Postcard from Palm Desert

Jason and I just got back from a much needed week-long vacation in Palm Desert, California. We had a wonderful and relaxing trip with 8+ hours of sleep every night and lots of downtime. Over the course of one week I read two magazines, finished The Help and The Happiness Project and read the first half of Moonwalking with Einstein (all of which I'd highly recommend). We also ate a lot of good food (see the bottom of the post for Palm Desert area restaurant recommendations) and took a lot of pictures.

 Our first night there

 View from our patio

 One of the many pools where we stayed

 Setting off on our 3 mile hike in Joshua Tree National Park

 A view of the 49 Palms Oasis

 Joshua Trees!

 Jason is like a kid in a candy store around big boulders-- he just has to climb them!

 Sunset in El Paseo-- a shopping/restaurant area in Palm Desert

 A date farm!

 A view from the tram car almost 2 miles up to San Jacinto Mountain

 View of Palm Springs and surrounding desert cities from San Jacinto Mountain

If you ever find yourself in the Palm Desert area, here are things we'd recommend doing:
- Hike to the 49 Palms Oasis at Joshua Tree National Park
- Visit Joshua Tree National Park period
- Drive through the many residential neighborhoods and check out the mid-century modern architecture
- Eat date pancakes or drink a date shake at Shields Date Gardens
- Relax by the pool (reading or playing Scrabble)

And as far as places to eat go, I don't think we ever ate a bad meal on our trip, but our favorite spots included:
- Cork Tree
- 3rd Corner Wine Shop and Bistro
- Sub King (Jason's particular favorite)
- Ristorante Mamma Gina

Now that I'm back and well rested, I'm hoping to catch up on blogging this week-- if catching up from a week away at work doesn't kill me that is :)