Salvation Mountain

March 14, 2016, 4 Comments

Each time I would visit Palm Springs and return home I would get asked “Did you go to Salvation Mountain?” Here’s the funny thing about where Salvation Mountain is… It’s hardly “close” to Palm Springs. Palm Springs, and its neighboring cities of Palm Desert, Cathedral City, and Indio are the closest cities of any real consequence…

Palm Springs Aerial Tram

March 6, 2016, 3 Comments

It’s March, and that means it’s time for Patrick’s annual conference in Palm Springs. Last year I wasn’t able to tag along like past years, as I was working, but now that I’ve quit, I’m able to spend time in the dreamy desert of Palm Springs. We arrived yesterday and after checking into our adorable…

Atomic Redhead’s Disneyland Tips

March 3, 2016, 5 Comments

June 2019 NOTICE: This post is somewhat out of date. I am planning an updated guide sometime in the summer or fall of 2019. Once a new guide is created, I will post a link to it, which will replace this current line of text. However, I have tried to make updates to this post.…

Universal Studios

September 10, 2015, 5 Comments

After living in California for nearly a year (seriously, where does the time go, but I’ll reflect on that in a later post), Patrick and I finally made it to Universal Studios yesterday. I hadn’t been since I believe 1997, and Patrick had never been. With the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening in spring…

Mission San Juan Capistrano

June 18, 2015, 8 Comments

UPDATE: It is important to remember that while California Missions have been hailed as places of peace, they also have deep and complicated histories, including slavery, violence, and forced religious conversion. One of my favorite things about California history is that of the Spanish missions. It is a goal of mine to visit each of…

Sleep in a Tipi & Visit the Site of the First McDonald’s along Route 66

June 11, 2015, 7 Comments

During the week Patrick decided to surprise me with a mini, one night getaway at the Wigwam Motel in Rialto on Route 66! An icon of the Mother Road, the Wigwam Motel is a handful of concrete tipi structures (not actual wigwams, which are domelike in shape) that are quaint, and of course, small. There…

Knott’s Berry Farm

March 9, 2015, 6 Comments

Some of the perks of being a Cast Member at Disneyland is that we are offered discounted tickets to other amusement parks in southern California, including Knott’s Berry Farm. I hadn’t been to Knott’s Berry Farm since the mid-90s, and in all sincerity, all I remember is getting so drenched on Bigfoot Rapids that we had…

Having a Blast at the Atomic Testing Museum

January 8, 2015, 9 Comments

When I heard that Las Vegas was home to the National Atomic Testing Museum, I was quite giddy with excitement and it went to the top of my list of things to do during our short stay. The image of the atom or of a mushroom cloud may bring out different feelings in different people. For…

Calico Ghost Town

January 6, 2015, 6 Comments

This weekend’s trip to Vegas was my first visit since the late 90s, and my first time driving there. Not to mention it was Patrick’s first ever visit to America’s playground. On our way we made some stops, including the ghost town of Calico. Founded in 1881, Calico’s mines produced millions in silver, before silver dropped in price, and it…

The Isolated Spot Where James Dean Took His Last Breath

August 11, 2014, 4 Comments

On the side of the road just outside of Cholame there is a lonely stretch a road that winds between sun drenched hills there is an intersection that is the location, on a September 30th, one of the brightest stars in Hollywood was snuffed out. James Dean. I had been to the crash site of…