I haven’t been to an actual zoo in years. Last year while we were in West Palm Beach, FL we spent two days at Lion Country Safari & it was absolutely amazing. We had beautiful, massive giraffes, ostriches, & a bunch of other species of African born animals walked right past our car. So when Chris’s mom suggested we stop at the Santa Barbara Zoo on our way to El Capitan Canyon last month I was game.
Category Archives: Travel Tips
El Capitan Canyon Glamping
If you follow me on my Instagram, you know we have been all over the place last weekend. We started Thursday night up in LA at Chris’s family’s house. Then Friday morning we headed up to the Santa Barbara area to have a weekend full of glamping & exploring. We spent Friday at the Santa Barbara Zoo & I can honestly say I don’t know the last time I went to a zoo. It was so much fun! But more about the zoo next week.
Staycation at Grand Californian
Well we are officially moved out of our one bedroom apartment. It’s amazing what an extra 200 square feet & a more useful layout can do to your organizational skills. Well last week we picked up our new keys on Wednesday after work, moved all night Friday night, & by Saturday afternoon we were drinking margaritas at Disney’s California Adventure before riding Soarin’ Over California.
What, didn’t see that coming? Let me explain.
Top Gun on Top of Hollywood
A lot of changes have been happening since we got engaged. The same day Chris popped the big question I had a phone interview with a travel agency. And now as of week ago, I have a new 9-5 job. I get up at the same time every day, no more 4 am shifts, & most importantly, no more spending the entire weekend at work. On top of that, this week we are moving a bigger apartment, so it’s been a lot of change all within the past 6 weeks.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
A few weeks ago, on one of my rare Saturdays off, we headed out to Palm Springs to do a little sightseeing. I haven’t really explored too much of the Palm Springs area besides for when we have gone to Stagecoach… & well, does that really count?? So since it isn’t bloody hot out in the desert yet, we decided to make a day of it & see the sights.
So we got up early & headed out to the dessert. We packed a little lunch & before we actually got out there, we stopped at the outlets. Probably not the best idea since we ended up shopping around for two and a half hours. Oopps. So around 3, when we finally made it to downtown Palm Springs, it was defiantly time for a cocktail.
We stopped at a little Mexican restaurant right in the heart of Palm Springs. Maracas is on the corner of Palm Canyon Drive & Arenas Road & let me tell you, they don’t mess around when it comes to their margaritas or their ceviche. After eating splitting the amazing appetizer & finishing our drinks (mine being a frozen strawberry margarita, the size of my head) we headed toward the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to see the city from above.
Chris & I knew we wanted to get to the tramway before dark so we could see the view during the day & at night. It was absolutely beautiful. Once we paid the $5 parking fee, we hopped on a little bus to bring us to the Valley Station. Once we bought our tickets, we had to wait for the tramway to take a few trips up & down the mountain a few times before it was our turn to take the trip up.
Now FYI I am terrified of heights, so I was freaking out at the idea of hang thousands of feet above a cliff side to get to the top of an 10,800 foot tall mountain, but it honestly wasn’t as bad as I had expected. And the view was absolutely worth it. Once we got to the top we headed to the lookout spot perched on a peak above the Mountain Station. It was amazing. You could see all of Palm Springs & even part of Cathedral City to the right. Hundreds of rows of wind turbines boarder the city.
After taking our fair share of photos, & soaking in all of city from above, we headed inside to Pines Café, the cafeteria style restaurant that our ride & dine tickets allowed us to eat dinner at. Chris has his usual herb roasted chicken (that he seems to order everywhere we go) & I had BBQ ribs. For an extra $11, the upgrade to the ride & dine tickets were totally worth it. We both had a side salad, corn on the cob, & delicious fingerling potatoes as sides to go with our meals. They even had beer, wine, & sodas to add onto the dinner. After fueling up we headed inside to the little museum to look around.
Next time we head up, we plan on getting there earlier. There are miles of trails behind the Mountain Station that we didn’t get to explore & both really wanted to. Apparently there is even some camp sites you can stay at, but I think I will pass on the whole backpacking & camping part of the adventure.
Next time you are in the Palm Springs area take a few hours to head up the mountain. The entrance to the Aerial Tramway is right by the Palm Springs Visitors Center, & you can’t miss the big sign as you are driving into town. Take some photos & tag me in them on Instagram. (@meggoliver)
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