Living it up, Sinatra style...

The Orbit In... We'd seen this place on other visits to Palm Springs, but never had the chance to stay here. We were lucky enough to have the place nearly to ourselves. Kind of like our own private estate!

The rooms all had themes, ours was "Atomic Paradise"


All the rooms have the original 1950's bathrooms and kitchens. They are in incredible shape for their age...
The 'Boomerang Bar' where we were served up complimentary Orbitinis by the pool...

We got to finish out the last couple days of our trip with a visit to my Grandma and Grandpa in Desert Hot Springs. They gave us the royal treatment as usual. What a fabulous vacation!

Random Good Stuff...

This post is dedicated to all the little jewels from our vacation not big enough to warrant their own section....

Let's start with a favorite, shall we? We had to wait several days into the trip before we made it to the Holy Grail of fast food joints... The iconic In-N-Out Burger. I want to eat this picture. It may be my new screen saver...

Once our stomachs were full, we headed on to Palm Springs, stopping along the way at this hidden gem in Corona, CA - the Fender Museum of Music & the Arts. If you've ever seen "School of Rock"- that's bascially the concept here. Fender has partnered to create a free music program for kids. The first floor houses a museum, the proceeds of which help fund the school.

Lucky for us, the featured exhibit was on Johnny Cash (one of Jim's favorites). They had cool memorbilia including costumes, guitars, and handwritten song lyrics such as those shown here, for 'I Walk the Line'

Jim posing in front of some of Johnny's Gold & Platinum records...

As we rolled into Palm Springs, our first stop was at a famous Albert Frey landmark - the former Tramway gas station turned Visitor Center...

After our gas station photo-shoot (trust me- there were many more shots, but I'll spare you), we headed into town in search of some of the famous landmarks on our 'Palm Springs Modern' map. After some searching, we found these 2 (and many more interesting but not famous houses). This one is the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway...
And this lackluster view is of 'Twin Palms'- the famous Frank Sinatra estate. You can see the twin palms in the distance in the middle of the photo. Unfortunately, the front is obscured by shrubs. But we parked and walked around the front anyway, trying to peek through the bushes (what's known in Pittsburgh as being 'nebby'). You can see this place up close (and even rent it!) here.

On this trip, we found our own swanky accomodations at the 'Orbit In' - Check back tomorrow to see pictures!

New and Old Traditions...

What trip to Southern California is complete without a stop at Disneyland?

After the long drive down I-5 from Reno, we checked into what has become our go-to lodging in Anaheim, the Alpine Inn. The place is kitchy, for sure, but the rooms are newly updated and clean and under $60 per night. As a bonus, it's in close walking distance to the park. What more can you ask? We had looked at booking Disney's Grand Californian, but at $450/night, we opted not to take a loan against our 401ks.

The back of the Alpine Inn. Not fancy, but meets my requirements for cleanliness and location...

Since we didn't stay at the Grand Californian, we decided to check out the lobby to see what we were missing. Yes- it's awesome, but I'll still choose to keep my money, thanks.

We stopped over to Downtown Disney before calling it a night. Here's Jim with a giant Lego Woody in the Lego store...

Wednesday morning it was finally time for the park! Although we missed some of our traditional Disneyland favorites this trip (ie. no fireworks because it was a weeknight- boo!), we did a couple things for the first time ever, such as.... We were the very first people into the park (yes- we were there early!) That meant we got to line up right at the ropes on Main Street until they officially opened. I've waited in that morning crowd so many times in my life, but never right up front! I felt special :)

Here I am lined up at the rope...

This is the first time I've ever taken a photo of the castle without any people in front of it. That's what happens when you're at the front!

One tradition we never miss- a photo with Mickey!

We followed our RideMax plan as usual, being sure to schedule a stop while in California Adventure for Jim's Disney version of Frappucino and cookie.

We had never done this ride together and I hadn't been on it since I was young. I forgot how much I like this one... It's the Storybook Canal Boats.

This is a stock photo but it shows what the attraction is like... a boat ride through manicured miniature gardens and versions of all the storybook character's homes...

We had never done the teacups together either, but we decided we could manage it as long as we didn't spin too fast! I enjoyed a delicious Dole Pineapple Whip in the shade of the Enchanted Tiki Room...

I love Main Street U.S.A. after dark, so I tried to capture a few shots, starting off with the train station...

Traditional last stop of the night- The Blue Ribbon Bakery for mochas and cookies...

One last shot...

Here's something I'd never noticed before... A plaque with a 1955 Walt Disney quote that I love. It says "To all who come to this happy place, Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here you may savor the challenge and the promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals and the dreams and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

No place makes me relive fond memories of the past like Disneyland. Thanks, Walt.