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Palm Springs Morning
Today, we did not have the good fortune to start the morning with a savory continental breakfast. Our Motel 6 did not offer such indulgences. Nevertheless, it was a really great motel, located right in downtown Palm Springs, where all the action happens. If you are looking for a cheap place in a great location, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Where to Stay: Click HERE to see the highest-rated accommodations in Palm Springs on Booking.com. We have filtered out the lower-rated ones for you! Booking.com is our favorite website for finding great places to stay all over the world!
Kids fascinated by the enormous cactus in front of Motel 6 in downtown Palm Springs
I got on my trusty phone, opened Yelp, and found us a nice breakfast restaurant with great reviews and not too many dollar signs. The name of it was Elmer’s Restaurant, and it seemed to be one of the top local favorites. Elmer’s was quite a nice place, casual, and spacious. The food came very quickly, and it was really tasty. I ordered crepes with lingonberries, and devoured them like there was no tomorrow. The kids also polished their plates, and so did hubby.
After breakfast, we drove around town a little bit, making a couple of stops. One was at CVS so hubby could buy sunscreen, another one in the middle of a random street so I could pose for a picture with palm trees.
I just had to stop on this random residential street and pose with my beloved palm trees
Palm Canyon Drive
Next, we decided it would be nice to park somewhere near downtown, and explore Palm Springs some more. Finding a parking spot wasn’t a huge ordeal, probably because most places didn’t open until about 11:00 am, as we found out. It’s either that, or the fact that it was a toasty 96 degrees outside…who knows. So, we walked up and down Palm Canyon Drive, staying as much as possible in the shade.
Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs lined with hip palm trees that look like they are wearing fur coats
There were also mist-spraying pipes attached to the roof edges of many businesses to help resuscitate the woozy pedestrians. Our kids kept trying to reach for the mist while screaming and laughing, and nearly crashed into several people. I was prepared that I would have to deny knowing them sooner or later.
Kids goofing around in front of the mist-dispensing pipes in downtown Palm Springs
Enjoying the cool sprinkles from a small fountain in downtown Palm Springs
Searching for Lucy
We continued walking around downtown mostly drenched in sweat and a little mist. I had read somewhere that there was a statue of Lucille Ball from “I love Lucy”, and being a fan of the show, I had my mind set on finding it. After refreshing ourselves with passion teas from Starbucks and making another stop for ice cream, we did manage to locate the Lucille Ball statue. Even though it didn’t look exactly like Lucy, it was good enough for a few photos.
I think this is the best angle…It almost looks like the Lucy we love
Lucy and I
As we continued our stroll along Palm Canyon Drive, we noticed that more and more people were starting to come out. It was getting closer to lunchtime, and even though temperatures were rising, people seemed to be having a sizzling good time.
Beautiful storefront facades on Palm Canyon Drive
Another cute place in downtown Palm Springs
Wacky But Healthy Lunch
We decided it was time for lunch, and chose a place called Raw Remedy Organic Juice & Raw Food Bar. Yup, it’s a mouthful, but sounded so alternative and healthy. I admit, I didn’t really consider what the kids would eat there. I guess I subconsciously figured we would find something. We ended up ordering a nice salad for hubby, green smoothie bowl topped with oats and fruit for me, and some wacky vegan tacos for the kids. These tacos were made with dehydrated corn shells, vegetarian taco meat, cashew sour cream, and cashew cheese to name a few of the ingredients. They ended up being a little too nutty for the kids, but I sure enjoyed them; and the kids ended up devouring my green smoothie bowl, and a berry smoothie on the side. So, we managed!
The food that we ordered at the Raw Remedy Organic Juice & Raw Food Bar: Top left-green smoothie bowl with oats, berries, and bananas, top right-veggies with cheese and avocado, bottom-vegan tacos
After lunch, we walked back to our car to begin the drive up North to our next destination, Oakhurst, a small town near Yosemite National Park. The kids came up with the idea that the palm trees in downtown looked like they were wearing fur coats. This is because the older, dry leaves were left to hang down, and they were evened out at the bottom. We all thought these were some really hip, funky-looking palm trees.
Last picture in Palm Springs right before the drive to Oakhurst
On the Road to Oakhurst and Yosemite
We got in the car, and waved goodbye to beautiful Palm Springs. As we exited town, we saw a gigantic wind farm, which made us happy. Actually, every solar panel or windmill we see makes us happy because it means clean energy, and we care a great deal about the future of our planet. Unfortunately, our excitement was short-lived because as soon as we passed the wind farm, we got stuck in LA traffic. Even though we were driving around LA, rather than through it, we were close enough to still enjoy cruising at 5 miles an hour or less among thousands of other cars.
Oakhust, California: First AirBnb Experience
After some time, we managed to get out of this traffic nightmare, and little by little we began seeing more golden hills, and fewer cars. We arrived in Oakhurst around 7:00 pm. Since everyone was hungry, we stopped by a pizza place for dinner. After we ate more than we should have, we drove to the house where we were going to stay. I had rented for us a couple of rooms through AirBnb. It was our very first experience with this service, and we were hoping it would be a good one.
HOTELS: Click HERE to see the highest-rated accommodations near Yosemite National Park on Booking.com. We have filtered out the lower-rated ones for you!
Our host Julie greeted us at the door of her house, and showed us to our bedrooms: one for us, and one for the kids. This was going to be our home for the next 4 days. Julie’s welcoming personality came through right away, and we knew our stay with her was going to be great! After unloading the car, we quickly managed to get to bed and go to sleep. Our four-day Yosemite adventure was about to begin early on the following morning.
Join us again for a visit to Yosemite Valley on our first day in Yosemite National Park.
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2 comments
Luv, luv, luv the wonderful story so far.
Thanks so much! Come back anytime, and read some more! 🙂