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Old 22 Jun 20, 11:47 AM  
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juliab
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The 260 Mile West Coast Wander - August 2019 - Day 20 - Reaching new heights! - Palm Springs

INDEX

Friday 23rd August

Looked out of our window this morning and I couldn’t believe how misty it was so glad we’d walked to the Hollywood sign yesterday.

We got down for some breakfast at 8.30 and it was very busy again. We got some food but struggled to find anywhere to sit and eat and just as we were about to take our plates up to or room we lucked out and was able to grab a free table.

Again there was a good choice with plenty of hot food and there was French toast this morning which I absolutely love! Lots of pastries, muffins and fruit to fill up on too we were more than happy again with the selections here.

Once back in our room we finished packing our last few pieces. Our next hotel stay would be our last one so that it would be the last time we’d be unpacking.

Loaded the car up with all our stuff then set off for our day trip to Palm Springs at 10am. I’d booked tickets for the Aerial Tramway just to be on the safe side although I didn’t think it would be necessary for this time of year. Our tram ride was 1pm so I was hoping we’d have more than enough time to travel over there.

The drive over to Palm Springs was fine we didn’t encounter much traffic anywhere and we arrived there at noon.






Scott wanted to have a look around a supermarket to buy some American sweets for work so we stopped off at Albert’s for a little wander around. Wow when we stepped out of the car we really felt the heat. It was like walking into an oven! We soon dashed into the store and Scott managed to get some candy along with a few other things.




We’d past the road up to the Aerial Tramway on our way in so we knew which way to head back.




Soon we arrived at the booth to pay for our parking which was $8.



We were told which parking lot to use which we easily found. Again when we stepped out of the car the heat really hit us.

The entrance wasn’t far but you caught a little bus to the entrance which took literally 30 seconds! Still the heat was so intense so it was nice not to have to walk in it!

We arrived just before 1pm, we waited in the queue to pay then when we got to a counter we were told we were too late for the 1pm Tram? I panicked for a split second but the lady went on to say we could go on the next tram which was at 1.15pm. Thank goodness for that.

Made use of the restrooms whilst we waited then we walked through to the waiting area and watched the tram car come down the hillside.



Poppy was a little anxious about the ride up in all honesty I was too as it was such a long way up. It was another of those things on our wish list though which we all wanted to experience.

Once we entered the car I was quite shocked at how big it was and it seemed to hold quite a few people. I’m sure it’s the world’s largest rotating car and the ride up is over 2 ½ miles!

Even though we knew the car moved around it felt strange when we set off and the car started to rotate. Poppy stood with Scott in the central part which made her feel a lot better about this 10 minute ride up.

Wow the views were amazing and there was commentary all throughout the journey giving out many interesting things about the Palm Springs Aerial Tram and also about what you’re seeing on your ride up. I was a little scared too as we were going so high up but the stunning views made up for it.



Something that did flip my stomach a bit was the movement when went over the towers. I was glad I’d taken some travel sickness tablets as one of the towers, think it was number 4, the swing was really bad went over it! It certainly was an unreal kind of experience what with the car rotating around but it meant that everyone got fabulous views of the surrounding areas.



When we stepped out at the Mountain station wow we could feel the difference in the temperature, it was no nice and pleasant and the air felt so clear and fresh. We’d gone from 40°C in Palm Springs to 18°C and an elevation of 8,500 ft.

We walked the little pathways outside where we could see the tram going back down. Also saw the breathtaking views of the desert below and Palm Springs. To the side was the gorgeous views of the mountains which was such a contrast, I really wasn’t expecting it to be this beautiful.











Walking back through to the back side of the building and that was where the walking trails started. We followed the ramp down then set walking along the shortest of the trails which were all seemed to be easy trails to walk.




Whilst it was so beautiful after a little time I decided that I’d had enough of walking. I’d got my comfy sketchers on but again they were only a toe post sandal so not really suitable. I kept getting little pieces of gravel stuck in between my toes along with little twigs, it was so annoying! I really needed some trainers on. Never mind we enjoyed what we’d seen so far.




I took a few photos of the kids as it was just so beautiful a backdrop here.





Back in the main building we went to the quick service restaurant and picked up some late lunch along with a few soft drinks. We had another look around afterwards taking in those amazing views before getting in the line to catch the tram back down.

It was a lot busier but we didn’t have too much of wait before we got on a tram.

This time though there was music being played in the car, it really was a surreal moment as we were all singing the song “Under the Boardwalk” whilst descending down through the canyon!

Once we reached the Valley Station we made use of the restrooms before we excited the building, we had a 2 hour drive over to Anahiem.

Yet again the heat hit us when we walked back outside and even though it was only a short walk to the car park we waited the few minutes for the bus to take us back. Just couldn’t be doing with walking in that heat!

Has soon as we entered the car we blasted the air con up as it was so hot, the car seat felt like I was sat on a fire!

We were soon on the road where we did encounter a couple traffic hold ups which added an extra 40 minutes to our drive time. Overall though we didn’t think we did too badly and we arrived in Anaheim at 6.15pm after leaving Palm Springs at 4pm.

So pleased that we found our hotel easily and we were soon checking in to the Hampton Inn & Suites Anaheim Resort. This was to be our final hotel of the trip and we’d be spending 6 nights here, we were so excited.


The hotel looked really nice it had only been open a few months. We had booked a suite and when we entered our room it looked perfect for us. There was a separate sleeping area for the kids and the size of the space looked great too.



As we'd approached the hotel we noticed a Cheesecake Factory just a little way down from us so as it was the nearest eatery we decided to have some food there.

It was super busy there as the D23 Expo was happening over this weekend and the area which is near to the convention centre was full of Disney fans walking around.

Even though the Cheesecake Factory looked a very sizeable place we still had quite a wait for a table. Once inside it was very busy and our server seemed to be all over the place. We decided just to order various appetisers as the portion sizes here are so large and we wanted to have room left for some cheesecake.


The food arrived and there was more than enough for us all.
We were fairly stuffed so only ordered 2 slices of cheesecake, oh my word they were so good and even though we’d waited quite some time it was worth it.






Our server was still very busy so we waited ages to get the bill. We finally left thankfully we only had a few minute’s walk back to our hotel. I was hoping we’d have an early night but we didn’t get back until late due to being in the Cheesecake Factory for so long.
Our last hotel


Anyway we all sorted ourselves out with showers etc and I unpacked our bag and got our clothes ready for the morning. We wanted to set off early so we could make use of the Magic Hour on our first morning.
We were so excited for our very first visit to Disneyland!

Thanks for reading
Steps – 8,978

Edited at 12:34 PM.
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Old 22 Jun 20, 06:04 PM  
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LozzaManse
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Can’t wait to read about Disney land! Thanks for sharing your trip - lovely to have this to read right now!
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Old 22 Jun 20, 09:18 PM  
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Mamie Baldwin
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I’m really enjoying your trippie and I love your Mickey tee!
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Old 22 Jun 20, 09:22 PM  
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ely3857
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Hotel suite looks fab. Cheesecake Factory looked awesome. Tramway looked petrifying!
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Old 22 Jun 20, 09:32 PM  
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mrsdjh
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That tramway looks a bit scary!

The hotel looks lovely and the rooms a great size. Looking forward to reading all about Disneyland.
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Old 23 Jun 20, 01:40 PM  
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KayLouise
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Amazing day! We are planning on doing the tramway too, the views look beautiful! Looking forward to reading about Disneyland 😊
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Old 23 Jun 20, 08:59 PM  
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Jessika
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Lovely day with fantastic photos, am hoping to visit the tramway. Last hotel looks lovely, I’m looking forward to reading about Disneyland.
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Old 23 Jun 20, 10:56 PM  
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Pumba75
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Another lovely day. We have similar photos of Palm Springs Aerial Tramway & the journey to Anaheim!

Mmmm happy memories of The Cheesecake Factory. Yum.

Looking forward to reading more.

M x
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Old 24 Jun 20, 05:49 PM  
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nickyjw
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A great day again Julia, those tramways are very scary at times. We did the Gatlinburg one last summer and I know exactly what you mean about the swaying over the pylons! Such a great experience though and keeping our fingers crossed we can do Palm Springs next summer.
Can't wait to read about Disneyland next.
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Old 28 Jun 20, 05:00 PM  
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juliab
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Originally Posted by LozzaManse View Post
Can’t wait to read about Disney land! Thanks for sharing your trip - lovely to have this to read right now!
Ahh thank you
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