I’ve gotten so far behind in editing videos. It’s already 2025 and I’m just now editing videos from 2024 Memorial Day Weekend. The weekend was spent just an hour or so away from home for somewhat of a staycation. We stayed at one of our favorite places there, the Westin Desert Willow Villas. The Palm Springs area is one of our favorite places to go spend time and explore as a family. It is close enough to make weekend trips but far enough to make us feel like we are on a mini vacation.
On the first day we took the kids to the Children’s Museum of the Desert. It was their opening weekend after being closed since the COVID Pandemic. This a a great place to go if you have little ones. If you arrive early, there is usually a good chunk of time where you can have the place to yourself. There is a wide variety of activities and you can easily spend a couple hours there. Since that Memorial Day Weekend, they have opened up more exhibits and it is a must do for families with younger kids spending several days in the Palm Springs area.
After the museum, we swung by the College of the Desert to check out their farmer’s market. It’s not too big or busy. Allie likes the loose, comfy clothes you can pick up there. Of course, I think it’s more enjoyable to be there in the cooler months.
Another place that we struggle to stay away from whenever we are in town is Lappert’s Coffee and Ice Cream. There are two locations, one in Palm Desert and one in downtown Palm Springs. They have a variety of options to choose from and even non-dairy choices for those who need it. I prefer them over Handel’s.
The following day we decided to head over to the Moorten Botanical Garden. It was our first time there and we didn’t know what to expect. There were so many different cacti. They also had a nice lawn where they rent space out for events like weddings. The kids enjoyed seeing the tortoises. We probably spent between 1 and 2 hours walking around. But as with many activities we do, we have to keep things moving.
Since we weren’t far from downtown Palm Springs, we drove over and started walking around. It got up into the 80s while we were there and we strolled for as long as we could. Strolling explorations aren’t as leisurely with kids and strollers. While we were there we stopped to grab some lunch before heading back for more time at the pool. Dinner on day 2 brought us to Billy Q’s in Palm Desert. We were happy to find a gluten free option for Allie and she got a gluten free pizza. The kids and I shared a macaroni and cheese pizza and ravioli. We ended the exploratory activities of the day by checking out the kids areas of the Westin.
On our last day, Memorial Day, we went to the Palm Springs Air Museum. There was a scheduled flower drop at 1 PM and we thought we could check it out. We got there at opening time and managed to find some parking. It’s a fun place to explore for any history/aviation buffs. It is unique to have the museum adjacent to the airport. If you’re lucky, you will get to see some of the old planes flying.
