morning and afternoon by myself just wandering my city. I stopped at my favorite spot for some coffee and breakfast. I took my time and read for a while before biking to the Crocker Art Museum to see Sacramento native Mel Ramos' art exhibit.

Window views from the museum

A beautiful mess

Playing tourist in your hometown has become one of my favorite ways to get out of the house. I highly recommend you give it a try, it might give you a new appreciation for the city you live in.