Honemoon - Vegas & Palm Springs

Most couples head out after their wedding day to start their honeymoon. We decided we still wanted to spend time with friends and family who were in town to celebrate our big day so we had a pool day at the hotel. Bad part? It was still a little chilly and the Rock & Roll Marathon prevented many people from being able to get there due to road closures and general bad traffic. This still didn’t prevent us from having a great time and enjoying our first day as a married couple.

We began the day with some breakfast and a great view of the Pacific Ocean from our Honeymoon Suite balcony. We then got our stuff together and headed down to the pool where we were greeted by some of our family and friends who secured our poolside location. We spent the first part of our day chatting with family, lounging in the pool, and enjoying the 2 water slides rarely found at a hotel. I put our GoPro to some good use that day, which was the main intent on buying one. The video below is a small view into our day.

Our day ended with us packing up Cara’s Honda CR-V as full as it has ever been with luggage, gifts, leftover cupcakes and a delicious cake from our good friend Dexter’s Cakes and heading home to unpack, re-pack, relax and prepare for our 1 week vacation.

Waking up early on a Monday isn’t easy but waking up early on a Monday while you’re on vacation is much harder. Luckily, we had some motivation…we were headed up to Corona to spend the good part of our day at Glen Ivy Hot Springs. Our first appointment was at 10:00, we had to check in by 9:30, resort opened up at 9:00 and our drive was about 1.5 hours with pockets of traffic. This is where having an STI comes in handy.

We arrive, check in, change, and proceed to the bungalow where we were to be pampered for the next hour with a much needed couple’s massage. I must say, it’s not very often I opt for a massage this early in the morning but I won’t argue with it either. Of course, we didn’t just end it there…we also added in facials and access to the grotto, though I could have done without the facial. The resort had plenty of options and we took advantage of them all. Between the standard lounge pools, mineral baths, hot/cold rejuvenation pools, saunas & steam rooms, Club Mud and a decent restaurant, we both highly recommend this place to anyone looking to get away.

The resort closed at 6:00 and leaving was not easy to do. However, our next destination was just a couple hours away: VEGAS! I wouldn’t say it was the smartest thing to do but it was what we wanted to do so we grabbed a small snack and started our trek.

We arrived late, checked into the Aria Resort and make our way to our room. Relax, right? Nope. Let’s unpack and head down to get a late night meal. One day was dedicated to being a “date” day where we took a gondola ride at the Venetian then later went to watch Ka, a Cirque du Soleil show at MGM Grand. The gondola ride was nice and we had a great gondolier but we had to share it with another couple. If you are with others you know, I think it would be much better. The show on the other hand was amazing and highly recommended. I’d like to say we took in the sites and did everything the tourists do but we’ve both been there plenty of times and typically find ourselves just cruising the strip, letting what happens happen and not relying on a timetable of events. Definitely a great way to spend our vacation.

Thanks to a generous donation of a family friend (practically family at this point), we were offered a 2 night stay at the JW Marriott in Palm Springs so our vacation didn’t have to end so soon. We packed up, said our goodbyes to Vegas (or in our case, “until next times”) and crossed one desert to head to another. Surprisingly, I had never been to Palm Springs so it was a nice change of pace for me. It’s June, so it isn’t very hot out yet but even when San Diego hasn’t really topped 70-75 yet, Palm Springs was reaching the low 90’s already. You’d think we be used to it but Vegas wasn’t really hot as it stayed around the 75-80 range while we were there. No problem…we relaxed by the pool and kept the A/C in our room cranked. Our resort had a miniature putt-putt course (which was more like a medium putt-putt course) and a couple restaurants. Most of our time was spent just being lazy, which is what I do best.

Sunday came way too quickly so it was time for us to pack up the car and head home. But first, a stop in Cabazon to see the dinosaurs from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. YES, finally, I got to see them after having absolutely no knowledge they actually existed (I always assume they were just for the movie and that was it). We grabbed a couple photos, checked out the gift shop, then headed out.

All in all, while it wasn’t the honeymoon we were hoping for, we still had a great time and made the most of it.