Too much work...

... and not enough playtime...

... creates hair-dos reminiscent of that cranky librarian that used to hiss "SHHHHHHHHHHH! This is  a LIBRARY!!!" with a mix of a hung-over college student. 

Oh yea. I have bangs.

A belated Mother's Day

Along with marketing, I've been trying my hand at event planning. Which is, in fact, a nice way of saying that I've been thrown into event planning a few months prior to wedding season.

We had a beautiful Mother's Day Brunch at my resort (doubleeagle.com) last Sunday, so without further ado; photos. Because that's all I have time to post lately.

Dispatch from Palm Springs: Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

One of our days in Palm Springs we heeded the advice of all the locals and checked out the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. For $23 per person, we were loaded cattle-style onto a circular car. Once babies started crying, the floor started rotating and we took off to ascend two-and-a-half miles: from desert basin to... 8,000+ feet (aka, home, for us). Seriously, I'm not afraid of heights, nor do I suffer from motion sickness very often, but I was about to vomit the whole ride up. Not only was the floor rotating, but every time the car came to a tower, we swung back and forth as well. Whoa.

The tramway has some really interesting history, and Clif and I enjoyed watching their California State Park video about the politics involved in building the tramway (and the 'splosions!).

Once we stepped out of the Visitor's Center (with a fancy restaurant and a non-fancy food court), we laughed because we were basically back at home in June Lake or Yosemite high country. Every plant and animal was the same, the air felt cooler, and both of us relaxed a bit. 

We enjoyed a back-office tour of the ranger station as I pummeled the poor State Park Rangers regarding land use, drainages (because, comeON, how does Palm Springs survive with 4in of rain a year?!) and the like. They were super sweet and answered as much as they could. 

Conclusion: The San Jacinto State Park is EXACTLY where I would go if I was stuck living in Palm Springs in the summer!

Other conclusion: Not a destination if you already live in the mountains and you don't like public puking. 

Dispatch from Palm Springs: Hotel California

I haven't been posting the past week as I've been working my patooty off trying to get out the door on vacation! Clif and I decided to drive South a few (six) hours to Palm Springs, CA to get a little R&R and tons of sunshine.

Working in the hospitality industry I've become obsessed with checking TripAdvisor.com reviews before going anywhere. We ended up staying at the number one hotel in Palm Springs, according to TripAdvisor reviews - Hotel California.

Let's just say that people do not lie. This place is amazing.

Not only does Larry, the owner, take you on a personal tour upon arrival, but he checks in constantly if he sees you laying by the pool or heading out for a night on the town. He is never bothersome, he just wants to make sure all of his guests are having a great time. He always calls everyone by their first names and Clif and I felt really, really at home here. 

Clif called it a "5-star hostel" because we also had access to a beautiful, almost-outdoor kitchen and giant grills. Oh, and they did the dishes for us. Even when we tried to do them ourselves. 

The pool is surrounded by green palms, and hummingbirds are flitting around (which, as a birder, I LOVED!). 

We took the hotel's Harley Davidson stretch limo to town last night. Kind of funny, but a free limo ride to town? Heck yea.

Talking with Larry this morning, he gave me his philosophy: everything they do is the best possible service. If they can't give the best service, they won't do it. Example? Every other hotel does a continental breakfast that is always sub par. Here, they have a limo that will take you to wherever you want to go, because nobody needs frozen waffles on vacation.

We give it 1 million thumbs up (if we had that many thumbs, which we don't). Come here. Visit.