My sister and I booked a trip to Palm Springs, located in the Coachella valley, for a sister-bonding trip as the weather is getting cooler and darker at home in the Pacific Northwest. Can I get a Hallelujah?
We both spent the majority of a day flying, sitting around in airports for layovers, but it was all worth it when we arrived to the land of the Palms and it was a blue bird day and almost 100 degrees.
We opened up some California Red Wine- 2015 Wishflower to enjoy on the patio of our home for the week. I thought the inscription on the bottle of wine was perfect for the occasion (well, all occasions really). It reads,
"In the 1800s, young girls commonly used dandelions for romantic wishes. It was believed that if you blew on a dandelion and all the seeds flew away, your loved one shared your feelings. Eventually this tradition spread to encompass all wishing, romantic or otherwise. We embrace the optimism of making wishes and hope that our wines, in some small way, can help your dreams come true."
Our patio had some awesome twinkle lights and outdoor seating. We were surprised to note that we weren't attacked by bugs and mosquitos and, despite looking for spiders, I didn't see any. What a paradise just based on that alone!
The next morning we awoke to find the two pups waiting to greet us outside on our way to do a 'Front Door Tour' of Palm Springs. When Palm Springs became increasingly popular starting in the 1900s, homes and businesses began popping up everywhere. Many of the buildings and establishments are reflective of the architectural mecca it has been, and it can feel like I would imagine it would be like to travel back in time 50-60 years. The retro vibe has been preserved and blended with bright, bold colors, clean lines and lots of cacti and palms.
What's a 'Front Door Tour?' Palm Springs is noted for it's strong art and architectural history with much of the city being established in the mid-1900s. A fun activity for tourists that has developed over time is biking or walking around town to view some of the brightly painted front doors-it also gives you a fun glimpse into some of the architecture around the city.
One of the most famous front doors in Palm Springs is "that pink door", which has an individual instagram account devoted just to this door!
After meandering around town viewing some of the unique front doors, we had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant- Loco Charlie's and headed home to sit poolside in the toasty desert sun.
We were so lucky to have chosen an AWESOME AirBNB (credit goes to my sis for the good find) with our own private pool.
We both decided that the Californians know how to do a great job creating privacy within their own residences within a bustling community. Much of the landscaping includes hedging and bushes which maintains the private, yet indulgent feeling of truly being in your own oasis.
I love looking at all the different varieties of cacti, I've decided that it has become one of my new favorite plants.
We shared the pool area with the owner's two black labs, one who loves water and the other who is so scared of it he hides behind the lawn chair the whole time.
On our second morning, being the foodies and gatherers that we are, we decided to visit Shield's Date Farm. Now, we are both ashamed to say that we knew next to NOTHING about the growing process of dates. One of us, who will not be named, asked "aren't dates made from prunes?"
Little did we know, dates are actually a very difficult crop to grow. Dates are their own fruit and grow on palm trees, as shown below. After planting a date tree, it can take upwards of 15 years before the tree will produce any fruit, and the trees have an intensive pollinating process. At the Shield's date farm, the trees are planted at a ratio of 49 females to 1 male. The pollen (a white powder) is harvested from the male into a sort of powder puff which is then shaken into the very tops of the female trees. This can only be successfully done by hand-pollination, where workers have to climb ladders up the sides of these giant palms.
Even though dates have been around for years and years, it is suspected that there haven't been many successful wild date groves due to the extensive requirements for pollination.
We found it fascinating that 95% of the United States' date production occurs here in the Coachella Valley and some workers even said that the United States' actually produces more than other countries that we might think would be the lead producers.
The couple behind Shield's date farm is Floyd and Bess Shields, who moved to the Coachella Valley to try their hand at growing dates in 1924. They became very successful despite running up against other date farms in the valley through Floyd's seminars about growing dates. Floyd Shield also became successful at developing his own varieties of dates, which he calls the "Blondes & Brunettes". These varieties are available exclusively at their farm today.
We got to sample many varieties of dates while visiting the farm, but our favorites were the soft Blondes, and the soft Medjool Dates, which were so soft in texture they tasted like caramels!
For the full video on the history behind Shield's Date farm and the process of growing dates, titled the "Romance and Sex Life of the Date" click here. Trust me, its worth the watch!
The Shield's Date farm has a beautiful botanical garden for visitors to walk through for the small fee of $5 and depending upon what time of year you visit, the trees may be ripe with lemons and grapefruit.
After our mind-blowing visit to the date farm, we headed for the Fresh Juice Bar in Palm Springs for a juice and smoothie bowl. We decided on the Raw Pitaya Bowls and were amazed at the bang for your buck here! Plus, the frozen treat was delicious on a hot desert day!
The bright pink color can be attributed to the raw pitaya, the shop also features acai bowls as well. They have many juices that are recommended for detoxes or to support you on your road to wellness!
The afternoon brought a visit to Moorten Botanical Garden, which was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. I had no idea there were so many different types of cacti!
It was really relaxing to walk through the trails of the Moorten Botanical Garden, and it was also a nice place to cool off when the weather is super hot as a lot of it is in the shade.
Added Bonus: They have some super fun turtles...I mean, tortoises to look at as well as doves. They sell small potted succulents and cacti for visitors to take home! The only thing stopping me from doing that was that they would've had to survive the plane ride home.
We spent the majority of our last couple of days in Palm Springs lounging around the pool like a couple of seals, alternating between our lawn chairs and the pool floats. The only time we left was to get fresh smoothie bowls at the Fresh Juice Bar.
On our last morning in the desert, we had breakfast the the King's Highway restaurant, located inside the popular ACE Hotel. Like much of Palm Springs, they have preserved the mid-century modern design and I was happy that the staff were so accommodating to my food intolerances. My sis raved about the buttermilk pancakes and I munched away at my AVO TOAST and a side o' bacon.
After breakfast, we were contemplating snatching up one of these vespas, and heading for the remote hills, where no one could find us to make us catch the plane back to reality, and back to the rapidly decreasing temperatures back home!
What we Ioved the most about Palm Springs is that the people were so friendly and welcoming! At several points in our trip, we found ourselves surprised at the kindness that waiters/waitresses and shop-keepers showed us. I loved how colorful the Coachella Valley is despite the brown, dry hills that make up the backdrop. The architecture and design of Palm Springs really pops and the lush greenery makes us all feel more vibrant at heart. My sister and I both agreed we'd be back ASAP because this trip was pure bliss!
November 2017.