After spending our first night at a nearby resort and not getting a wink of sleep from a incessant & loud generator, we found Hip Hotel… our glimmering oasis! Since we were looking for 9 nights on such short notice we had to move around every couple of days to the next available space, but that meant we got to experience a lot of the different rooms. We know this place inside & out!
Our annual spring trip off the mainland led us to Tulum, Mexico this year. We were looking for crystal clear water for snorkeling, a little history to whet our curious minds and … tequila. Copious amounts of tequila.
Always on a quest to find the best underwater camera, I decided to give the Nikon Coolpix AW100 Waterproof & Shockproof camera a try. I’ve had two separate Canon cameras and underwater housings that have worked really well, but since they’re very large and clunky compared to the all-in-one waterproof cameras I opted for the Nikon wildcard.
The last day of our visit, Christmas Day, we went on a hike on the Chuckwalla Trail to Paradise Rim. It was a fantastic scenic trail with lots of interesting rock formations, places to rock climb and my favorite: an arch! We hiked up to Paradise Rim and ate a sandwich overlooking the community below. We took our time coming back knowing it was our last day of hiking in such beautiful scenery for a while…
Mik’s dad is in his mid-70s, but is still a super thrill-seeker and an off-road maniac. We wanted to spend some time with him, so we let him coordinate some plans for all of us to do something together.
Snow Canyon, on the edge of town in St. George has Red Navajo sandstone and ancient lava rock as far as the eye can see! We hiked the Petrified Dunes trail, which is a really easy hike up on the slickrock. We had fun taking jumping & handstand photos and channeling our inner Ansel Adams.
The last time I was in Utah was in November 2005 and I had no idea that Arches National Park was even a thing, let alone the insane wonder of it all. This time we went to Zion National Park and it was a whole separate level of awesome.
Mik’s dad & stepmother live in St. George, Utah so we drove out for a little family gathering over Christmas. Here are pretty pointless photos from the drive there!
What we thought was going to be a standard day-trip to go wine tasting in Los Olivos ended up including a last minute overnight booking at the Hamlet Inn… We were already members at Evan’s Ranch and Byron, but nestled directly between the two is Presqu’ile Winery. We decided to give them a go based on the recommendation from Andrea over at Byron Winery.
We went to The Spring Resort for a weekend birthday getaway and fell in love! So quiet, peaceful and relaxing… The hosts are super professional and catered to our every whim. Most places in Palm Springs are overcrowded, a little ragged and loud; but at The Spring Resort we often had the pools to ourselves, met very kind travelers and found all of the amenities to be exactly as expected. We stayed in Room 9, which is at the end of the pool and comes with a hammock around the corner… highly recommended!
