San Diego to Palm Spring – 2 Hours Drive
We are expecting 2 hours drive from San Diego Southern part of California to Palm Spring which lies on the western edge of the Coachella Valley, within the Colorado Desert. I have never been to any desert so coming here to enjoy little desert getaway should be fun for me for the every first time.
Here are some landscape coming out from San Diego to Palm Springs.
The shapes of the mountains change a little when we were approaching Palm Springs.
Palm Springs Wind Energy
We started to see thousands of windmills planted at the entrance of Palm Spring and wonder why there are so many?
These are actually called wind turbines as there is different between windmills and wind turbines. Wind turbines are built specifically to generate electricity. Windmills were originally created to pump water and to mill grain. Obviously these place is a good spot to generate energy because of the climate here, the heat and the wind.
Arriving Palm Springs
Sign showing at the highway so we will exit highway 111.
Palm Spring hardly rain and it is so dry because it is near the desert. The temperature in the day is about 20’C but at night is cold as low as 4’c. The difference of temperature is kind of huge. Apply plenty of lotions after shower is a must, else rashes occur on your skin.
Windmills Tour
If you are curious about these windmills, you can join a windmill tours to solve all your curiosity
Container Train at Palm Spring
We also spotted there were very long containers trains transporting the goods into the desert land.
At The Gas Station
We were wondering what to feed our rental car at first, diesel or regular unleaded but then we realized there isn’t any diesel available in the gas station. So we concluded most gas station in US use unleaded. Unlike in UK, we feed our rental car diesel. First you paid how much you wanted to pump into you car, then you started to pump the gas into your car. Some gas station does not give back the refund if these is any so beware of that, when you paid by card.
Palm Springs Downtown
When you enter the city of Palm Springs, there are all sort of palm trees greeted you. Hey, this is Palm Springs so expect to see beautiful palm trees planted everywhere in the city.
There are many types of palm trees but this one (below picture) is the California Fan Palm Tree. The palm trees in Palm Springs look different from the one I saw at Beverly Hills and La Jolla Cove San Diego. It also look different from back home. The tree is super tall and with big cap (brown leaves) at the top!
Sono Bono Statue
A bronze statue of Sono Bono, the major of Palm Springs sit at the fountain in the middle of the shopping area. Sono Bono was also ex-husband of Cher, the singer.
Retails at La Plaza
La Plaza is one of the retails spaces in downtown Palm Springs. The unique charm of the complex allows visitors a glimpse into the city of Palm Springs’ past. You may notice the streets are quite empty because it was 7 am in the morning when I took a morning stroll.
Walk of Stars at Palm Springs
Similar to Hollywood, Palm Springs also has its own Walk of Stars. There some famous people who used to live here. Such as Frank Sinatra & Michael Masser and many mores. In fact Palm Spring is the playground of stars back in the 40s and 50s.
Our Hotel has a very good location, it sit right behind the main street so we just needed to walk for 2 mins.
Racquet Club Of Palm Springs
The Racquet Club of Palm Springs was one of the most famous movie star private club where there were parties and other recreation such as tennis courts, pools & golf course. Back then only the elite from the Hollywood movies can access the Racquet Club and mostly came here to pick up girls. Marilyn Monroe also frequented the Racquet Club.
Palm Springs is surrounded by mountains & Coachella Valley which make the backdrop of the city so beautiful. Water is precious in Palm Springs as it is the desert land, the water are coming from the Colorado River. The population here only has about 47,000 (2016). What I can see here are mostly tourist related activities, such as resorts, spa, hiking probably due to the brilliant sunshine, almost year round.
Highway Rest Area
After driving few days in California, we realized there aren’t many rest area with facilities like restaurants, restrooms & shopping. We are hopping to find the rest areas like the one in Malaysia Highway or UK or Japan or Thailand or Taiwan. No, nothing like that. You cannot access the McDonald’s from the highway, there is a fence blocking. (Refer to below picture)
So what you do is, when you are tired, keep looking for sign of McDonald’s or other familiar food sign. Once you saw if from afar ( as the sign usually stood high up) you have to quickly prepare to exit out the highway then reach these rest area for food or gas and take a break. I find it troublesome as you need to exit the highway then turn in again into the highway to continue your journey. Unlike highway in Malaysia or Japan, the rest areas are located inside the highway.
On the way to Las Vegas
What I like about Palm Springs City?
- The palm trees
- The desert mountains
- The desert weather
- The windmills
- The Palm Spring Resorts vibe
- Traces of Old Hollywood stars
Other attractions in Palm Spring California :
- Cabazon Desert Hills Premium Outlet Shopping
- Palm Springs Aerial Tramride
- Palm Springs Night Market – Village Fest
- Road Trip Palm Springs – Las Vegas