Palm Desert: Day 3

Sunday morning after the guys played tennis, we all headed out to the JW Marriott. I remember visiting the hotel with my grandparents during my first trip down when I was 13. It's still a pretty fancy place, and also was the setting for the Saved By the Bell episode when Jessie's dad gets married. These are the kinds of things I remember.

As you first drive up to the lobby entrance, there's a pond with pink flamingos. So tropical. We parked and headed inside to take a look around.

pool area

Inside they have a huge lagoon that surrounds the inside and outside of the hotel with boats that will transport you around.

They also have quite a few bird cages down by the lagoon. Some were better behaved than others and actually posed for photographs.

pretty bird

a tucanette

After the Marriott, it was off to In-N-Out to beat the lunch crowd. We ended up lucking out with a great parking spot and getting in line just before the rush. In-N-Out is one of my favorites and a must have when in SoCal.

oh my yum

After a meal like that, we needed to work it off, so we set out for a hike at the Joshua Tree National Park in the desert. The park was gorgeous, and I never actually knew what a Joshua tree was. Was there one big tree called Joshua, or was it a type of tree? In my disappointment, it turned out to be the latter...never did find the Joshua Tree.

We entered the park and drove up the windy road pulling over a few times to get some pictures.

A picture for Clint so he could learn all about granite.

rock climber, scary

We parked at a campsite and did some hiking around. The weather was much cooler being up higher, which was a nice break from the upper 90 degree weather that day. We had fun climbing the rocks and checking out the beautiful scenery.

photo bomber

cool rocks all in a line

Mom and me

2 panoramic photos I stitched together in Photoshop to get a 360° view

After our hike, we treated ourselves with, what else, frozen yogurt. Then it was back to the condo, and out for another ride in the cart. You can see we started to get a routine going.

came across this sign on the way home,
my Aunt Sara the water boarder

We came back and bbq'd a delicious dinner of pork tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, asparagus, and the best part...chocolate pie for dessert. After dinner, we sat around and looked through some old photo albums. Papa gave me a few to bring home from when I was first born, fun to look at. Then it was off to bed after a busy day.