La Quinta, No Relation Pt. 3
The final day was probably my favorite part of the trip. I’d scheduled a Jeep Tour of some sights around the area and this tour did not disappoint. Deiter, the owner of Urban Palm Springs and our tour guide, gave us a 5-hour tour. After meeting him at the Palm Springs Visitor Center we loaded up with water and snacks and headed toward the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. They settled in a literal palm oasis. We did a quick hike around the reservation and were off to see a windmill farm, one of the iconic sites in Palm Springs, and a few of the water systems used to control rainwater and that from the mountains. All along he gave us so much history about Black families who settled there over 3 generations ago and how they created and influenced the culture in the area, including a really dope off-roading and motorcycling scene. Something as normal and common as horseback riding in some parts of Central North Carolina. Deiter was so nice, he even offered to take us to the airport to pick up our rental. We took him up on his offer! I highly recommend renting a car for at least a day, you’ll definitely want to use it to at least explore a bit in Palm Springs like we did.
After we got the car I really wanted to try Del Taco. I've heard so much about it that it was the first thing I wanted to do since we weren’t Ubering anymore :D I ordered a burrito of some sort, and while it tasted good I couldn't finish it because of all the cheese. America’s obsession with cheddar will be the death of us. NEXT! If you’re a fan of Del Taco, please continue to enjoy. I’ll be over here with some other fast-food chain that doesn’t smother and cover everything in cheese. This actually left me in a bind because now I was starving and very close to our dinner reservation. I had only one choice to make, hit up the other restaurant on the property for tacos and a(nother) margarita. THE CARNITAS SLAPPED! Oh, my stomach did a happy dance all the way back to our casita so I could get ready for a beautiful dinner by the fire pit.
My husband found this super cute lodge and restaurant that specializes in family-style dinners. Since we were not going to be passing any peas, we opted for a seat by the fire. When we arrived they had a special table set up for us with our name on it to mark our spot and this rustic table setting. We even witnessed a bit of drama during lunch that caused a lot of awkward stares - I’ll tell y’all all about it in the outtakes. Of course, they knew it was my birthday and to my sweet surprise, they offered CHEESECAKE! Just kidding, they had some really good homemade chocolate chip cookies that we took on the road back to the resort. Before heading in for the night, we took a stroll around the property one last time. This was our final night and we wanted to feel the mountain breeze one more time and listen to the stillness. Man, it was magical.
The next day we woke up and had coffee and a breakfast sandwich. We were expecting to leave on a flight through Dallas back home, but the universe had other plans. I’ll explain a bit more in the outtakes along with the drama from dinner. For all of the details, be sure to purchase my itinerary. Trust me, you’ll know everything that made this trip such a special one. Trust me, you’ll want to go!