Travel Diary: Palm Desert

Palm Desert- what a great trip. Where do I even begin? I guess we can start with the journey down to the desert, which turned out to be every traveler’s nightmare. Justine and I were supposed to fly through Chicago, but thanks to a large snowstorm in the midwest, our flight was canceled and we had to be rerouted through Denver. Of course, that flight was then canceled and we were rebooked again. To make a long story short (you should totally read Justine’s long version though, if you want a good chuckle), we still missed the Palm Springs connection and had to overnight in Denver. With no luggage. Blah! On the bright side however, we did make two new friends along the way, Eva and Len, who commiserated with us during this air travel fiasco. They too were on the same journey to the desert. At one point, the four of us were going to reroute our flights to LAX and drive from there to Palm Springs together! But thankfully, we were able to fly right into the beautiful, open air Palm Springs airport in the end. Whew!

From Denver to Palm Springs, we got enjoy some spectacular views, like this one, flying over the Grand Canyon. It was all uphill from here!

Finally in the desert, it all seemed like a dream:

The first day was spent at the pool, obviously. I’m wearing Bather Trunk Co swim shorts and TOMS sunglasses:

We couldn’t go to Palm Desert/ Palm Springs without visiting the Parker Palm Springs!

And you don’t go to California and not stop at In-N-Out Burger at least once:

We did a day trip out to Pioneertown one of the days. It’s cool little spot that used to be an old Hollywood movie set for Western films:

Posing in the “saloon”:

Just past Pioneertown there are some fantastic hiking trails, which we ventured out on with my aunt and uncle, and their dog, Santos:

For our day of exploration, I was wearing: Pull-In T-shirt, Topman sweatshirt, J.Crew shorts, Reebok shoes, TOMS sunglasses, Lacoste watch.

Later that day, we continued onward to Joshua Tree. The park is quite amazing, featuring large, eroded volcanic rock formations and of course, the famous and funny-looking Joshua Trees:

What I was wearing: Frank & Oak shirt, J.Crew shorts, J.Crew shoes, Daniel Wellington watch, Topman suede jacket

My daily morning fuel of coffee and fresh berries. The berries in California were so good!

Tennis anyone? Checking out the club courts:

What I was wearing: Lacoste polo, J.Crew shorts, Adidas shoes, TOMS sunglasses, Lacoste watch.

Some of the best days were spent just relaxing by the pool, with temperatures rising above 90°F in the afternoon. Everyone was happy, including Santos, who we coaxed into the pool as well.

We took a walk through the Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Beautiful grounds and outdoor art!

Later that evening, we went to El Paseo. The posh street is home to many beautiful stores and restaurants. Earlier in the week, we enjoyed a dinner at Daily Grill on El Paseo with Eva and Len, our new travel friends! It was dark the first time we went out on El Paseo, so we returned for a second time around and fortunately captured a nice sunset.

What I was wearing: Topman suede jacket, BOGA T-shirt, H&M jeans (similar here), Adidas shoes, TOMS sunglasses, Daniel Wellington watch

Farewell breakfast at Keedy’s – best pancakes in the desert!

I hope you enjoyed my Palm Desert travel diary! We took lots of video footage during our trip too, so keep an eye out for that soon.

Photos taken by myself, Justine Iaboni and my aunt Rowena!