Tomatico demanded we workout first thing in the morning so we got up early and started the day at the gym before leaving San Diego. It was much less busy than the previous day. I’m betting many of the people from the previous day had either checked out, were hungover from going to the football game, or had recovered from their jet lag. We saw some of the same people from the previous day but there was no contention for equipment or machines this time.

Breakfast and Checkout

After the workout we got in just as the breakfast was opening. Tomatico’s uncle had gotten up and he joined us. I ate quickly and went back up to the room to get the rest of the clan up. I showered and finished packing to make sure we would be able to check out and pick up our rental car on time.

At checkout we verified the charges on the bill and then requested a Lyft to the car rental location which was about 20 minutes away and not at the airport. I had found it when I used AutoSlash to search for the best rental prices. It was less than half the cost compared to renting from the airport. It was also in the same direction as Palm Springs so we wouldn’t be backtracking.

The Lyft arrived quickly and luckily it was a minivan so there was more than enough space for all our luggage.

Driving to Palm Springs

The drive to the rental car location was uneventful. The location as a combination Budget/Avis franchise. When we went into the rental counter there wasn’t anyone there but a lady showed up after a few minutes to get us checked in. She checked my ID and ran my credit card and then was prompted by the system for a membership number. Neither of us knew what number it was looking for. I had made the reservation through Priceline so the membership number was a mystery. Rather than guessing, she called someone and found it was looking for my Costco membership number. The rate I got must have been one negotiated through Costco. I pulled out my Costco card, she entered the numbrer and we were all set.

She then told us we had been upgraded to a full sized SUV (from a mid-size SUV). Nice! We hauled our luggage to the car and found a way to get everything in. It has a 3rd row of seats but we had to put those down in order to get the suitcases to fit well. The interior was leather and it was a great car for a road trip. It only had about 4,000 miles on it so it still had that new car feel.

We quickly got adjusted and headed towards Palm Springs. For the first hour there was very little traffic and nothing that slowed us down. As we got into the second and final hour there were a few pockets of bumper to bumper stop and go traffic. Around that time we spotted a bright orange Lamborghini. The boys were fixated on that which helped pass the time for about half an hour as we were at times ahead of it and sometimes behind it. We lost sight of it just before entering Palm Springs but saw it again when it stopped at a gas station.

Entering Palm Springs one lane of the two lane road was backed up for almost a mile, but the other lane was open. As we got closer to the front we realized the backed up lane was waiting for the tramway ride. The sign at the turn said there was a 5 hour wait to get to the summit! Good thing we weren’t planning to do that.

Lunch in Palm Springs and Checking In

We were driving down the Main Street and eventually found parking on a side street. There’s lots of parking spaces and parking lots, but most were full so we ended up having to walk a few blocks once we finally found a spot. The area is pedestrian friendly with wide sidewalks and crosswalks everywhere. The street was lined with shops and restaurants and was a great place to window shop. After lunch we stopped by a toy store the kids wanted to check out before heading to our hotel.

The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort is actually in Palm Desert which is about 20 minutes away from downtown Palm Springs. It was pretty chaotic when we arrived. We left our car key with the valet and went inside to see if our room was ready. The lobby was a huge open atrium and there was a projection screen on the far end showing a football game. There was a restaurant/bar and a dock down by the pond (which was inside the atrium. The boys stayed with their uncle while we tried to check in.

There was a small desk under a sign for Marriott Elite and mobile checkin that was quite busy and a whole line of “normal” checkin desks that were not busy at all. My wife went towards one of those agents but was directed to wait in the elite line with everyone else. That didn’t seem all that elite but we followed the agent’s direction. Once in the other line, we were almost immediately directed to go to one of the desk agents we had been heading towards before. Odd…

The agent checking us in said our room wasn’t ready yet and took my wife’s phone number so they could text her when it was ready. We were told the hotel doesn’t have a lounge and we could get either the bonus points or breakfast for 2 as a welcome gift. It was disappointing there wasn’t a lounge as we had been hoping to use it to get breakfast for all of us.  Often we find that booking a suite automatically gets everyone acces to the lounge if there is one.

The agent told us there are boats that run from 4:30-9:00 that load from the atrium and go outside on the lake that’s part of the resort stopping at a couple of the restaurants. The kids would love that!

Since our room wasn’t ready, we took a few minutes to take a tour of the grounds. We found the mini golf course out the side door and took a look at the pool area. We also found an area with lawn games like cornhole and a big connect 4 game. It was pretty busy everywhere we looked.

Covered Wagon Tour

It was getting close to the time we needed to leave to get to the covered wagon tour. This was another thing we were going to surprise the boys with. I had booked it for this day but had gotten a voice mail and email while we were in San Diego saying they hadn’t met the minimum number of people to do the tour. They offered to move it to a different day, though I told them we’d have fewer people on that day because my brother in law would be flying home. Apparently we were the only group signed up at the time and they needed a minimum of 15 people. The next day they wrote back that they had gotten a last minute reservation so they could proceed with our tour as originally planned. That worked out for us!

We needed to meet at 3:00 and it was only about 15 minutes from the hotel. Google Maps did a great job finding it for us even though the tour company location didn’t have an official address. The covered wagon camp was up a short dirt road and we were greeted by the owner and the guide who would narrate the tour.

They were friendly and offered us some water and lemonade before showed the boys how to play horseshoes. It was quite a treat to see them throwing things not at each other and having fun at the same time!

The other group arrived a few minutes before 3:00 and were greeted similarly. Before long the mules came by with the wagon in tow and we boarded. Luckily the wagon had regular tires rather than authentic wooden wheels. It even had padded bench seats inside to make it more comfortable.

It was a nice clear and relatively warm day but we brought our jackets since they warned it could get cold once the sun started to go down. They had some extra blankets in case anyone needed them.

We sat at the front of the wagon near the guide. The guide was great. She definitely knew her stuff and answered everyone’s questions about the plants, animals, and geography of the desert. The driver answered questions about the mules and had some stories of his own to tell.

As we drove up the mountain, we passed several groves of palm trees. These are all native and in fact the only palm trees native to California. They grew naturally and were NOT planted there. They get their water because of the San Andreas fault. Apparently near fault lines there can be places that bring water close enough to the surface for these water hungry plants to survive and thrive.

After about an hour, we reached the top of the trail where there was an overlook over a cliff. The guide pointed out the special qualities of some of the plants and how they were used for medicinal or other purposes by the natives. She also pointed out the different types of burrows and could tell the type of animal based on the shape and size of the entrance. The boys loved this, especially my youngest who as read every book on snakes and lizards in the libraries at home.

We then got back on the wagon and made our way back down to the camp which had some hot chocolate waiting for us along with some spectacular sunset backdrops. The tour was really well done and was the perfect length for keeping the kids occupied. The guide was engaging and knowledgeable. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re in Palm Springs!

Dinner and Checkin Part Two

Towards the end of the covered wagon tour my wife got a text that the room was finally read. It’s a bit frustrating that it was 3 hours after we had originally checked in and 90 minutes after the official checkin time before our room was ready. The expectation is that it’s ready at normal checkin time so this was a disappointment to took an extra hour and a half after that.

The boys were hungry after the tour so we found a diner in Google that was nearby. It was packed when we arrived, but it was in a mall complex with lots of other restaurants so we found another one that was less busy. The food was okay, but at least we all got to eat together without having to wait.

We then headed to the hotel to check into our room. As we pulled into the front entrance it was complete chaos that made the afternoon visit seem tame. The traffic was gridlocked.  Guests were yelling at the staff, and the valets were working has fast as they could, but were simply understaffed for the amount of traffic.

We went into the lobby to check in. There was a mob of a line and only a couple agents checking people in.When we finally got to the agent he recognized my wife’s status and verified the room was indeed ready. I asked about our breakfast options again. They reiterated they offered a continental breakfast for 2 and could upgrade to the full hot breakfast for an additional $10 each. I asked if the kids were included as some hotels will do that, either as policy or as compensation for not having our room ready when we arrived, but they would not do that. I also inquired about how they offered breakfast as a welcome gift. Technically, since they don’t have a lounge we should get breakfast for 2 as compensation rather than having to forego welcome gift (i.e. the points). The assistant manager who was with earshot offered to give us both the points and breakfast. That was nice, though I think per the terms of the loyalty program we were entitled to it by policy.

I then asked about the room sleeping arrangements since there were 5 of us and only one bed. They stressed that the room we were in was a newly renovated suite which has a maximum occupancy of 5 people. They said we’d need to get a rollaway bed which cost $25/night. It’s not like we had a choice so we asked them to bring one up to the room. I booked the room specifically for 5 people when I made the reservation so I was a bit upset that I need to pay extra to actually be able to sleep that many people. Things were clearly chaotic behind the desk and I figured I’d deal with it when things were less busy, though as it turns out, the chaos never really subsided on this visit.

The agent then told us about the boats and where it leaves from (the dock inside the atrium in the lobby) and where it stops (at two of the restaurants). They also pointed out where we could go to get the mini golf clubs and balls and where I could self park.

We got the keys and I sent the rest of them to find the room while I parked the car. I planned to meet them in the room. Back outside, it took awhile to get the car key back from the valet as he was still super busy. It took even longer to get out of the gridlock of cars, but I finally made it to the parking garage and found a spot. I made my way through a maze of hallways to get to the room.  It was easy to get lost as it was a 5 minute walk at full speed to get to the room.

I opened the door and found I was the only one in the room. Walking around the room I noticed it had a very odd layout. It seemed like it had been two rooms that had been combined into a suite without spending much time or effort on the design of the room. It had a nice view of the lake and pool area from the front balcony, though. It took me a few minutes and a few laps around the room to figure out where the toilet was in the bathroom. It was behind a frosted glass door next to the shower. I originally thought it was just part of the shower!

The family eventually arrived after having gotten lost in the maze of hallways. I may have passed them as they had mistakenly ended up in the parking garage where I had come from. We quickly unpacked and the boys got ready for bed as we had had a long day. I called down to check on the status of the rollaway bed to make sure it wasn’t forgotten. It took about 5 minutes on hold before I got to talk to someone but they said they would do what they could to expedite the bed. About 15 minutes later housekeeping finally arrived with a bed. We asked for another pillow and blanket for the sleeper sofa since there weren’t any in the closets. The lady came back in another 10 minutes with enough stuff to finally make our beds.

Bed Time

I had been suffering from a mild cold that seems to have gotten worse as the day wore on. It was probably all those early morning wake up calls to go to the gym that was making it worse. I was definitely in need of some shut-eye and we all decided to call it an early night. We’d be saying goodbye to my brother in law in the morning before seeing more of Palm Springs in the afternoon on our own.