February 24, 2012

*I've been trying to work on this post since Saturday {3/31/12} but we had family visiting then Riley got sick with a double ear infection so I have been taking care of him even more because of his fever that seemed to take forever to break. Fevers stress me out and especially hate it when my children get them. Things have quiet down a bit ... and while the little guy is still not one hundred percent I'm making time to blog while he sleeps. The laundry can wait a few more hours. Good thing I'm a night person.*


Tucson gives their students two days off in February calling it "Rodeo Days". The Tucson rodeo is in the top 25 rodeos in the country and draws quite a crowd. It is the only outdoor rodeo among the top twenty five rodeos from mid-September through early May. I love rodeos and everything that goes along with them. Well, I wasn't in the mood to attend it this year. Probably because what the rodeo grounds lack is a family restroom OR better yet, changing tables. It is not really catered to families with infants or toddlers ... and simply putting it I really did not feel like chasing Riley up the metal stands, or people bumping into him as he walked, or have to deal with a crying whiny infant under the hot sun. Doesn't it just sound exhausting? Don't get me wrong ... sometimes I don't mind chasing after my little guy if it's in an open space with no dangers at every bend. I just didn't want to have to do this at a rodeo.
Anyway ... I had mentioned to Jacob months ago that I would like to go to Palm Springs {which is a 5 hr 32 minute drive from where we live} and that it would be a great time to go during Rodeo Days break. Time passed ... I got busy ... a bit lazy ... and had forgotten to plan the Palm Springs trip further. Next thing I know it was the day before Rodeo Days and we were scramming to get all the packing done and calling hotels to reserve a room at the last minute. The good thing was that I had Jacob request Rodeo Days {Thursday & Friday} off since early January so we didn't have to worry about that because whatever we ended up doing I knew that I didn't want to spend this time off at home. The bad news was that we couldn't find a hotel room in Palm Springs or Palm Desert. Not because we waited until the last minute but because there was a professional tennis match taking place in Palm Springs. BUT that didn't stop us from proceeding with our plans ... no siree! We would deal with it once evening came around.

We were out of the house by 9:40 am. The day was sunny ... cloudless in other words dull.
Already driving through Phoenix at 10:45 am. I apologize for the grainy picture ... my windshield was dirty.

It was 71 degrees at 11:00 am. It is slowly warming up here in AZ {not looking forward to 95+ degree weather}. Getting close to Avondale where we stopped for lunch.

Good thing we didn't have any fruit with us. I would have hated for them to confiscate it.

Pretty isn't it? That right there is Palm Desert. Again, sorry for the smudges on the windshield.

Now driving through Palm Springs and heading over to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. I really wanted to take pictures of Palm Springs since I haven't been here in about a decade but we were a bit pressed for time plus that gives me another excuse to visit again and stay at the JW Marriott Resort in Palm Desert, he he. It is such a pretty resort. We've stayed there twice ... a long time ago.

We have arrived! YAY! Throughout the drive Sydna was saying how nervous she was to ride the tram. I was a bit nervous myself because last time I was in it on the way down I got a major but I mean a major headache that almost made me cry. I sure didn't want that to happen again. So I prayed ... and prayed ... and prayed some more.

The parking lot is very slanted as you can see which made it a bit challenging to walk up to the Valley Station. Good thing Jacob offered to push the stroller.☺  ... and that is snow on the mountain tops. 

We purchased our ride and dine tickets and headed to the boarding room. Both Sydna and I were still very nervous.

I did take pictures of the tram we were about to board but the windows were so dirty the picture wasn't coming out clear SO I took a picture of a model so you can at least see what this tram looked like.

Now on the tram ascending ... leaving the valley station behind. Sydna did good, she didn't freak out. Every time the tram passed a cable tower {five total} the tram would rock back and forth. I didn't like the way that felt. This tram model is the largest in the world; only one of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. Cool! and what's neat about this tram is that the cabin floor rotates slowly - twice per trip on ascent and decent so you don't have to try to see between peoples heads ... now that's neat!

The arrow is pointing at the Valley Station we had just left. This is how high the Mountain Station is ... a total of 10,834 ft. I was sure glad to get out of the tram and be on solid ground once again. Heights do give me the creeps.

The temperature up at Mt. San Jacinto State Park was in the low 40's. There was about two inches of snow as well and we were looking forward to playing in it. I was most interested in Riley and of what he would think of the snow.

There's a steep zigzag walkway located at the back of the Mountain Station that leads to Mt. San Jacinto State Park and wilderness area that has 54 miles of trails ... from the novice hiker to the expert hiker. You can even camp here for a $5 fee.

Sydna is cracking up hard here because just moments before this picture was taken Nathan slid down the side of the walkway. It was funny. He always seems to fall whenever we go on outdoorsy outings. Good thing he didn't get hurt.

Since our visit here was last minute I didn't have time to buy Riley snow gloves ... SO as silly as Jacob is he was putting on Nathan's gloves on Riley. Ridiculously big but they did keep his little hands warm.

Our attire was more casual than snow ready. Oh well, we had to make do. Riley managed to take those huge gloves off. He wanted to touch the snow and like any curious infant he put some in his mouth ... once, he didn't care for it much, lol.

Sydna and Nathan playing snowball baseball?

Riley wanting down to play in the snow some more.

Taking a little stroll with Daddy and loving it.

Nathan has forever been climbing things ... especially trees. He did just that.

Jacob and Nathan time. They love being silly and one always ends up getting hurt {sometimes both}. This time it was Jacob. They were playing swords with sticks and Nathan must have swung near Jacobs hand because next thing I know Jacob yelled Oww! and was rubbing his right hand and said "I don't want to play with you anymore" like in Toy Story. It was funny ... I guess you had to be there. Never a dull moment.

It was already past 6:00 pm ... time for dinner. We ate at one of their restaurants. Riley had quite an appetite and was surprised he ate some mac n cheese given that he's such a picky eater.

After we were done eating we walked out to the Desert View Terrace and boy was it ever cold!!! BRRR!! Can't you tell by the way my kids are shrugging their shoulders? lol.

Not very clear I know. It looks so much prettier once it's dark though.

Pretty crescent moon.

One last stop at the gift shop before heading back down ... gotta buy a souvenir. Got myself a coffee mug. I love coffee and I already have a favorite coffee mug I drink from. I continue to buy mugs so any visitors we have over wont use my mug {wink} and I'm also sort of addicted to buying mugs whenever I visit someplace new.

Riley was walking up to complete strangers and smiling. It's cute now but it wont be as he's getting older. I'm gonna have to work extra hard about educating him in stranger danger.

It had been a long day and the little guy has had enough, can't you tell? Waiting for the next tram to arrive so we could descend back to the Valley Station where we parked our car. If you're interested in visiting Palm Springs and want to go to the Aerial Tramway click HERE to take you to their website.

A fun time was had by all. I'm happy we made this trip to Palm Springs. Oh and in case you were wondering if I got a headache as we were descending ... NO I didn't and I was most grateful. Thank You God. He heard my prayer.

Seeing my kids have fun is one of the best things in the world. I don't ever want to get too busy with life and responsibilities and let time pass us by. My goal as a mother is to always be there for my children and to also plan outings that I know they will cherish forever.

We were all cold and a bit tired but we still needed a place to stay. Jacob then came up with a brilliant idea. He said, "well since San Diego is only two hours away why don't we just stay in Poway" {a suburb}. I couldn't believe my ears. We all cheered and we were on our way to beautiful San Diego. Horray!!!

We left Palm Springs at 8:00 pm and arrived in Poway at 10:15 pm. Not that late really. Good thing Jacob gets reduced rates at the Springhill Suites by Marriott through his work so we got a nice clean room for a very good price.

Once inside our room Riley began exploring the place ... opening every door, fridge, bathroom, and laid on both beds {with my help of course}. Sydna had brought her laptop and didn't hesitate to check on her social sites. Nathan immediately put on cartoons. Jacob had gone to Wendy's which was just next to the hotel to buy frostys and fries while I unpacked our pijamas and tended to the little guy.

It felt so good to be back in San Diego ... Poway. We miss home. We were all tired and now that we had relaxed a bit it was time to go to sleep. I couldn't wait for the following day. A trip to the beach! ... a casual one of course.