Mojave Resort

Fifteen years ago I was traveling to Palm Desert for a new store opening.  My company booked the Mojave resort for my accommodations.  Since that trip I have stayed nowhere else.  This hotel is truly an oasis in a desert full of chain hotels.  When you arrive at the Mojave and you are sitting in their courtyard you are able to get away from the world and sit in piece and quiet enjoying the serenity of the inner grounds surrounding you.

Each room has a small porch with two chairs and a table.  At night an employee walks the grounds turning on the porch lights to enjoy during the evening hours.  It is the perfect place to sit and have a glass of wine, enjoy dinner or as I once did answer emails.  The serenity of this location makes you feel like you are in lost in a world all of its own.  

Now that I have a child I look at the direct access to the pool in a whole new light.  To have the ability to give your child just enough freedom to where you are sitting on the porch as they swim makes them feel so grown up and entertains them as you have just a small amount of time to yourself.

Some rooms feature kitchenettes which can be requested upon booking and puts that extra touch of necessity after a long day of travels and adventures.  Mojave Resort is located centrally in Palm Desert so you can easily access The Living Desert, El Paseo, and the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument making it the perfect location to rest your head at night.  Each morning they offer a small breakfast bar with just enough to get you out the door without having to fix your own.

At the end of the day I will continue to return to the Mojave Resort and hope that my son will build memories here as I have in the past fifteen years.

Cabazon Dinosaurs

If you have ever lived in Southern California I am sure you have passed this monumental roadside attraction a thousand times, as I had in my past but never once did I stop and explore the area until today.  This roadside attraction was made famous when it was featured in Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure.  

My son is currently obsessed with Dinosaurs so what better time to get out and explore the famous roadside attraction.  Once we arrived we headed straight to the Brontosaurus which was closest to where we parked.

We had noticed an open sign from our car welcoming us inside.  Once we entered we climbed a set of stairs to a gift shop where we purchased our tickets to enter the T-Rex statue and make the climb to the top located just across the parking lot.  Admission at the time of our visit was $12.00 for Adults and $10.00 for children.

Of course each step we took towards the T-Rex held an exciting experience.  Here Jaxon is standing at the entry way to the ticket booth.

As we made our way past the gates and walked at a leisurely rate down their well manicured dirt trails dinosaur adventures surrounding our every turn.  Towards the end of the trail it appeared to be under construction soon becoming a paved path.

Once we arrived at the doorway to the T-rex we made the climb into his giant mouth just behind his fierce teeth.  As we towered over everything below it was a beautiful panoramic view of the area.  I would have loved to taken pictures except we were wired in by chicken wire surrounding his entire mouth and giant teeth.

On our way back through we found a small area off to the side for children to dig for dinosaur bones.  The sign advertised that if you found one you would win a prize.  We dug for a good ten minutes and no sign of any bones.

Of course on our way out we stopped by a second gift shop and Jaxon had no problem explaining that he was unable to find any dinosaur bones and well deserved a prize for all his hard work.  The woman behind the counter was a good sport and allowed him to pick a prize after his ride on the dinosaur.  Which made for the perfect ending in a young boys mind.

Oasis Date Gardens

I have waited for over ten years to make my way out to Oasis Date Gardens to enjoy a creamy Date Milkshake.  So much that I refused to try any other Date Shake in fear that it would ruin the famous Oasis Date Shake I had heard so much about.  I cannot express the excitement I held as we pulled into the parking lot after a long drive from Phoenix it was exactly what we needed.  On the other hand my mother and son thought I was insane for finding this culinary adventure so intriguing.  Yet this is one of the great things about traveling with people you love everyone has different interests and we all join in to experience the others joy and excitement.  

As we entered Jax was welcomed by Raul Medjool and found that posing for a picture with him was even more exciting then walking the small store located towards the back with a wide variety of food items to add to the large store located in the front full of dates.

After we ordered our Date shakes we wondered around the small store and helped ourselves to the sampling area as we anxiously awaited them to be prepared.

The shakes were everything I had ever dreamed to expect and more.  I now question why it took me so long to make the short journey out here and I will surely not wait as long for our next visit.  I was not the only one who fell in love with the Date Shake in pure shock both my mother and my son had also fallen in love with the famous treat.  We then wondered into a small room off to the side of the store to enjoy a short educational movie about the history of the Oasis Date Gardens.

Once again we had unexpectedly learned so much on a short culinary journey to a Date Farm, in the middle of the Desert, all while enjoying the most amazing creamy date shake that you could ever imagine.  

Palm Springs Art for all Ages

When I heard about Palm Springs Art for All Ages I was curious to see how they were going to be able to appeal to so many different age groups.  The event is held during the museums Free Second Sundays.  I have visited the museum in the past for adult tours prior to having Jaxon and have always loved my visits to Palm Springs Art Museum.  The Free Second Sundays are possible with the support of H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation.  During this event they also have a pop up studio.  This month the artist who was present was Michael Parker.  

When we first arrived we were asked to pick a country out of a hat, then we had to draw it to fill the dimensions of the board and cut it out.   Of course Jaxon was very interested and thought it was fun.  Then when we returned the board to the booth set up we were explained in further detail that this creation was going to be used by the artist in his next project.  Still slightly perplexed we were led to his exhibit.  

Michael Parker is a sculpture artist who has recently spent months creating a giant arch made of cardboard.  The LA Times wrote an article about his achievement which I found extremely fascinating.  The entire room was full of arches made of all different materials and designs.  He took a 3-D printer and recreated his own sculptures. He then passed them on to friends asking them to make his arches personal.  It was a extremely amazing concept and it allowed my son to see how so many minds can see a piece of art in all different ways.  If you have been following us Jaxon has been struggling with the fact that art's imperfections are what make it so unique and it is a personal creation for ones self.  After browsing the exhibit we returned to the art tables to now create our own arch.  At this point Jaxon looked over at me and said I am so excited I was able to be a part of his next art piece.  I smiled what a feeling for a small child to have that he was trusted to create something that will be included in something so much bigger then he could ever imagine.

On our way out Jaxon saw the artist and asked if he could ask him a question.  As he approached him Michael got down on his knees to be at Jaxon's level.  As a mother that right there completely impressed me not many adults do that.  I wish more adults could take notice of this, you never know the effects a person has on a young child when they share their knowledge and passion of a subject.  The stepping stones you are laying for a child to empower them to be greater then they could ever imagine.  These are the most important moments in life that are so often ignored or pushed aside because their opinions or questions are not of value in an adult world.  So I would like to say Thank you to Michael Parker for making my sons day, week and opened his mind to who knows in the future.