dreaming of palm springs, and days off

right now I'm drowning in adulthood.  man, work is just too much sometimes.  when visiting with friends from out of town, they were asking how things were going.  I started talking about all of the new responsibilities I have at my school.  they shockingly looked at me and said, "what, you aren't teaching any more?"  to which I replied, no, I still do that too.  it is just crazy this season of my life.  I feel like I am balancing most things on most days. other days I know I could do better.

it is weird when I notice certain aspects about myself that have changed.  like, I don't have anything to say when I'm not at work.  I feel like I used to be able to talk all the time.  I would talk about school to anyone who would listen.  I would talk about anything really.  now, I am SO okay with silence.  or listening.  I feel like I'm now in the season of listening.  and I guess that is okay too.  my daughter has a lot to say, so as long as I'm listening, I don't think she notices.

but for now, it is only march, and I'm dreaming of days off.  summer was sure good to us last year.  we visited palm springs, a destination the mr. and I have wanted to see for some time.  it was a super quick trip, and it was july, so you can imagine we didn't get quite as much outdoor exploring done as we would have liked.  but, for now, here's looking back at the one time we drove into the desert in the dead of summer, and visited kitschy places, and swam in a heated pool, and looked at so many cacti, and pretended we weren't in the desert in the dead of summer.

Palm Springs 2018 from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

music: Portugal the Man

see photos from our trip to the botanical garden here
and the rest of our palm springs photos here

I'm here for the plants [moorten botanical garden]

if you love desert landscapes, you must visit this little gem while in palm springs!  we stopped by on our way out, and the cloud cover was really a double-edged sword.  yes, less blazing sun was great, but the humidity was close to 40%, and when the temp is in the triple digits, any humidity is not your friend. at one point I was pretty sure my face was literally melting off.  but it was still worth the hour long visit.  everly's favorite part was the lizard hunting [turns out deserts have huge lizards just hanging out, they looked like pets to me!].  the desert tortoises were pretty cool too. and I think the mr. liked that I was pretty into the experience, because after all, it was really hot, and we were looking at hundreds of cacti.  might not be everyone's cup of tea.  but it was mine, oh man, it was mine.

^these mexican bird of paradise were everywhere in palm springs - now I'm currently on the hunt to see if I can get these beauties to grow at my home^

[images edited with a color story]

details:

Moorten Botanical Garden & Cactarium

1701 South Palm Canyon Drive

Palm Springs, CA 

see their website here

$5 adults

$2 kids

*hours vary by season

desert dreamin' in july

the mr. and I have wanted to go to palm springs for quite some time.  it really is a mecca of my favorite things, mid-century architecture and all things cacti and succulents.  we decided to take a quick trip over to the desert in the middle of the summer after my work conference in san diego.  and thankfully, we were only met with 104 degree heat, just days before it was 118, so I will take it as a win.

we had fun just driving around getting our bearings with this little city.  we had some good food, even better ice cream, and swam in a heated pool [which was horrible people, why are we heating a pool in the desert in july???].

^loved the exterior of the new kimpton hotel, might have to check it out the next time we visit^

but clearly ev didn't mind the the pool & outside temperature were only off by a few degrees.  and we had the pool to ourselves the entire time, so that was pretty sweet too.

hotel: alcazar palm springs

*it was right on the main drag and super close to everything we wanted to do.  and besides the pool being SO hot, it was a great little place to stay.  loved the clean simple rooms, we were just steps away from the pool, and with very few rooms on property, it was so quiet and perfect for our family.  they don't cater to kids, like most of palm springs it seems [they even have in the check-in paperwork that you are to keep your kids in check pretty much] but for our little only, it was a pretty great fit.  we also loved the ice water and supply of sunblock poolside, the little things that make being on the road for 10 days just a little more enjoyable.