Dear Reader and Fellow Traveler,
Now that I live in Southern California, I’m focusing more on Southwest USA. I never thought I could leave the San Francisco bay area, but I finally felt it was a time for a change.
I just love it down here, being in “the desert”, and yet only about two and half hours out of Los Angeles, in case I must go to the ocean. In the meantime, I have my own beach (my pool!). At least I don’t have to worry about Great White Sharks, undertow and such there!
At any rate, there is so much to explore in this area of Southern California, and outer areas such as Arizona, with such fun spots as the gorgeous, spiritual area of Sedona, the funky, artsy ghost-town of Jerome perched high up in the mountains, and the classy Scottsdale just north of Phoenix. Mexico is quite close too. In fact, according to some, I guess I AM in Mexico. :-)
But seriously now, it’s only a couple hours drive to cross the border from the Coachella Valley, where I live. Northern Baja has some great beaches and some arts and crafts to buy. Of course, Southern Baja is where the fabulous Cabo San Lucas is, and that’s the Crown Jewel of Baja California, which is actually Mexico.
Los Angeles is fantastic with all the cultural events, the glamour and glitter, the beaches, the restaurants, the shopping… so much to do.
The Coachella Valley, which is a couple hours east of LA, is known simply as “the desert”. The most famous town here is the city of Palm Springs, which still clings to some of the glamour of “Old Hollywood” and is currently re-vamping itself. There are oodles of spas and resorts here, including The Parker which made the news thanks to a tryst there recently by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Some things never change! Palm Springs has a long history of being a get-away for the stars of Hollywood. We also have our own version of Rodeo Drive here, which is El Paseo in Palm Desert, which is just east of Palm Springs. There are natural hot water springs in resorts in Desert Hot Springs. There is the totally charming La Quinta Resort, a favorite place for weddings and just getting away for spa treatments, which was built in 1926, and is the inspiration for the name of the town it is in. And if you like golf, this area has over 120 golf courses, some of the best in the world. The golf course at The Lodge in Rancho Mirage was voted as one of the top five in the world as “Best Designed”. We also have plenty of interesting places to hike such as in Joshue Tree National Park, mountains and gorgeous palm groves.
More travel tips for Southern California and beyond will be coming soon to this website.
In the meantime, here is a link for you to check out: www.palm-springs.org.
Hasta luego,
P.S. This is me in Oahu, Hawaii a while ago. I just love it there!
Now that I live in Southern California, I’m focusing more on Southwest USA. I never thought I could leave the San Francisco bay area, but I finally felt it was a time for a change.
I just love it down here, being in “the desert”, and yet only about two and half hours out of Los Angeles, in case I must go to the ocean. In the meantime, I have my own beach (my pool!). At least I don’t have to worry about Great White Sharks, undertow and such there!
At any rate, there is so much to explore in this area of Southern California, and outer areas such as Arizona, with such fun spots as the gorgeous, spiritual area of Sedona, the funky, artsy ghost-town of Jerome perched high up in the mountains, and the classy Scottsdale just north of Phoenix. Mexico is quite close too. In fact, according to some, I guess I AM in Mexico. :-)
But seriously now, it’s only a couple hours drive to cross the border from the Coachella Valley, where I live. Northern Baja has some great beaches and some arts and crafts to buy. Of course, Southern Baja is where the fabulous Cabo San Lucas is, and that’s the Crown Jewel of Baja California, which is actually Mexico.
Los Angeles is fantastic with all the cultural events, the glamour and glitter, the beaches, the restaurants, the shopping… so much to do.
The Coachella Valley, which is a couple hours east of LA, is known simply as “the desert”. The most famous town here is the city of Palm Springs, which still clings to some of the glamour of “Old Hollywood” and is currently re-vamping itself. There are oodles of spas and resorts here, including The Parker which made the news thanks to a tryst there recently by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Some things never change! Palm Springs has a long history of being a get-away for the stars of Hollywood. We also have our own version of Rodeo Drive here, which is El Paseo in Palm Desert, which is just east of Palm Springs. There are natural hot water springs in resorts in Desert Hot Springs. There is the totally charming La Quinta Resort, a favorite place for weddings and just getting away for spa treatments, which was built in 1926, and is the inspiration for the name of the town it is in. And if you like golf, this area has over 120 golf courses, some of the best in the world. The golf course at The Lodge in Rancho Mirage was voted as one of the top five in the world as “Best Designed”. We also have plenty of interesting places to hike such as in Joshue Tree National Park, mountains and gorgeous palm groves.
More travel tips for Southern California and beyond will be coming soon to this website.
In the meantime, here is a link for you to check out: www.palm-springs.org.
Hasta luego,
P.S. This is me in Oahu, Hawaii a while ago. I just love it there!